CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2011
| Author | Nurieva, Elvira Vasilovna |
|---|---|
| Title | The Relational Model of the Right to Self-Determination of Indigenous Peoples in Canada |
| Summary | The thesis investigates the ways to improve Aboriginal representation in Canada’s central legislature. Using the framework of M. Murphy’s relational model of self-determination and D. Fontana’s government in opposition rules, the author of the thesis argues that a separate indigenous parliament is the best model to increase political input of Aboriginal peoples at the federal level, which is also consistent with the long-term requirement of a stable liberal democracy. Although there is a feeling of skepticism to legislative bodies that formulated laws and strategies of assimilation and historic disenfranchise, the idea of electoral participation is still compelling to both indigenous and non-indigenous leaders and academics, mainly because representation as a form of political voice can advance indigenous self-determination. Murphy’s relational model of the right to self-determination speaks to both the autonomy and the interdependence of indigenous and non-indigenous communities. It accentuates the co-existence of Aboriginal traditional governance structures with non-indigenous practices, principles and arrangements. A separate indigenous parliament appears to be the embodiment of this model. Furthermore, historically Canada’s Constitution does not institutionalize a coherent theory of limited government, checks and balances, and the separation of powers. It is only with the enactment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, the Constitution came to be defined as a contract between people and their governments rather than legal relationships between governments. The proposed representation model of a separate indigenous parliament can represent a constraint or a check to the classical mechanism of separation of powers. Thus this institutional arrangement can create a more robust version of representative democracy by encouraging a broader range of perspectives to be aired and giving more legitimacy for the democratic institutions. |
| Supervisor | Dimitrijevic, Nenad Milos |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2011/nurieva_elvira-vasilovna.pdf |
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