| Abstract: | Conclusion This article analyzed Otto’s Bauer idea of the nation and assessed its meaning and significance qua liberal nationalism and the expansion of national minority rights in Europe. It argued that Bauer's formulation of the same
rights for all minorities exposed certain limitations of multicultural theory, namely the failure of liberal multicultural
theorists to adequately address the consequences of special minority rights and the potentially transformative role of labor
in liberal societies that necessarily seek to be inclusive.
Further, Bauer's idea of cultural autonomy raised important and relevant implications for advancing national minority rights
in Europe. In particular, his initiative exposed possible ways to promote the social of cultural rights of EU Charter on Fundamental
Rights. Given this and the EU's commitment to labor rights, it is curious that Bauer’s theory has not received the attention
it deserves. Indeed, even if Bauer's ideas prove somewhat non-conventional by liberal standards, it is still important that
we see his ideas as serving some elemental purpose in linking the advancement of national values and sentiment with the EU
goal of integration. |
