Vigilance, Trust and ‘Fine Risks’ in the Minefield of Multinational Democracies

Abstract

In chapter 5, Dimitrios Karmis and Darren O’Toole address these questions through a critical reading of Philip Pettit’s influential Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government (1997). Karmis and O’Toole contend that despite several merits, Pettit’s conceptual framework needs significant revisions. Using examples from the history of Canada-Québec relations, they argue that such a framework seriously underestimates the depth of the tension between vigilance and trust. They also show how Pettit’s unconditional “overtures of trust” are imprudent and risky in the context of significantly asymmetrical power relations between a minority nation and a majority nation.

Keywords: Republicanism, Québec, Pettit