The state of multiculturalism

This article examines the state of scholarly research about multiculturalism, against the backdrop of the rise of rightwing populism and anti-immigrant sentiment across liberal democracies. Academic interest in multiculturalism has historically lagged political developments: multicultural policy emerged in Canada and Australia in the 1970s, but it was not until the 1990s that cultural diversity began attracting more sustained theoretical attention. Since then, much of the literature has been defined by the approach of ‘liberal multiculturalism’, which has sought to formulate multicultural principles from liberal premises. The emergence of the ‘Bristol School of Multiculturalism’, however, has seen more recent work focus increasingly on reconciling the claims of minorities with the terms of a shared national identity. This article examines some of the limits of the liberal tradition of multiculturalism: its treatment of the political questions raised by Muslims, the rights of formerly colonised Indigenous peoples, and the politics of multiculturalism. It then considers multiculturalism’s response to current challenges of nationalist populism. The prospects of multiculturalism may rely less upon its philosophical refinement and more upon its political articulation.