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donate Multiculturalism at its limits?
Eurozine debate series continues in Bratislava
Cultural diversity is back at the top of the European political agenda. Attitudes towards immigration typically associated with the nationalist Right have become politically mainstream. Minorities are turned into problems as migration makes cultural diversity ever more visible and national cultural identity is perceived as being under threat. Is tolerance a fair-weather phenomenon in Europe?
In western Europe, multiculturalism has been the default strategy to manage diversity. But now, critics say, multiculturalism has failed. The anxious avoidance of conflict and the emphasis on collective rights are based on misguided assumptions of cultural identity, they say. Enlightenment values are jeopardized when the appeasement of religious and cultural sensibilities is regarded more important than the right to freedom of expression or gender equality. The debate about Islam in Europe vividly illustrates the dilemmas involved.
In central and eastern Europe the experience is different. In Slovakia, the approach to minority rights has been largely shaped by relations between Slovaks and Hungarians. The result is that collective rights are viewed with suspicison, as a vehicle towards regional autonomy. Other minorities, most notably the Roma, receive even less recognition.
Diversity will not decrease. Demographic trends suggest that Europe needs immigration if it is to avoid serious long-term economic trouble. That goes for eastern and western Europe alike. If the western model of multiculturalism has reached its limits, what are then the alternatives that can help manage diversity – both in the east and in the west?
MULTICULTURALISM AT ITS LIMITS?
Managing diversity in the new Europe
Speakers:
Kenan Malik (London)
Fero Sebej (Bratislava)
Chair: Samuel Abrahám (Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts)
Introduction: Carl Henrik Fredriksson (Eurozine)
Language: English
Time: Thursday 30 September, 6 p.m.
Place: Zichy Palace, Venturska 9, Bratislava
About the speakers
Kenan Malik is a British writer, lecturer and broadcaster. Born in India, he grew up in Manchester, UK. He is a writer and presenter on BBC Radio 4's Analysis and a panellist on The Moral Maze. In 2010, his most recent book From Fatwa to Jihad was shortlisted for the George Orwell Prize. He is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the University of Surrey and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He writes for numerous British and international newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, Financial Times, Prospect and Eurozine. An ardent defender of Enlightenment values, secularism and free speech he has become one of the most renown critics of multiculturalism but is an wholehearted defender of an open, diverse and cosmopolitan society.Fero Sebej is a Slovak politician and writer. He is a member of the Slovak Parliament, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and since 2001 Vice-Chairman of the Civic Conservative Party. He studied psychology and until 1989 did extensive clinical research. Since November 1989 he has been involved in politics and has become a prominent columnist. He is former editor of the weeklies Domino and Tyzden. He focuses on transatlantic relations and has been associated with the US neoconservative tradition of political philosophy. He is known as a critic of various aspects of EU politics.
Europe talks to Europe
A polylogue on culture and politics
From Autumn 2009 to Spring 2011, Eurozine organizes a series of high-profile debates in different central and eastern European cities, including Budapest, Bratislava, Brno, Bucharest, Ljubljana, Sofia, Warsaw and Vienna. Making use of a well-established media platform and a wide-ranging network of editors, authors and intellectuals, the debates will make a substantial contribution to cross-border discussion on cultural identities and the European integration project.The Bratislava debate, part of the series "Europe talks to Europe", is a cooperation between Eurozine and the ERSTE Foundation, realised together with Kritika & Kontext and Bratislava Institute of Humanism at BISLA.
More information about the debate series Europe talks to Europe.With the financial support of the European Commission and the ERSTE Foundation.
Published 2010-09-17
Original in English
© Eurozine
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