Fragile Nations: The Promise and Perils of Multinational Democracies

Author: Felix Mathieu
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
ISBN: 9780228027676
Published In: May 2026
Format: Paperback
Jurisdiction: Canada ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Non-sovereign nations are fragile: not because they lack identity but because their futures depend on sustained collective efforts to preserve institutions, cultures, and political autonomy while they remain unequal partners within constitutional frameworks.

In a brilliant sociopolitical analysis of five non-sovereign nations - Catalonia, Northern Ireland, Wallonia, South Tyrol, and Quebec - Felix Mathieu offers new empirical evidence that a state's constitutional character shapes the management of national diversity and advances novel ideas for creating authentic multinational democracies. Beginning with each state's formative rupture and unfolding through the twists of political modernity, Fragile Nations shows how political, social, and economic forces interact with constitutional structures. It examines how unitary or federal states enable or constrain minority nations in building institutions and shaping their destinies. Mathieu brings empirical depth to theoretical debates and takes a compelling look at the democratic principles of pluralism and equity, which can sustain fairer, more inclusive multinational states.

Fragile Nations engages in questions about nationalism, federalism, minority nations, and the challenges of governance, enriching wider conversations about identity, sovereignty, and coexistence in diverse societies.

Tables and Figures ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction Non-Sovereign Nations v. Political Modernity 3

Fragile Nations and Liberal Nationalism 22

Catalonia and the Institutional Path to a (De)Centralized and Symmetrical Unitary State 43

South Tyrol and the Institutional Path to a Decentralized and Asymmetric Unitary State 71

Northern Ireland and the Institutional Path to a Devolutionary State 96

Wallonia and the Institutional Path to a Consociative Federal State 123

Quebec and the Institutional Path to a Decentralized and Symmetrical Federal State 156

The Institutional Capacity of Non-Sovereign Nations: A Systematic Comparison 194

Conclusion Social Justice and Political (In)Stability in Multinational Democracies 223