Inclusive political community: the challenge of liberal polities

The argument this Chapter develops is twofold. If they wish to comply with the requirements imposed by the ideal of democracy, modern liberal polities have to reconsider the popular basis upon which they are based. International mobility and a growing number of immigrants settling on their land call for a widening of the population entitled to take part in the democratic process. Should they fail to do so, their qualification as democracies may well be in peril. Western democracies have shown endeavours in this direction but they tend to confuse the logic of state with the logic of nation, the former being applied for the admission in their territory, the latter being at the core of the concept of citizenship. Such confusion casts doubts on the ability of modern democracies to respect individual liberties.