ABSTRACT
The philosopher Will Kymlicka (1995), a leading theorist of multiculturalism, coined the term ‘group-differentiated rights’ to refer to a range of legal and political exemptions, accommodations, and forms of assistance to cultural minorities. Some group-differentiated rights are held by individual members of minority groups, as in the case of individuals who are granted exemptions from generally applicable laws in virtue of their religious beliefs or individuals who seek language accommodations in voting or education. Other groupdifferentiated rights are held by the group qua group rather than by its members severally; such rights are properly called ‘group rights’, as in the case of limited self-government rights extended to indigenous groups and minority nations who claim the right of selfdetermination. In the latter respect, multiculturalism is closely allied with nationalism.
