Is Multicultural Nationalism Possible? If it is, what benefits follow?

I offer a conception of nationalism and of multiculturalism that I suggest renders their compatibility theoretically unproblematic and politically desirable; indeed, it may even be the case that multiculturalism presupposes such a nationalism. Confining itself to postimmigration ethnocultural formations and hybrid identities (and leaving aside all territorially based minorities), a very broad conception of the national, and based on an understanding of equal citizenship, it is a view allied to liberal nationalism. It works with the internal dynamics of contemporary liberal/social democratic countries without, however, privileging liberalism. The theoretical benefits are that one can begin without having to have a liberal theory and is able to critically evaluate liberalism from a multiculturalist point of view, and vice versa (though not done in this paper). Politically, multicultural nationalism can be adapted to work with a wide range of centre-left and centre-right views; above all, it allows one to be sensitive to minority identity vulnerabilities and majority identity anxieties within an integrated framework.