Group rights are usually understood in cultural terms – as tools of cultural autonomy or cultural preservation. But Sujit Choudhry argues that, in societies where ethnicity has become politicized, material rather than cultural concerns frequently motivate group rights claims. Although culture can be important, the main drivers of aggrieved groups tend to be more prosaic: greater access to jobs and equitable political participation.

This Forum was presented in partnership with the Académie Diplomatique Internationale in Paris and the Center for Constitutional Transitions at New York University.