European Multiculturalism Revisited by Alessandro Silj

Author:Alessandro Silj [Silj, Alessandro]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, International Relations, General
ISBN: 9781848135611
Google: Q14wtAEACAAJ
Goodreads: 10277336
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: 2010-10-01T08:57:22+00:00

‘The hype about hybridity’: diversity-recognizing multiculturalism

Far from the culture-clash debates, however, diverse concepts of multiculturalism have emerged within the last decade, which at least in Germany can be considered as new to the political stage. It appears that two discourses confront each other in the current debate. They differ in distinct ways. The first concept, assimilative multiculturalism, is consistent with traditional German notions of multiculturalism and constructs differences between cultures as essentialist; the second concept assumes a dynamic diversity in society. In doing so, it moves beyond the traditional German model. Whereas the former concept interprets cultural differences as a potential threat to social cohesion and aims at a specific variation of cultural assimilation, the latter is based on the thesis of social normality built on a dynamic cultural diversity that needs to be accepted by everyone.

In particular, Berlin’s ‘integration programme’ (Integrationskonzept), which was passed in the local parliament under the slogan ‘Promote plurality – strengthen cohesion’ in August 2005, embodies the diversity model of multiculturalism in Berlin politics. This is the first official document that expresses explicitly the intention to implement an integration policy on different political levels. It is the foundation of the integration policy of the Berlin government which since 2001 has been constituted by a Social Democratic–Socialist coalition under the governing mayor Klaus Wowereit (SPD). The integration programme no longer reduces plurality and diversity to the dimensions of ‘ethnic groups’ and ‘culture’. Rather, ‘pluralization is [regarded as] an irreversible process of modern societies’: plurality is interpreted as ‘social wealth’, and accordingly ‘does not restrict itself to ethnic plurality, but takes the whole complexity of modern urban societies as a starting point’ (Abgeordnetenhaus, Dr. 15/4208, 2005: 6). The red–red senate pursues the approach of diversity which aims for a ‘neutral’ public sphere and adopts measures to counter cultural forms of discrimination. One example is the ‘package of measures to create the ideological–religious neutrality of the state, better integration and protection against the discrimination of migrants’ (Presseinformation der Fraktionen SPD und PDS, 31 March 2004). The senate established these policies in 2004 in the wake of a nationwide political debate which centred on the demand to prohibit the wearing of the headscarf in public institutions such as schools and courts. In the meantime, an anti-discrimination office was created with a ‘representative for migration and integration’ as its head, which has replaced the former position of foreigners’ representative. This office is conceived ‘as a contact point for everybody who feels discriminated against on ethnic, religious and ideological grounds’. ‘Its main objective is to strengthen and encourage a culture of acceptance towards persons of other religions and other ethnicities’, the senate announced in February 2005 (Der Beauftragte, 2005). Furthermore, new policies include a ‘neutrality law’, according to which civil servants are no longer allowed to wear any ‘visible religious or ideological symbols’ (Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt für Berlin, 2005). However, the conservatives, for their part, demanded prohibition of only the headscarf while allowing Christian religious symbols in public institutions. The CDU

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