"Balan ced Multiculturalism" an d the Challenge of Peaceful Coexistence in Pluralistic Societies

Abstract

Assimilation and multiculturalism are two contrasting policies for managing pluralistic societies. The first aims to achieve cultural homogeneity, and the second cultural diversity. While assimilation and multiculturalism are associated primarily with immigrant re ceiving countries, such as the United States and Canada, it is argued that these policies are relevant to all pluralistic societies. Underlying assimilation are the similarity-attraction and contact hypotheses, while multiculturalism assumes that feelings of security in the ingroup will lead to the acceptance of others. We examine the validity of these assump tions, and assess the relative merits of assimilation and multiculturalism in an inter national context. Finally, we propose the concept of "balanced multiculturalism" as an improvement on current models.