Abstract
Societies can be held together in many ways. Historically, many groups were linked by a common history, common ethnicity, and common religious and social values. These societies shared a unified set of norms dictating right and wrong. Other groups have been held together by charismatic leaders who present a unifying vision, but modern pluralistic society, uniquely, accepts a diversity of views about what is appropriate and reasonable, which makes these forms of authority difficult to enact. The form of authority emerging in western democratic states has been, instead, authority based upon the processes of government: people recognize democratic procedures as legitimate and defer to authorities because of the manner in which they manage. Here, Tyler discusses several social-psychological contributions in managing ethnic diversity.
Citation
Tom Tyler,
Governing Pluralistic Societies,
72 Law and Contemporary Problems
187-192
(Spring 2009)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/lcp/vol72/iss2/15