Multiculturalism in the British Commonwealth: Comparative Perspectives on Theory and Practice (co-editor), The University of California Press (2019).
My volume with The University of California Press, Multiculturalism in the British Commonwealth: Comparative Perspectives on Theory and Practice, contains essays on a wide variety of often overlooked countries, including India, Nigeria, Trinidad, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as chapters on Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I contributed three chapters to the volume, as well as co-editing it.
Cultural diversity raises pressing issues for both political theory and practice. The remaking of the world since 1945 has led to increased demographic diversity within many states, and greater acknowledgment of its worth. “Multiculturalism” refers to the political, legal and philosophical strategies which emerged to accommodate this newfound social diversity, and the accompanying public debates. Each chapter explores particular state responses to cultural diversity, utilizing various disciplinary approaches but addressing common questions: What is “multiculturalism,” and why did it come about? What dilemmas has it posed for liberal-democratic governance? How have these been responded to in theory and practice, and are the different responses adequate? Are there alternative approaches to cultural diversity that have been overlooked? Issues covered include immigration, national minorities, indigenous peoples, nation-state building, liberal-democratic citizenship, constitutionalism, nationalism, group politics, political economy, secularism, globalization, decolonization, and the relationship between social theory and practice. The volume situates modern multiculturalism in its national, international and historical contexts, tracing the historical roots of present dilemmas to the intertwined legacies of imperialism and liberalism. It thereby shows that multiculturalism has implications which stretch beyond its current formulations in both public and academic discourse, casting doubt on basic assumptions behind modern liberal democracy, and even on the viability of the nation-state in its present form. My overall conclusion is that reorganizing governance to be more polycentric in structure, and pluralist in orientation, would be a fruitful response to multiculturalism in both theory and practice.
Multiculturalism in Contemporary Britain: Policy, Law and Theory (co-editor), Routledge (2019).
Since 1945 the United Kingdom has changed from a polity that was overwhelmingly white, ethnically British, and Christian, to one constituted by creeds, cultures, and communities drawn from all over the globe.The term ‘multiculturalism’ evokes these demographic changes, the policies and laws that arose as a result, and connected public debates. Political and public support for multiculturalism has been called into question in the new millennium, with British multiculturalism—and Britain itself—currently in a state of flux.This volume examines the policy, law, and political theory of multiculturalism in the British context; exploring how they inform each other in both theory and practice. It covers topics such as national identity, immigration, integration, the welfare state, gender, freedom of religion, and human rights. It provides a deeper understanding of contemporary British multiculturalism in its various aspects, inexorably leading back to fundamental questions regarding the structure and purpose of the British polity. It also explores the connections between multiculturalism and current events, including Brexit, renewed calls for Scottish independence, and the broader rise of populism in the West. This book was originally published as a special issue of Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy. I have added, however, a new chapter titled “Multiculturalism’ in Policy, Law and Theory: Britain, Brexit and Beyond,” which assesses the relationship between multiculturalism and wider events in British and world politics in the last few years.
Rethinking Liberal Multiculturalism: Culture, Meaning and Pluralism (revised dissertation, manuscript in in preparation).
Rethinking Liberal Multiculturalism: Culture, Meaning and Pluralism is a work of normative political theory assessing the consequences of cultural diversity for liberal democracy. “Multiculturalism” refers to the postwar demographic diversification of many countries, which challenges the “difference-blind” governance that treats similarly situated individuals the same regardless of religion, race, gender, and other characteristics. Liberal multiculturalists, however, advocate reforming liberal democracy to include special rights only for members of minority cultures, arguing these are necessary for truly equal citizenship. In contrast, cosmopolitans see culture as fluid and changing, and therefore stress the importance of access to a variety of cultural influences rather than support for specific groups.
The initial chapters focus on the leading philosophical defender of liberal multiculturalism, Will Kymlicka, arguing that the “cosmopolitan critique” of Kymlicka’s dominant theoretical paradigm is a trenchant one, but that its import is frequently misunderstood. Through a combination of intellectual history and philosophical argument, I demonstrate that the luck egalitarian framework employed by Kymlicka means that he—and prominent variants of liberal multiculturalism—cannot avoid reifying and essentializing culture. Yet I also show that a cosmopolitan account of culture is mishandled by its advocates, many of whom unnecessarily connect it to controversial claims regarding universal duties, and thus reject liberal multiculturalism when they should reformulate it. My argument draws on meaning holism, thereby foregrounding neglected issues of mind, language, and action. This allows me to offer a systematic account of culture, meaning, and identity. I conclude cultural differences do not require special rights, but rather more flexible forms of governance that can accommodate a wider variety of forms of life than are currently tolerated.
The final section of the book sketches a form of polycentric and pluralist governance which would allow self-rule for a plethora of groups, thereby facilitating useful forms of political, economic, and social experimentation. My overall position resembles Mill’s “experiments in living,” yet philosophical holism severs my account from the romanticized cultural essentialism and substantive autonomy central not only to Mill, but also much other contemporary liberal theorizing. This suggests we must look beyond liberalism for answers, so the book closes by turning to overlooked aspects of the socialist tradition which advocate action below and beyond the nation-state. I argue these forgotten socialisms point towards a series of “humanist virtues” to help inform public and private life: honesty, inquiry, openness, charity, hospitality, and toleration. These virtues can support the pluralist culture which will facilitate the operation of polycentric social structures, whilst also placing individual humans at the center of equitable social change.
Democracy, Diversity, and National Identity: The Historical and Philosophical Roots of Contemporary Problems (in preparation)
I am in the early stages of planning a second book, which will be an interdisciplinary project analyzing the relationship between liberal democracy, national identity and cultural diversity. Liberal theory has consistently assumed the nation can provide a shared yet inclusive identity which facilitates stable governance in diverse polities. However, philosophical analysis grounded in meaning holism reveals that liberal nationalism and multiculturalism rely on implausible accounts of culture, suggesting these theories will cause problems when put into practice. By tracing the complex ways in which liberal democracy, national identity and cultural diversity construct each other, I hope to show that liberal-democratic attempts to harness national identity are likely to fail. I will argue that “liberal” nationalism is in fact destabilizing, exclusionary and prone to misuse by political actors, and that even post-national liberal democracy can mirror these problems. I will examine these issues in the US and UK, drawing on multiple literatures to chart key features of their democratic development and national identity. I will argue in both cases state action cannot by itself resolve the longstanding contests over national identity which underlie contemporary debates. I will then examine the EU, arguing that even this putatively post-national organization invokes a form of shared identity subject to similar problems. This project will suggest that tensions between liberal democracy, national identity and cultural diversity are a crucial part of the wider “crisis” of liberal democracy, and that top-down responses to the current turmoil through state action and international governance must be complemented by efforts to build alternative forms solidarity from the bottom-up.