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By the paradox of “majoritarianism without majorities,” the author argues that ethnic majoritarianism, in the form of nationalist movements and the institutionalization of majoritarian privilege, has become a defining feature of twenty-first-century democracy even though ethnic majorities do not exist as self-aware political communities. These majorities are merely census labels imposed on a conglomeration of minorities. This essay argues that the key force generating this paradox is the formulation of democracy as a system of majority rule. This formulation provokes cycles of ethnic majoritarianism, and the periodic remaking of the political community by turning insiders into outsiders. The solution to the problem of majoritarian nationalism therefore lies in reconceptualizing democracy as a form of “minority” representation, and protecting the rights of outsiders in order to protect the rights of insiders.
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