This article argues that there is a conundrum at the heart of the company law understanding of ostensible minority protection mechanisms (the derivative claim and unfair prejudice): they are terrible ...at protecting those that they are thought to protect. The hurdles to access the remedies are too high, there is undue focus on the behaviour of the wronged party, costs are uncertain, and relief inadequate. This conundrum can be resolved by applying an institutional analysis and exploring the rules from the perspective of the company. Here, a number apparent weaknesses in the regime are mostly strengths for the company. The remedies are important for the company as they act as a 'lightning rod': all complaints by disgruntled shareholders are funnelled through these hegemonic argumentation structures, which protect the institutional arrangement of the company and, in turn, that part of the institutional environment which is company law.
Under majoritarian election systems, securing the participation and representation of minorities remains an open problem, made salient in the US by its history of voter suppression. One remedy ...recommended by the courts is the adoption of Cumulative Voting (CV) in multi-member districts: each voter has as many votes as open positions but can cumulate votes on as few candidates as desired. Historical experiences are promising but also reflect episodes of minority activism. We present the results of a controlled lab experiment that isolates the role of the voting rule from other confounds. Although each voter is treated equally, theory predicts that CV should increase the minority's turnout relative to the majority and the minority's share of seats won. The experimental results strongly support both theoretical predictions.
This article discusses the racialised discrimination of the Sámi people and how the Norwegian judiciary deals with it. It draws historical lines to social Darwinism as practised in Norway, where ...comparisons of the Sámi’s physical characteristics to the Norwegian majority population were commonplace. The official Norwegian position was that the Sámi were not an indigenous people and therefore lacked inalienable rights. The racialised understanding of the Sámi as an untrustworthy and lazy people of the past, reverberates in today’s hate speech that builds on similar stereotypes. Norway has come a long way since racial hygiene was a mainstream scientific approach. Yet, still today, the Sámi are statistically overrepresented with experiences of discrimination. This article examines the legal responses and responsibility of Norway to tackle hate speech and discriminatory utterances that manifest a racial understanding of Norway’s indigenous people. In the discussion, special emphasis is placed on Norway’s international treaty obligations.
The Ålandic autonomy has evolved into a relatively well-functioning system over the last century. A scrutiny of the first three decades following the decisions by the Council of the League of Nations ...shows that this was not always the case. This article engages with the main political issues that Åland faced during this time, focusing on the problems that directly or indirectly involved the League. It is argued that from the point of view of the Ålandic population and its political representatives, the survival of the regime cannot be attributed to the design of the solution itself. Had Åland had a larger population and more political and economic muscles, the regime would not have remained intact for as long as it did. When the Åland Example is used in conflict resolution, mistakes made and possible alternative paths are essential elements to explore.
Judicial protection of disfavored minorities against oppressive legislation in majoritarian separation-of-power systems raises a puzzle: Why don’t legislative majorities enacting discriminatory ...legislation curb judicial power when judges use their power to protect minorities and stymie the legislation? We answer this question by showing that judicial protection of disfavored minorities can emerge as an unintended by-product of majoritarian politics. We develop a model that includes the two aspects of judicial review Alexander Hamilton discusses in The Federalist No. 78: Judicial protection of disfavored minorities against hostile popular majorities, and judicial protection of majority interests against legislative depredation. It is the institutional linkage between these functions that induces popular majorities, within limits, to side with judges against legislatures even when those judges protect minorities that popular majorities want to oppress.
Abstract
The Minority SafePack Initiative (mspi) calls for a pact between minorities and majorities in order to preserve, develop and promote the linguistic and cultural diversity in Europe resulting ...from the high number of national minorities inside the European Union. This article examines the theory behind universal basic income as well as two policy proposals on the EU level and how these overlap with the stated goals and broader aims of the mspi. Developing four core areas as assessment criteria, the article finds that Universal Basic Income (ubi) theory overlaps significantly in terms of potential impact on the capacity for living in homeland, learning in mother tongue, preservation and development of identity and culture, and aiming for equality. These potentially diminish if the basic income amount is not enough to meet basic needs, plus the narrative differs depending on the funding mechanism.
According to the dominant incentive-based explanation, European Union (EU) conditionality has been particularly effective when the EU offered a credible membership incentive and when incumbent ...governments did not consider the domestic costs of compliance threatening to their hold on power. However, after the EU's eastern enlargement the influence of international institutions could then be expected to decrease in three different contexts: (i) the new member states after accession; (ii) the current candidate countries; and (iii) the postcommunist countries in the European neighbourhood policy. Yet although the incentive-based explanation receives support in some issue areas, in others, external influence is more enduring than predicted. To the extent that our understanding of the power of incentives is complicated by post-enlargement findings, there are new avenues for research into the full range of mechanisms that international institutions have at their disposal for influencing target states.
The Urdu-speaking Biharis of Bangladesh have been facing obstructions in enjoying full citizenship rights since Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. This minority, living on the ...fringes of Bangladeshi society, still mostly in camps, experiences discrimination particularly in obtaining passports and other travel and identity documents, despite legal assertions that they are citizens. Using theoretical and empirical research, the article seeks to identify the extent of this denial of sociopolitical and legal rights. The research finds discriminatory policies and practices in public service delivery at local levels, regarding access to public education and employment, but especially concerning passports and driver’s licences. This supports a conclusion that the Biharis of Bangladesh remain even today effectively stateless. Not fully protected by the bureaucratic state structures that should be engaged in non-discriminatory public service delivery, they are defrauded of basic rights and equal opportunities, notably the freedom to travel.
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