Migration, Diversity, and the Welfare State

Abstract

One of the most compelling challenges facing western democracies is how to maintain and strengthen the bonds of community in ethnically diverse societies. How can we reconcile growing levels of migration and multicultural diversity with the sense of a common identity and mutual support which underpins generous welfare states? In recent decades, a growing number of analysts argue that migration and growing ethnic diversity erode trust and a sense of community among citizens and that contemporary democracies face a trade-off between the accommodation of ethnic diversity on the one hand and support for redistribution on the other.