Multiculturalism and nationalism: Models of belonging to diverse political community

Abstract

Nationalism and multiculturalism seem to have opposed approaches to cultural diversity. However, recent calls for a “multicultural national identity” suggest the need for more nuances on this relation. This paper responds to these calls, and to some initial doubts, providing an account of political community, nationalism and multiculturalism conducive to fuller theorization of a multicultural form of national identity. To do this, it conceptualizes nationalism, liberalism and multiculturalism in terms of the concept of political belonging. It argues that, understood as modes of belonging, nationalism and multiculturalism are not incompatible, and indeed, the latter is a reconstruction of the symbolic terms of social unity of the former. Specifically, multiculturalism entails a form of national belonging that makes cultural difference a constitutive part of national unity, opening possibilities of diverse political community. Key to understanding this is distinguishing between general and specific valuations of diversity within multiculturalism. The paper further argues that a multicultural national identity is a viable alternative to existing models of national identity, offering both a different set of normative prescriptions and an alternative understanding of existing national identity in liberal-democratic states.