The Multiculturalism of Fear

Abstract A liberal political theory, which is centrally concerned with preventing political violence, cruelty, and institutional humiliation, one that draws on Montesquieu, was named ‘the liberalism of fear’ by Judith Shklar. Such a liberalism must come to terms with the facts of multiculturalism, since ethnic and nationalist conflicts are among the most important sources of those evils. Such a liberalism of fear is a useful normative theory for thinking about multiculturalism and ethnic conflict, preferable to a multiculturalism of recognition, a multiculturalism of rights, and consociational pluralism. Political theories that are chiefly concerned with avoiding evils need not be liberal, and liberalism need not have that character; but a liberalism of fear is particularly well suited to the analysis of multiculturalism.