Definition Of Multiculturalism

In the twenty-first century, no nation can claim to be mono-cultural. Nations, sometimes against their will, incorporate a multitude of cultures within their territories. However, multicultural societies are not new. Populations have always been nomadic, mingling ethnical and cultural societies for ecological, economic and political reasons (poverty, exploitation, colonisation, famine, slavery, and wars). The oldest structures of power -empires - were multicultural. Despite the fact that they gathered communities into a homogenous form of governance, heterogeneity was the watchword (Harari: 220)

Although the concept already existed, the terms “multicultural” and “multiculturalism” we use today are modern. The adjective “multicultural” refers to a society in which several cultural communities are living together due to historical circumstances and show their differences. “Multiculturalism” indicates the political strategies implemented to rule a multicultural society. The state is responsible for granting special rights to minorities. Great Britain, for instance, is a multicultural society.

Around two centuries ago, frontiers were fixed and the nation-states were created, gathering people inside their territorial limits. After World War II, there was a resurgence of nationalism. But can we talk about nationalism in a world where almost each nation is multicultural? What does it mean to be Belgian, French, German, or British? Where does the feeling of nation belonging come