The politics of complex diversity: A European perspective

Abstract

The concept of complex diversity points at a social and political context in which diversity has become a multidimensional and fluid empirical phenomenon. At the same time, it calls for a thorough discussion of the normative framework we rely upon when we talk about identity politics, integration or recognition. The article focuses on the main ethno-national and cultural expressions of complex diversity in present-day Europe. On this basis, it offers a critical interpretation of the dominant approach towards diverse identities that is connected to the process of European integration. Although diversity is being recurrently celebrated in Europe’s official political discourse, the term tends to be used in a superficial and biased way, which links it rather to the dynamics of the market than to a reflective identity politics. If we want to grasp the emancipatory potential of complex diversity, we have to tackle its challenges from a perspective that avoids essentializing culture yet is still aware of the key importance culturally grounded contexts of praxis have for articulating a politics of recognition.