Multicultural Citizenship and Social Cohesion: Reflecting on the Case Study of England

Abstract

Citizenship is increasingly a high priority on the policy agenda not only in the United Kingdom but indeed globally. This upsurge of interest in citizenship and citizenship education, especially in ethnically and religiously diverse societies, can be seen in both multination states, and multicultural states that have witnessed large-scale immigration. In such contexts of (perceived) internal division — whether this be devolution, increased social pluralism or civil conflict — policy discourses are advocating a “common” or national (or state-level) citizenship. The promotion of a common citizenship and the policy concept of “community cohesion” are typically presented as key aims of citizenship education policy. These policy discourses are present not only in longer-established Western democracies but in the new democratic states of eastern and central Europe, as well as in countries in the Middle East (e.g., Lebanon) and Far East.