The Rise of Multicultural Nationalism

Some liberals argue that political polarization is caused by "identity politics" that has created a kind of new tribalism. This essay argues that this is a misreading. Instead, the essay addresses polarization between those who are pro-diversity (possibly also pro-immigration) and those who fear that their national identities are being demoted at the expense of other identities. The clash is not between universalism and identitarianism but over the value or recognition to be accorded to different group identities. While multiculturalism has been concerned with the normative status of minority identities, it has been counterposed, sometimes aggressively, by those who bemoan the neglect of majorities and their identity-based anxieties. This essay focuses on how we can tackle and lessen the polarization that is fostering mutual distrust and threatening the national, democratic citizenships upon which any multiculturalist, egalitarian, and unifying project must be built, and which multiculturalists, together with others, must defend. This involves developing a multicultural national identity to which all citizens can have a sense of belonging without giving up other identities that are important to them. Such national and group identities should not be conceived as monistic or static but rather as interactive and dialogical. Such a sense of the national allows one to be sensitive to minority-identity vulnerabilities and majority-identity anxieties within an integrated theoretical and political framework.