The britishness debate and its significance for multiculturalism in Britain

Abstract EN

The British question has defined significantly the development of multiculturalism.

Indeed, a recurrent question is about the future place of Britishness in the modern multicultural Britain.

Its future is undoubtedly linked to immigration, devolution and the Brexit.

Therefore, a revival of the debate about Britishness is justified as circumstances changed.

In this paper, I want to focus on Britishness as a discourse about multicultural Britain.

I will examine, in particular, how the debate on national identity has been a means to reframe national belonging in pluralist terms.

In what follows, I will focus on the existence of a common British national identity in a society marked by post-war immigration, globalisation and devolution.

I will devote some attention to certain idea of historical set of values that unite all the different peoples of the United Kingdom.

Thus, this article will be centred on three areas.

The first is about the very meaning of Britishness and the debates that have occurred about it in the past.

Next, I will consider the disjunction of the debate on Britishness when New Labour’s project of reinforcing Britishness was launched.

Finally, I will conclude with the future of Britishness from the viewpoint of ethnic minorities exploring whether Britishness has been shared or denied among different national and ethnic groups; and ultimately what it means for the development of British multiculturalism.