Multiculturalism in Britain: Contesting Multiculturalisms, Evolving Governances

Abstract

European countries are confronting a governance paradox: how to democratically and inclusively govern multiethnic, multiracial, and multireligious polities—and the identity politics generated by these differences—without collapsing into chaos or regressing into rigidity (also Saunders 2004; Panossian et al. 2007). Of those European countries in the forefront of multicultural governance, Britain ranks high in grappling with the paradoxes of governing diversities and difference—primarilygenerated by Commonwealth immigration of predominantly male labor from the 1950s onward, followed by family reunification in the 1970s, and the 1980s flow of both professionals and refugees (Modood 2006). It is true that initial legislation for managing difference proved restrictive rather than facilitative; for example, under the Commonwealth Immigration Act, entry into the United Kingdom was restricted to citizens from the “Empire”. But the growing presence of “blacks”, together with the proliferation of racism, exerted pressure for measures to address racial discrimination (Mac Einri 2007). Passage of the Race Relations Acts in 1965 and 1976 proved critical in advancing a racial equality paradigm (Meer and Modood 2008), although nearly a quarter century passed before further progress with the Human Rights Act (1999) and the Race Relations Amendment Act (2000), which imposed a statutory duty on all public institutions to promote racial equality (Ahmed 2007). Over time, however, Britain has constructed a unique mix of legislation and policies for managing difference, regulating immigration, and fostering inclusion (Giddens 2006; Vasta 2007; Mac Einri 2007).