Giordano Ch. - Multiculturalism EPFL Eng

7/28/2019 Giordano Ch. - Multiculturalism EPFL Eng

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Cultural Diversities, Boundariesand the Politics of Recognition

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christian

Giordano

Cultural Diversities, Boundaries

Primordialist approaches

Biological Primordialism

Cultural Primordialism


Constructivist approaches

Instrumentalist approach

Interactionist approach: Thequestion of boundaries

Processual approach:Historical development


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Ethnos and Ethnicity

Cultural diversities, Boundaries

The concept of Nation:

A) political community (State

community)

B) not an organic but an

imagined community (B.

Anderson


The controversy about the origin

of Nations:

Primordialists (A. Smith) versus

Modernists (E. Gellner, E.J.

Hobsbawm, B. Anderson)


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common origin,

common culture (language,

religion, customs, traditions etc.)

and often but not always

common territory

Cultural diversities, Boundaries

Two models of modern nation:

A) the German Model: The

cultural and ethnic Nation

B) The French Model: The Civic

Nation


The Basic principle in both

models

one nation, one State, one

territory, one culture

The ideal of a homogeneous

culture and a mono-ethnic

territory


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Cultural Diversity, Boundaries

Strategies of homogenization:

Forced cultural assimilation(Politics in Eastern Europe)


Deportation or expulsion (Soviet

Union, Spain, Portugal, France)

Ethnic cleansing (Former

Yugoslavia: Kosovo)

Ethnic wars (Former

Yugoslavia: Croatia)


Exchange of populations(diplomatic solution:international treaties, StrategiesofunmixingR. Brubaker)

Organized immigration (SovietUnion)


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Genocide (Former Yugoslavia:

Bosnia, Turkey)

Holocaust (Nazi Germany)

All policies to reduce cultural

diversities in National States


Ethno-cultural Homogenizationprocesses in Europe: Historicaloverview:

150 years of Homogenization:The reduction of multicultural

regions (examples)


The Role of ethnocracies in

National States: Ethnic elites

(even in Democratic systems)

The legal Basis: the different

status between entitled nation

and minorities


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Definition of citizenship

Included and excluded

The Relevance of Citizenshipfor keeping homogeneous theNation, the State and theterritory


The Principle of Origin in theGerman Model (jus sanguinis)

The Principle of Acculturationand Assimilation in the FrenchModel (jus soli)


Two types of citizenship

excluding cultural diversity

The Dilemma for the recognition

of ethno-cultural Minorities


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Erasing cultural diversities, erasing

minorities: The case of Riga

Territorializing cultural Diversities: The

case of Fribourg

Cultural diversities, boundaries

Disputed Memories, Contested Histories:

Symbolic Wars

Cluj

Riga

Sandanski

Angkor Wat


Multiculturality and

Multiculturalism

Multiculturality: a descriptive

concept

Multiculturality as cultural

diversity


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Multiculturalism: the Politics of

Recognition of Cultural Diversity

(Ch. Taylor)

There is no general theory of

multiculturalism

Multiculturalism

The role of different historical

backgrounds and socio-

structural conditions (East-West

European differences)

Multiculturalism

A) old (in the West) and late

nations (in the East)

B) The relevance of the

Pluricultural Empires (in the

East)


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Multiculturalism

C) immigration (in the West)

since 1950 and historical

minorities (in the East)

D) The Role of Communism (in

the East)

Multiculturalism

Two types of societies:

Immigration societies andminority societies

Two types of States:

Polyethnic and Multination

States (W. Kymlicka)

Multiculturalism

Today a mixing ot the two types

has emerged in Western part of

Europe

Two different politics of

Recognition? (W. Kymlicka)


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Multiculturalism

Recognition of special rights for

minorities

Integration policies for

immigrants

Multiculturalism

The actual bad reputation of

mutliculturalism in (Western)

Europe: Immigration societies,

polyethnic States

The Fears of ethnic divided

societies: Parallel societies

Multiculturalism

The fears of cultural relativism

The threat of national identity,

unity and cohesion (example of

France)


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Multiculturalism

Ingenuous concepts of

Multiculturalism:

MultiKulti in Germany:

spontaneous Multiculturalism

Politics of laissez faire in UK

Idealization of diversities in Italy

Multiculturalism

The illusion of a natural and

harmonious coexistence between

ethno-cultural communities.

The case of Frankfurt and its

failure

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is always

connected with intercultural

tensions, contestations and

conflict


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Multiculturalism

Therefore multiculturality

(ethno-cultural diversity) has to

be politically managed through

permanent negotiations

The culture of debate and

compromise

Multiculturalism

The culture of consociationalism

(consociational democracy,

Arend Lijphard)

To take decisions together

Multiculturalism

One thorny question connected

with tensions:

Individual and/or collective

rights


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Multiculturalism

Europe citizenships and legal

systems are based on merely

individual rights:

Three types of recognized

individual rights (T. Marshall)

Multiculturalism

A) Civic rights (fundamental

rights, human rights)

The Role of French Revolution

B) Political rights (the right to

vote and to be elected)

Multiculturalism

The Role of class conflicts and

feminism (end of 19th century

and 20th century)

C) Social rights (pensions, social

security, health insurance,

unemployment insurance etc.)


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Multiculturalism

The role of social policies mainly

during the second part of 20th

century

Multiculturalism

In the last 20 years it arises the

question of the recognition of

cultural rights

Cultural rights = Collective

rights

Specific rights for specific ethno-

cultural communities

Multiculturalism

Examples:

The exemption of helmet for the

Sikh

The headscarf in the schools (loi

sur la laicit: law on secularism

in France)


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Multiculturalism

Equality, uniformity, diversity

(Bhikhu Parekh)

How far it is possible to go in the

recognition of cultural diversity:

What to do with the cases of

honor crimes?

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism or integration ?

At the moment is in integration

What means integration?

Social integration? Cultural

intgeration (assimilation)?

Multiculturalism

Normative integration

(Habermas: constitutional

patriotism?)

The issue of Transnationalism:

Between two socio-cultural

reference systems


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Multiculturalism

Malaysia: a very special case of

multiculturalism

The colonial past: What is a plural

society

The colonial heritage and the social

contract on the basis of ethnic lines after

independence

Multiculturalism

Images of Penang as multicultural setting

Giordano Ch. - Multiculturalism EPFL Eng

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