Multicultural Citizenship: The Australian Experience

Abstract

Globalization has profound effects on culture and society, partly due to internationalization of communication and the mass media, but also because of growing international mobility of population. The populations of many countries are becoming more diverse, leading to shifts in national cultures and identities. This is likely to have major impacts on political institutions. Such issues are of key importance for Australia, where large-scale immigration since 1945 has led to profound demographic and cultural changes. As a relatively new nation, made up of settlers from all over the world as well as indigenous people, Australia has special problems in defining its culture and identity, and in devising appropriate political institutions. Our polity is based on the model of the nation-state as it emerged in Western Europe and North America from the 18th century, but does this really fit our situation on the eve of the 21st century?

An earlier and longer version of this chapter was published by the Parliamentary Research Service, Canberra in 1996.