Models of Multi-culturalism in an International Context

Abstract

Every society wrestles with its own cultural issues. Wherever multi-culturalism exists, it presents an extraordinary challenge to the society. Where heterogeneity of one kind and degree or another exists, it requires the society to deal with a unique set of challenges. These include the need to legitimize the incorporation of ethnic diversity among its members, as well as to create a sense of national unity among the members of these diverse ethnicities (Kallen, 1982). As part of this process, it is also necessary to invite and increase citizen participation in civil society (Tiryakian, 2004). Without these participatory processes, cultural diversity produces social fragmentation, rather than a unified society.