Exploring Legal Multiculturalism in the Irish Sea: Multiculturalism, Proto-Democracy, and State Formation on the Isle of Man from 900-1300

This thesis explores the relationship between proto-democracy, multiculturalism, and state formation. In the introduction, I express the desire to ascertain how legal multiculturalism on the Isle of Man could be viewed as a product of the shared proto-democratic character of the Irish and the Norse legal traditions. Further, I wish to explore how this multiculturalism influenced the development of the state on the island and, coming full circle, what multiculturalism and state formation meant for the future of proto-democracy on the island. In this thesis, I conclude that many of the institutions that played a role in fostering state formation on Man, such as the keys, coroners, and parishes, were themselves a product of legal multiculturalism. Further, I argue that this legal multiculturalism and state formation in turn results in a loss of institutions on Man that characterized the separate legal traditions as proto-democracies.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Department dc:contributor.department

Political Science

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Wolf, Michael Joseph

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Koch, Bettina

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Eska, Charlene M.
• Luke, Timothy W.

• Democracy
• Multiculturalism
• State Formation
• Political History
• Isle of Man

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:3045

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/64186