Transformative accommodation: utilizing external protections to reduce internal restrictions

This chapter outlines and assesses what I consider to be the most attractive variant of joint governance – transformative accommodation . This is a variant that takes the two different locuses of authority – the nomoi group and the state – and, instead of viewing their conflict of interests as a problem, considers it as an occasion for encouraging each entity to become more responsive to all its constituents. Through an arrangement of non -exclusive competition for the loyalties of those citizens who overlap both jurisdictions, transformative accommodation seeks to adapt the power structures of both nomoi group and state in order to accommodate their most vulnerable constituents. Each intersection of jurisdictions provides each authority with an opportunity to increase its accountability and sensitivity to otherwise marginalized group members, since each entity must now “bid” for these individuals' continued adherence to its sphere of authority rather than take it for granted. We can observe such positive dynamics at work in other examples of joint governance. For example, federal-style accommodation of territorially concentrated national minorities marked by historic, cultural, or linguistic difference has led to considerable internal transformations among these national minorities. Granting non-territorial nomoi communities certain self-governing powers can similarly result in greater accountability and responsibility among accommodated group leaders. This measure enables the internal re-examination of traditional restrictions (such as those disproportionately burdening women), precisely because the group (or its leaders) acquires certain public powers over its respective members.