The state of multiculturalism in the United Kingdom in the late twentieth and the early twenty first centuries

Abstract EN

The last two decades of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty first centuries witnessed heated debate over the issue of the failure of multiculturalism in western liberal states such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

A huge number of articles claimed that multiculturalism has come to a dead end or has simply failed.

Opponents of multiculturalism believe that multiculturalism has failed because of the increasing tide of tensions between the white majority and British born of South Asian origins.

Besides, violence attributed to racism in many British cities, enhanced the need for other policies that could bring all the people around British values and loyalty to the state.

The tensions experienced in many British cities have served to increase the feelings of nationalism among some British mainly the young people.

In sharp contrast with the previous views, defenders of multiculturalism believe that it is still instrumental because it arises in the context of liberal or social democratic egalitarian and citizenship.

Thus, the present research paper attempts to shed light on the state of multiculturalism in the late twentieth and the early twenty first centuries by raising the following major questions: has multiculturalism really failed in the UK? If so, what were the key elements that have led to its failure?