In defence of multiculturalism – theoretical challenges

Although it seems that multiculturalism has been dismissed as a failed experiment or sham in the public debate, there has been an ongoing internal academic discussion of theoretical approaches to multiculturalism. This theoretical dialogue is, of course, parallel to and affected by developments in society. This article dissects and analyses some key and ‘classical’ nodes in the theoretical exploration of multiculturalism and brings forward key dimensions in this field of research. The main bulk of the literature used is from the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the twenty-first century. The most significant works on multiculturalism were written during this period and what we see today is often a more politicized discussion of multiculturalism. The article discerns and identifies some key dimensions and questions in the theoretically informed discussion of multiculturalism. Four challenges are identified. The first concerns the conceptualization of collective or group identities. The second concerns the discussion of ‘race’ and ethnicity and the third identity politics. A fourth challenge is raised by questions about the limits of the national space and about transnationalism.