Abstract: Traces the historical evolution of the relationship between liberalism and minority rights. There was widespread support among liberals for minority rights during the nineteenth century and the interwar period, and the post-war shift in liberal theory is attributable to a complex set of factors. These include the decline of the British Empire, the failure of the League of Nations, and the increased influence throughout the world of the American conception of an ethnicity-neutral constitution. The chapter argues that this conception has been shaped by unique factors (e.g. racial desegregation and immigration patterns) not applicable to other countries, and indeed that it has not been fully implemented within the US itself.

Keywords: liberalism, minority rights,