Thursday seminar: BIFD Mathieu Arsenault + Nino Junius

The Politics of Recognition and its Limits: Cultural Diversity, Governance and Indigenous Self-Recognition in Canada

by Mathieu Arsenault

Reflecting on the demand for recognition as one of the driving forces behind nationalist movements in politics, Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor argued more than 30 years ago that our identities are shaped by the recognition, the lack thereof, or the misrecognition of others. In a context where our societies are increasingly multicultural and integrated into supranational political and economic organizations, the politics of recognition offer a framework to reconsider the conciliation of diversity and justice in liberal democracies. View from the Canadian context, recognition appeared as a means of improving coexistence among the various groups that contribute to the cultural diversity of cities such as Montreal, but also of provincial and federal states like Quebec and Canada. While the politics of recognition offer us tools to reflects on modern social movement centred on multiculturalism, gender, race and minority groups, some Indigenous voices are criticizing the liberal approach based on recognition as a tool that now serves to reproduce the dynamics of colonial domination. If due recognition is indeed a vital human need, how can we assure that it also contributes to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and promotes a more inclusive and democratic form of governance.

Bio

Mathieu Arsenault is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Université de Montréal and editor of the journal Bulletin d’histoire politique. A specialist of 19th-century Indigenous history in Canada, he obtained a PhD in history from York University (Toronto) in 2019. He is the author of several publications in Indigenous history and historiography and was awarded the Medal of Excellence in Research from the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 2023. In 2026, he published the book Ne rejette pas nos paroles: Politique autochtone et gouvernance coloniale au Canada (1815–1860).

A member of the Centre interuniversitaire d’études et de recherches autochtones (CIÉRA) and the Chaire de recherche en histoire contemporaine du Québec, his current research focuses on relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, the dynamics between First Nations and the State, as well as medical colonialism in Quebec and Canada. He received an International Chair as part of his collaboration with the Université Libre de Bruxelles during the spring 2027.

Deliberative democracy in an unlikely place?  Examining the quality of deliberation within political parties 

by Nino Junius 

Deliberative democracy holds that legitimate decisions require high-quality deliberation marked by inclusion, respect, and the consideration of diverse perspectives. Political parties have traditionally been seen as hierarchical organizations that hinder such deliberation, but scholars have recently begun to revisit their potential as deliberative forums. This presentation contributes to this emerging literature with the first systematic empirical analysis of deliberative quality within political parties. It focuses on two dimensions: the inclusiveness of deliberation and the extent to which diverse perspectives are considered. Drawing on audio recordings and field notes of 40 local party branch meetings in Flanders, complemented by member surveys and interviews, it examines how socio-demographic traits, power status, and ideology shape deliberative quality. The findings speak to how parties can strengthen their internal functioning at a time of widespread citizen dissatisfaction with parties. 

Bio

Nino Junius is a postdoctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, supported by a three-year fundamental research fellowship from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). His research interests include deliberative democracy, democratic innovations, and their relation to political parties. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative methods, he has published in journals such as the European Journal of Political Research, Democratization, Party Politics, and European Political Science Review.