Books by Peter Balint
Oxford University Press, 2017
Palgrave MacMillan, Oct 2013
In both political practice and political theory, multiculturalism has been heavily critiqued. Yet... more In both political practice and political theory, multiculturalism has been heavily critiqued. Yet despite the political backlashwhich is far from universal with countries such as Canada and Australia having very different experiences to those of Europeand the 'civic turn' in political theory, the theoretical underpinnings of multiculturalism are far from obsolete. The key question for multiculturalism, of which liberal multiculturalism is now the most dominant strand, concerns the fair terms of integration. What is required is a form of multiculturalism that is not just a theoretical ideal, but one that can speak to the empirical contexts in which it is practised.
Journal Papers by Peter Balint
Ethnicities, 2019
Social media is full of accusations and counter-accusations of a wrong called ‘cultural appropria... more Social media is full of accusations and counter-accusations of a wrong called ‘cultural appropriation’. Our goal in this article is to sift through these deliberations and identify what cultural appropriation is, what it is not, and what, if anything might be wrong with it. We begin by explaining why public discourse about cultural appropriation should matter to political theorists of multiculturalism, especially in the anti-immigrant mood that has engulfed many immigrant-receiving countries. We then place cultural appropriation under the umbrella of cultural engagement, before identifying two forms of problematic cultural engagement – cultural offence and cultural misrepresentation – that are often conflated with cultural appropriation. In the next section, we define cultural appropriation as the appropriation of something of cultural value, usually a symbol or a practice, to others. We go on to explain that two additional conditions must be present to define an act of cultural appropriation: the presence of significant contestation around the act of appropriation, and the presence of knowledge (or negligent culpability) in the act of appropriation. Although this account of cultural appropriation is normative, cultural appropriation is often wrong only in a trivial sense. One of the ways it can become more serious is through the presence of what we term ‘amplifiers’. The contextual conditions that can render acts of cultural appropriation more egregious include: the existence of a power imbalance between the cultural appropriator and those from whom the practice or symbol is appropriated; the absence of consent; and the presence of profit that accrues to the appropriator. Ultimately, we find that there are very few instances of seriously wrongful cultural appropriation, and that many of the actions decried as cultural appropriation may be wrongful, but not because they appropriate.
Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 2019
Contemporary Political Theory, 2018
State-sponsored breastfeeding promotion campaigns have become increasingly common in developed co... more State-sponsored breastfeeding promotion campaigns have become increasingly common in developed countries. In this paper, by using the tools of liberal political theory, as well as public health and health promotion ethics, we argue that such campaigns are not justified. They ignore important costs for women, including undermining autonomy; fail to distribute burdens fairly; cannot be justified neutrally; and fail a basic efficacy test. Moreover, our argument demonstrates that breastfeeding campaigns are a rare case that bridges the fields of public health ethics (which focuses on coercive measures to protect third parties), and the ethics of health promotion campaigns (which focuses on encouraging voluntary change that benefits the target individuals themselves). This demonstrates the need to consider the ethics of state promotion of both voluntary and coercive behavioural change that benefits third parties.
European Journal of Political Theory, 2018
European Journal of Political Theory, Jul 2014
Almost all philosophical understandings of tolerance as forbearance require that the reasons for ... more Almost all philosophical understandings of tolerance as forbearance require that the reasons for objection and/or the reasons for withholding the power to negatively interfere must be of the morally right kind. In this paper, I instead put forward a descriptive account of an act of tolerance, and argue that in the political context, at least, it has several important advantages over the standard more moralised accounts. These advantages include that it better addresses instances of intolerance and that it is able to makes sense of state acts of tolerance.
Political Studies, 2014
Almost all theories of multiculturalism (and similar differentiated-rights) start by rejecting li... more Almost all theories of multiculturalism (and similar differentiated-rights) start by rejecting liberal state neutrality as unable to adequately address issues of diversity. In this paper, I challenge this move and argue that neutrality has been wrongly characterised. Neutrality is an unrealisable, yet still action-guiding political ideal that is not absolute. It only makes sense in relation to a particular range of things (in this case, people’s ways of life), and needs to be sensitive to the changing nature of this range. Unlike neutrality as ‘benign neglect’, this allows it to be sufficiently neutral over time to changing ways of life. Yet difference-sensitivity can be realised by either withdrawing support for all parties or actively assisting them. In the last part of the paper, I argue that state neutrality should involve withdrawing support for favoured ways of life rather than actively recognizing the various ways of life of its citizens.
Journal of Applied Philosophy, Aug 2013
In contrast to multicultural theory, which in discussions of respect for difference has primarily... more In contrast to multicultural theory, which in discussions of respect for difference has primarily focussed on the state as the agent of respect, multicultural policy has instead tended to focus on citizens themselves as the potential agents of this sort of respect. This article examines the plausibility of this type of respect (which is advocated by some theorists too), and argues that is not a reasonable or necessary demand. While there are several different ways of understanding respect — most of which focus on respecting persons — none seem capable of doing the work required for it to enable either the adequate or reasonable accommodation of diversity in a liberal society. More specifically, I use Darwall's influential distinction between appraisal and recognition respect — the latter in a broad non-moralised sense — to make my case. While appraisal respect for difference may be theoretically easy to dismiss, it is not uncommon in multicultural policy. On the other hand, recognition respect — which is more behavioural than attitudinal — may appear a more plausible candidate. Yet it too remains overly demanding for individual citizens, especially, and most importantly, in difficult cases. I conclude that tolerance of difference (coming out of respect for citizenship) is a more appropriate demand on the individual.
Tolerance has an ambiguous role in anti-racism strategies. On the one hand, it is a clear antidot... more Tolerance has an ambiguous role in anti-racism strategies. On the one hand, it is a clear antidote to racial intolerance. Yet on the other, not only is it not the only antidote to racial intolerance (respect for difference and indifference to difference are also possibilities), but the fact that it involves a negative attitude or belief and the power to act on it suggests it is far from ideal. These problems are compounded by the fact that racial tolerance can only deal with racial intolerance, which because of its intentionality seems to be only a small part of racism. In this paper, I defend racial tolerance by arguing that conceptually it does have a role in anti-racism strategies and normatively describes an important minimum for those at risk of committing acts of racial intolerance.
There is widespread belief that members of the armed forces have a unique psychological relations... more There is widespread belief that members of the armed forces have a unique psychological relationship with their institution and their nation, and that it is this relationship which leads to loyalty and self-sacrifice. Yet this ‘military myth’ does not hold. Many soldiers serve for ‘occupational’ rather than ‘institutional’ reasons, and as the experience of private military contractors demonstrates, this need not reduce operational effectiveness. In this article, we argue that the concern expressed in the recent commentary in this journal by Williamson et. al. (2015) that the dispute over the 2014 Australian Defence Pay Deal may damage the ‘psychological contract’, turn it from ‘relational’ to ‘transactional’, and undermine operational effectiveness is unfounded and seems to buy into this military myth.
Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2010
The building and maintaining of a tolerant society requires both a general policy of toleration o... more The building and maintaining of a tolerant society requires both a general policy of toleration on the behalf of the state, as well as a minimal number of acts of intolerance by individual citizens towards their fellow citizens. It is this second area of citizen-citizen relations that is of most interest for education policy. There are those who argue that the best way to achieve a tolerant society is by encouraging, or even requiring, the respect and appreciation of difference amongst a citizenry. In this paper I argue that using education to encourage the respect and appreciation of difference is deeply problematic for both adults and children. I argue that it is a poor servant of those whose differences it is meant to protect, and crucially that it cannot be justified on the key liberal premise of protecting the freedom of individuals to live their (non-harming) lives as they see fit. I conclude by putting forward the educational alternative of respecting the basic rights of citizens irrespective of your view of their differences.
Res Publica, 2006
The paper aims to clarify what is both meant and entailed when the notion of respect is invoked i... more The paper aims to clarify what is both meant and entailed when the notion of respect is invoked in relation to the issues of diversity. A distinction is introduced between two types of respecting agents: the state and the citizen. The paper then distinguishes respect in relation to a commonality – in this case citizenship – from respect in relation to specific difference. The importance of respect in relation to a commonality is stressed, whilst the distinction between the state and the citizen as the respecting agent is used to raise questions about respect of difference. The latter part of the paper looks at Peter Jones’ compromise position of ‘mediated recognition,’ and suggests the possibility of ‘mediated accommodation.’
Res Publica, 2012
A growing number of theorists have argued that toleration, at least in its traditional sense, is ... more A growing number of theorists have argued that toleration, at least in its traditional sense, is no longer applicable to liberal democratic political arrangements—especially if these political arrangements are conceived of as neutral. Peter Jones has tried make sense of political toleration while staying true to its more traditional (disapproval yet non-prevention) meaning. In this article, while I am sympathetic to his motivation, I argue that Jones’ attempt to make sense of political toleration is not successful.
Australasian Parliamentary Review, 2013
Taken as a whole, previous conscience vote studies have identified four potential influences on a... more Taken as a whole, previous conscience vote studies have identified four potential influences on an MP’s decision: party membership, gender, religious affiliation, and their constituents. Yet most of these studies have identified these influences by simply examining the voting patterns or outcomes of conscience vote results. This is problematic, as the factors that allow us to predict voting outcomes may not be the same factors that actually influence those who do the voting. In this paper, by using the ACT as a case study and employing a mixed methodology, we seek to better explain what actually influences an MP’s conscience decision. We conclude that while party remains the most important predictive factor, the influence of the personal should be taken more seriously. By this we mean both an MP’s personal experiences and their personal ideology.
Book Chapters by Peter Balint
The question of what are the fair terms of integration in contemporary diverse societies arises o... more The question of what are the fair terms of integration in contemporary diverse societies arises out of two opposed tendencies. One, towards diversity, is driven by several factors, including the global movement of people, the existence of settler societies and the mismatch between state and nation. The other is the apparent need for some sort of unity within a polity. Liberal multiculturalism offers a particular framework for addressing this central and pressing question. At its most basic, liberal multiculturalism upholds the importance of individual freedom while recognising that culture cannot simply be a 'private' matter if this freedom is to be at all meaningful. This means that at least some of the diversity that exists within a polity must be recognised and actions taken that alleviate at least some of the potential disadvantages that would otherwise occur. Liberal multiculturalism thus rejects two extremes: the state should not be entirely difference-blind, but neither should group identities take priority. Accordingly, it rejects two corresponding models of integration: an assimilationist one that grounds civic membership on the internalisation of a common culture (for example, the classical model of republicanism with its holistic emphasis on the 'people');
In both the political theory and the public policy of multicultural societies, there has been a c... more In both the political theory and the public policy of multicultural societies, there has been a convergence of the good of social cohesion and, more particularly, of national identity as being one of the most important ties of social cohesion.<xen> 1 </xen> On the theoretical front, this push has been led by liberal nationalismthe idea that the state should promote and protect an overarching national identity in order to foster public goods, in particular distributive justicewhile on the policy level, perhaps the most prominent of several possible examples are the citizenship tests that most Western states now employ, and which were almost unheard of a decade ago. In both cases, concern over integration, or lack thereof, is commonly phrased in terms of its potential to undermine social cohesion.
This chapter examines the concern that increased immigration, and with it increased diversity, un... more This chapter examines the concern that increased immigration, and with it increased diversity, undermines national identity and social cohesion in existing liberal democratic states. Rather than challenging the assumption that increased diversity does undermine national identity, the chapter instead examines the link between national identity and social cohesion, and between national identity and the achievement of key common projects: in this case, welfare redistribution and national defence. I argue that social cohesion can arise from ties other than national identity; that a sense of fairness is more important than national identity for the success of welfare redistribution; and that military recruitment and retention is commonly driven by things other than a sense of national identity.
Edited volume by Peter Balint
Women’s Bodies and Global Poverty Eradication, Global Justice: Theory Practice Rhetoric (2015)
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Books by Peter Balint
Journal Papers by Peter Balint
Book Chapters by Peter Balint
Edited volume by Peter Balint