Political Theory and Australian Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism has been one of the dominant concerns in political theory over the last decade. To date, this inquiry has been mostly informed by, or applied to, the Canadian, American, and increasingly, the European contexts. This volume explores for the first time how the Australian experience both relates and contributes to political thought on multiculturalism. Focusing on whether a multicultural regime undermines political integration, social solidarity, and national identity, the authors draw on the Australian case to critically examine the challenges, possibilities, and limits of multiculturalism as a governing idea in liberal democracies. These essays by distinguished Australian scholars variously treat the relation between liberalism and diversity, democracy and diversity, culture and rights, and evaluate whether Australia’s thirty-year experiment in liberal multiculturalism should be viewed as a successful model.

Multiculturalism has been one of the dominant concerns in political theory over the last decade. To date, this inquiry has been mostly informed by, or applied to, the Canadian, American, and increasingly, the European contexts. This volume explores for the first time how the Australian experience both relates and contributes to political thought on multiculturalism. Focusing on whether a multicultural regime undermines political integration, social solidarity, and national identity, the authors draw on the Australian case to critically examine the challenges, possibilities, and limits of multiculturalism as a governing idea in liberal democracies. These essays by distinguished Australian scholars variously treat the relation between liberalism and diversity, democracy and diversity, culture and rights, and evaluate whether Australia’s thirty-year experiment in liberal multiculturalism should be viewed as a successful model.

Acknowledgements
Abbreviations

Chapter 1. Multicultural Political Thought in Australian Perspective
Geoffrey Brahm Levey

PART I: LIBERALISM AND DIVERSITY

Chapter 2. Anarcho-Multiculturalism: The Pure Theory of Liberalism
Chandran Kukathas

Chapter 3. Multiculturalism: A Value-Pluralist Approach
George Crowder

Chapter 4. Liberal Nationalism and the Multicultural State
John Kane

Chapter 5. "Something That Deserves our Admiration and Respect"
Barry Hindess

PART II: DEMOCRACY AND DIVERSITY

Chapter 6. Three Images of the Citizenry
Philip Pettit

Chapter 7. "Civicity" and Multiculturalism: A Comment on Pettit
Martin Krygier

Chapter 8. Multiculturalism and Resentment
Duncan Ivison

PART III: COMMUNITY, CULTURE, AND RIGHTS

Chapter 9. Conflicting Imaginaries in Australian Multiculturalism: Women's Rights, Group Rights, and Aboriginal Customary Law
Moira Gatens

Chapter 10. Loyalty and Membership: Globalization and its Impact on Citizenship, Multiculturalism and the Australian Community
Kim Rubenstein

Chapter 11. Multiculturalism and Migration Law
Arthur Glass

PART IV: AUSTRALIAN MULTICULTURALISM: SUCCESS OR FAILURE?

Chapter 12. Multiculturalism, National Identity, and Pluralist Democracy: The Australian Variant
Brian Galligan and Winsome Roberts

Chapter 13. A Pragmatic Response to a Novel Situation: Australian Multiculturalism
James Jupp

Chapter 14. Is Australian Multiculturalism in Crisis? A Commnet on Galligan and Roberts and on Jupp
Maria Markus

Chapter 15. Multiculturalism and Australian National Identity
Geoffrey Brahm Levey

Notes on Contributors
References
Index