The Future of Canada's Water - UBC Press

POLITICS
Diversity and Equality
The Changing Framework of Freedom in Canada
Edited by Avigail Eisenberg
POLITICS / GENDER
Tales of Two Cities
Women and Municipal Restructuring in London
and Toronto
Sylvia Bashevkin
2006, 224 pages, 6 x 9”
0-7748-1239-7 / 978-0-7748-1239-9
hc $85.00
2006, 200 pages, 6 x 9”
3 tables
0-7748-1278-8 / 978-0-7748-1278-8
hc $85.00
Avigail Eisenberg is
a professor of political
science at the University
of Victoria.
The tension between diversity and equality
is central to debates about multiculturalism,
self-determination, identity, and pluralism.
How, for example, can the claims of ethnic
and religious groups be respected when
they conflict with individual rights and liberal
equality? Diversity and Equality critically
examines the challenge of protecting rights in
diverse societies such as Canada. It develops
new approaches in philosophy, law, politics,
and anthropology to address the goals and
problems associated with cultural, religious,
and national minority rights. The contributors
to this volume explore the conflicts between
group demands for cultural autonomy and
individual assertions of basic interests. At
stake in these debates about rights and
autonomy in multicultural and multinational
democracies is the very meaning of freedom.
Sylvia Bashevkin is
Principal of University
College and a professor
of political science at the
University of Toronto.
In the age of globalization, state restructuring
is changing the political landscape. How
does reshaping local government affect
citizen involvement in public life? As cities
move between centralized and decentralized
governance and conservative and progressive
leadership, what brings out the best and the
worst in civic engagement?
In this thought-provoking book, Sylvia
Bashevkin examines the consequences of
divergent restructuring experiences in London
and Toronto. By focusing on the forced
amalgamation of local boroughs in Toronto
and the creation of a new metropolitan
authority in London, Tales of Two Cities
explores the fallout for women as urban
citizens. Ultimately, context is crucial to
whether municipal change signals pessimism
or promise.
“This is a thoughtful and smart
book; highly recommended
for those working on the hard
questions that multiculturalism
generates for our theories of
rights and justice.”
– Duncan Ivison, author of
Postcolonial Liberalism
Contributors include Maneesha Deckha,
Cindy Holder, Colin Macleod, John McLaren,
Shauna McRanor, James Tully, Neil Vallance,
and Jeremy Webber.
“Lucid, succinct, and highly
accessible. Readers with an
interest in urban affairs will find
this book of great value, while
its women-centred approach to
urban citizenship will appeal to
urban analysts and their students
in a range of disciplines.”
– Nirmala Rao, co-author of
Governing London
Clear, insightful, and prescient, Tales of Two
Cities will appeal to those interested in civic
affairs, political inclusion, and the future of
democracy in major urban centres.
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