Can collective and individual rights coexist?

Abstract

Recently it has been argued that collective rights of cultural minorities should supplement liberal individual rights. This article considers whether individual and collective rights can coexist within the same normutive discourse, potentially forming complementary components qf an approach to inter-cultural justice. On the basis of the approach here taken to rights and, in particular; collective rights, it is argued that prevalent claims of inevitable and endemic conflicts between such rights cannot be sustained. Not only is the assumption of pervusive irreconcilability false, but the main strategies available for coping with other situations of rights conflicts are also available in the context of conflicts between collective and individual rights. It is accepted, however, that such conflicts cannot be completely dissolved and that their resolution will often be contentious and sometimes tragic. The article concludes with a discussion of how genuine cases of conflicting individuul and collective rights can be constructively approached.