MULTICULTURALISM & NATIONALISM

If any issues dominates contemporary politics since World War II , it is now the resurgence of National Socialism, One Race, One Country one language. Made in the name of Ethnic, religious, linguistic or national allegiance. Today governments are confronted by demand from cultural minorities for recognition, protection, preferential treatment, and political autonomy within the boundaries of the state. Equally, note international society ad its political institutions, as well as sites themselves, have to be deal with demands from various peoples for contemporary recognition as independent nations, and for national self- determination.

The turbulent politics of contemporary world may account in part for this development: the collapse of communist Eastern Europe led to a upsurge of nationalist demands from people aspiring to statehood; the challenge to the legitimacy of rulers in such places as Kashmir.

Burma,

East Timor

Donbas

Kurds,

The recent recognition of Kosovo

North Macedonia,

Somalia

Northern Ireland

Scotland

All have fed demands for National Independence as well as attempts at secession; the emergence of indigenous peoples movements gives further encouragement to aboriginal groups or Native Americans calling for affirmative actions, or compensation for past injustice, as well as rights of self -government as it is the case in the Italian Special Status of five regions , the Spanish Autonomous Regions, the Swiss Cantons, Belgium divide between Vallons and Flemish or the German Federal States.

The mass migration of peoples, fleeing war or simply seeking better opportunities in new countries, have seen the emergence of substancial cultural minorities in states unprepared for the problems this could bring.

Politicial actions had , útil recent times said very little about these matters . But the issues raised by cultural diversity and nationalist claim s could not be ignored for og , since they pose a challenge to the prevailing political theories - and to liberal and democratic theory in particular, the challenge of multiculturalism and nationalism has provoked a re-examination of a great number of issues in the political field, for the role of the state , the limits of tolerability and the rights of women, to the proper scope of public education and the nature of citizenship. It has brought about a reconsideration of the basis of political order.

The nature of Nationalism and multiculturalism as it has grown and developed over the past 15 years, simply summarized to draw attention to the problems that have confronted contemporary politics and liberal theory in particular as it has struggled yo embrace diversity. How can we live as One ? That is an old question in political theory, and the Theorists of oNationalism and Multiculturalism have , in different ways, tried to offer an answer.

WHAT IS MULTICULTURALISM ?

The term ¨Multiculturalisms¨predates its use in political theory, but not for very long . Although nationalism is an old concept which has been much discussed in the past century , multiculturalism did not appear until the 1960 s and 1970s, when it as used to describe a new public policy, first in Canada and then in Australia. In both of these cases, this development marked an explicit movement by federal governments away from policies of assimilation of ethnicity minorities, and immigrants in particular, to ward policies of acceptance and integration of diverse cultures. The term did not enter the American and British Political scene until the 1980s. When it entered in the US Debates , however it did so, in the first instance , in discussions about public education. Multiculturalism is just the latest of a sequence of terms describing how American, British or European society and its education should respond to diversity . Multiculturalism is the, a term and a reality that describes one Pascuala way of responding to Ethnic diversity. It’s a position that rejects assimilation and the melting pot image as an imposition of the dominant culture , and instead prefers the real situation of the “Salad Bowl” or the glorious Mosaic, in which each ethnic and racial element in the population maintains ins distinctiveness. Yet in reality there is o single multiculturalist position but rather a range of views of what Multiculturalism requires. For some, Multiculturalism requires moderate changes to social and political institutions to enable cultural minorities to preserve their languages and their distinctive customs or practices. For others , however , Multiculturalism require much greater social transformation to turn modern society into one in which racism has been eliminated and “ difference” is nurtured rather than repudiated , or simply tolerated.

But if multiculturalism is a new way of embracing diversity, this still leaves open the question of how diversity is to be embraced, If a multicultural society is one in which different religions, cultures, languages , and peoples can coexist without some being subordinated yo others, or to a single, dominant group, how can this be achieved ,and what principles would describe such a society? This issue arises because even if there is diversity, there must surely be one Ind of unity for a society to exist. Unless we aspire to a borderless word, in which people could move freely unimpeded by national and other boundaries, even a multicultural society would have to settle on some basis institutions, decide what it would accept as official languages, and define itself as a nation, membership of which it controls by determining who and how many may join it. The real question, in other words, is what does multiculturalism mean in practice ? This question, however, it is not addressed systematically until the 1990s when political. Theorists began to consider what might be the principles basis of a multicultural society. It was only then that the cae for Multiculturalism began to receive any kind of sustained defense- and criticism.

Minority right could not simply be subsumed under human rights because human rights standards are simply unable to resolve some of the most important and controversial questions relating to cultural minorities,, These included questions about which languages should be recognized in the Parliaments, bureaucracies and courts; whether any ethnic or national groups should have publicly funded education in their mother tongue , whether traditional d homelands of indigenous peoples should be reserved for heir benefit; ad to a degree of cultual integration might be required of immigrants seeking citizenship . It is suggested to simply use of no guidance of these questions. Unless these guidances are not supplemented with reality on minority rights, human right will not enable us to address some of the most pressing issues confronting us in places like Eastern Europe, where disputes over local autonomy, language and naturalization threaten to leave tose regions mired in violent conflict.

The conflict between state and religion or culture surfaced in a different though no less no less controversial form in France in 1989 in the so called he’d scarves affair. In this stance , a problem arose because three Noth African immigrants women in France public secondary schools chose to wear their headscarves in class; in a gesture that was interpreted as a challenge to the national policy of secularism in Schools. The headscarves were regarded as a form of Muslim religious dress and when the French education minister instilled that the pupils be read it Ted to class many objected that this amounted to buckling before he power of religious fanaticism. THis issue went to the heart of the French conception of citizenship and national identity and divided the country. In Britain the Sikhs seek exemption from the law to wear motorcycle elements is another example of how modern europe find itself when confronted with different cultures within one single state.

Nationalism

The emergence of Multiculturalism over he past three decades has been coterminous with the re emergence of Nationalism, both as a political phenomenon and as a topic for historical and philosophical investigation.

Multiculturalism as a public policy has been m at least in parts a response to nationalist demands of a sort at least to he extent that cultural groups have began to demand some form of recognition of their distinctive identity , even if they have not always demanded rights of self government or independence Unsurprisingly then concern about culture have prompted a rethinking of theories of Nationalism , no less than have con cerns about Nationality helped to shape theories of Multiculturalism.

Nationalism and Multiculturalism

Clearly National sentiment sometimes leads to call for some consideration to be given to the case for secession. On?other occasions, however it pushes into the other direction, Whie the principle of nationality is Sympathetic to the interests or clams of groups, and particularly to heir claimed to the retraction of their identity, by definition it must also be wary of groups claims that might undermine a National Identity.

The issue arises in particular when Nationalism runs up against he question of Multiculturalism. To the extent that multiculturalism advocate’s the accommodations of a plurality of identities holding to divergent values within a policy. It is inconsistent with any form of Nationalism. And yet, in another sense , Multiculturalism is the Theory of Nationalism par excellence, at least if one takes the view that Nationalism implies not separatism , but only a measure of independence . To reconcile Multiculturalism, or indeed any form of Pluralism with Nationalism is an important concern for a number who wig=sh to hold on to the principle of Nationality without Jettisoning cultural diversity and the tolerance of difference.

Willingless on the part of the population of a state to view themselves and other minorities as ,remember in equal rights of the same group, whic owe something to each other in a way which they do not owe to outsiders. Far this it may be necessary for he state to take an interest in the fostering of a sense of citizenship and belonging and accept within the stae as official difference languages and origins.

This however, brings us back to he problem with which we have written. The desire of each to be recognized as different and distinctive gives rise to a demand for politics of multiculturalism one that recognizes and tolerates, or even encourages ad hours, diversity. Yet the politics of diversity in turn may give rise to a demand for political separation, ad the emergence of communities i which diversity has no place.