Thinking with and beyond the Bristol school of multiculturalism

Since its emergence in the late 1990s, the Bristol School of Multiculturalism (BSM) has developed a complex, coherent and influential set of conceptual tools to critically and comparatively apprehend the politics of cultural and religious diversity. Animated by commitments to deep diversity, national belonging and equal citizenship, as well as to ‘contextual’ forms of moral reasoning, its founding figures have made significant interventions in a series of public debates around Islamophobia, anti-racism, free speech, national identity, equality law, religion, counter-terrorism, segregation and political polarisation, among others. By bringing together emerging scholars who have substantially engaged with, added to and challenged BSM ideas, this special issue sheds new light on long-standing concerns and some underexplored issues. In so doing, it underscores the enduring and wide relevance of the BSM and brings it into conversation with adjacent bodies of research in politics, sociology, philosophy and law.