Ethnic Integration and Ethnic Conflict

Many states in the world today are characterized by multiethnic populations. Often they have evolved in this way over the course of centuries. Some Middle Eastern and Central European states, for example, like Turkey or Hungary, are ethnically diverse as a result of long histories of changing borders, occupations by foreign powers and regional migration. Other societies have become multiethnic more rapidly, as a result of deliberate policies encouraging migration, or by way of colonial and imperial legacies.

In an age of globalization and rapid social change, the rich benefits and complex challenges of ethnic diversity are confronting a growing number of states. International migration is accelerating with the further integration of the global economy; the movement and mixing of human populations seems sure to intensify in years to come. Meanwhile, ethnic tensions and conflicts continue to flare in societies around the world, threatening to lead to the disintegration of some multiethnic states and hinting at protracted violence in others. How can ethnic adversity be accommodated and the outbreak of ethnic conflict averted? Within multiethnic societies what should be the relation between ethnic minority group and the majority population? There are three primary models of ethnic integration that have been adopted by multiethnic societies in relation to these challenges.

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Models of Ethnic Integration

The first avenue is assimilation, meaning that immigrants abandon their original customs and practices, moulding their behaviour to the values and norms of the majority. An assimilationist approach demands that immigrants change their language, dress, lifestyles and cultural outlooks as part of integrating into a new social order. In the United States, which was formed as a “nation of immigrants”, generations of immigrants were subjected to pressure to become “assimilated” in this way, and many of their children became more or less completely “American” as a result. Most official policies in the UK have been aimed at assimilating immigrants into British society.

A second model is that of the melting pot. Rather than the traditions of the immigrants being dissolved in favour of those dominant among the pre-existing population, they become blended to form new, evolving cultural patterns. Not only are differing cultural values and norms “brought in” to a society from the outside, but diversity is also created as ethnic groups adapt to the wider social environments in which they find themselves.

Many have believed that the melting pot model is the most desirable outcome of ethnic diversity. Traditions and customs of immigrant populations are not abandoned, but contribute to and a constantly transforming social milieu. Hybrid forms of cuisine, fashion, music and architecture are manifestations of the melting pot approach. To a limited degree, this model is an accurate expression of aspects of American cultural development. Although the “Anglo” culture has remained the pre-eminent one, its character in some part reflects the impact of the many different groups that now compose the American population.

The third model is that of cultural pluralism. In this view, the most appropriate course is to foster the development of a genuinely plural society, in which the equal validity of numerous different subcultures is recognized. A pluralist approach regards ethnic minority groups as equal stakeholders in society, meaning that they enjoy the same rights as the majority population. Ethnic differences are respected and celebrated as vital components of larger national life. The United States and other Western countries are pluralistic in many senses, but ethnic differences have for the most part been associated with inequalities rather than equal but independent membership in the national community.

In Britain and elsewhere in Europe the leaders of most ethnic minority groups have increasingly emphasized the path of pluralism. To achieve “distinct but equal” status will demand major struggles, and as yet this is a very distant option. Ethnic minorities are still perceived by many people as a threat: a threat to their job, their safety and the “national culture”. The scapegoating of ethnic minorities is a persistent tendency. With the young in Western Europe quite often still holding similar prejudices to those of older generations, ethnic minorities in most countries face a future of continued discrimination, in a social climate characterized by tension and anxiety.

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