Autonomy in a diverse society is about empowerment, about the capacity
of adopting one’s own (“auto”) norms or laws (“nomos”). Respect for
“diverse groups” can best be accommodated – and turned into an “asset” –
through various degree of autonomous decision-making and
self-government. This paper offers a brief reflection on the meaning of
autonomy and on the groups which may legitimately and realistically
claim forms of institutional autonomy. It then explores how the concept
of “autonomy” can be translated into various forms of institutional
design in contemporary state “blessed” with the asset of diversity.
