A Plural Century: Situating Interculturalism and Multiculturalism

This chapter engages with some recent authors who believe that an alternative to multiculturalism must be sought in order to understand and live with diversity. These authors are not anti-diversity but they share the view that multiculturalism is no longer a persuasive intellectual or policy approach. For example, the Council of Europe's White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue (2008) included the finding that the majority of practitioners and NGOs across Europe had come to the conclusion that multiculturalism was no longer fit for purpose, and needed to be replaced by a form of interculturalism. Similar views were expressed in the UNESCO World Report Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue (2008). These statements invite the question of how interculturalism differs from multiculturalism.