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Britishness, Englishness and the UK Multicultural Debate

Britishness, Englishness and the UK Multicultural Debate. Multiculturalism, Key Issues. Problem: Ethnic Diversity in one State (ie demographic multiculturalism) Form of Ethnic Conflict Regulation Multiculturalism as public policy and ideology

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Britishness, Englishness and the UK Multicultural Debate

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  1. Britishness, Englishness and the UK Multicultural Debate

  2. Multiculturalism, Key Issues • Problem: Ethnic Diversity in one State (ie demographic multiculturalism) • Form of Ethnic Conflict Regulation • Multiculturalism as public policy and ideology • Public policy -humane assimilation, cosmopolitanism or consociationalism?

  3. Different Varieties of Ethnic Diversity in the UK • State: Britain • Nation: England, Scotland, Wales, Ulster/Ireland • Primary Ethnies: English, Scots, Welsh, Ulster-Protestants, Irish Nationalists • Secondary Ethnies: Jews, Bengalis, Turkish Cypriots...

  4. History of British National Identity • British State-national identity post-1707: Empire, Protestantism, 'Anglo-Saxonism', Liberal-Democratic-Capitalism, Whiteness. • Ethnic elements and statist elements • British Ethnic-national identity: Canada, Australia, S. Africa, Ulster, England - ?? - (i.e. Britain as extension of England) • British State-national identity (Scotland, Wales, Ireland) • A 'thicker' Britishness than today

  5. Empire and English National Identity • English ethnic and national identity submerged/expressed through British symbols • Kumar's 'missionary' English nationalism. Expansive and universalist rather than introspective • But were ethnic elements really so marginal?

  6. Primary Ethnicity and Regional Nationalism in Britain under Empire • Scots retained Presbyterian Kirk, Legal, Educational, Local Govt • Welsh have dissenting religious traditions/language/culture • Scottish and Welsh political nationalism weak until 1960s-70s • Resistance to idea of Home Rule • Devolution only in 1970s: asymmetrical federalism

  7. Secondary Ethnicity in Britain • Secondary ethnicity: Huguenots 17th c, Scots 18th c, Irish & Jews 19th c-20th c, West Indians & Subcontinent after 1948 • Numbers never enormous nationally • Big local effect: Irish in Liverpool and Glasgow, Jews in E End, • Today: S Asians in parts of London and northern Mill Towns (Oldham, Burnley, Bradford)

  8. Ethnic Assimilation • multi-stage: economic, cultural, marital, identificational, ancestral • Huguenots – • James Molyneaux (UUP) • surname like Fletcher or Gascoigne seen as English • American Revolutionary Paul Revere • Irish and Jews – • Decline of sectarianism in Merseyside/Lancashire; • Are Mandelson or Michael Howard Jews or English? • Intermarriage leads to change in identity for many of the 25% of English with Irish blood

  9. Resistance to Ethnic Assimilation • 'Counter-entropic' traits (Gellner): 'race', religion • Afro-Caribbeans, despite race have 30-40% intermarriage rate. Offspring of these marriages over 90% marry whites • Major decline in Afro-Caribbean population through intermarriage • Opposite story for S Asian Muslims. • High Muslim endogamy and religious retention

  10. Muslim Religious Retention

  11. Inter-Ethnic Violence • 1958 Notting Hill - White-Black Riots • 1981 Toxteth Riot – Police v Black Youths • 2001 Mill Town Riots: Oldham, Bradford, Leeds, Burnley. White-Asian violence • Shift to White-Asian clashes • Blacks v State, but not v whites • S Asians v whites, but not v state • Cantle 2006: segregation and political mutliculturalism partly to blame

  12. Indexes of Acculturation • Education: varies by ethnic group • British-born S. Asians do much better than parents • Hindus, Ugandan Asians and Indian Muslims do better than Bangladeshis and Pakistanis • Poor whites and blacks at bottom of economic ladder

  13. Multicultural policy: Consociationalism? • Community Autonomy?: • Faith Schools - hard fought RC-Protestant battles in early 20th c • Culture Funding for newspapers, associations and projects • Public services in other languages? • Ethnic 'Leaders' in Local Government and seeking Public Funding

  14. Proportionality? • No PR, but effort to run minority candidates • cabinet representation? Not yet. • No explicit 'affirmative action' in university admissions and public employment/contracts, housing. But softer 'targets' rather than harder 'quotas' (CRE) • also no Mutual Veto or Grand Coalition

  15. British Consociationalism?: An Assessment • Some community autonomy • Some proportionality • Why not more? • small minority population (under 9 pc) • secondary ethnicity

  16. Symbolic Multiculturalism in the UK • Multiculturalism mainly expressed through symbolism • 'Thinning' of national symbolism and narrative • Exclusive elements culled • Official pronouncements (cool Britannia, national diversity) • School texts, on BBC, NHS, etc (Multifaith, Multilanguage, multiracial imagery) • Private sector takes cue from public (i.e. diversity training, diversifying workplace)

  17. The Fate of Multiculturalism - 'Multiculturalism' as unofficial policy - Turning point is Parekh report 2000 • Parekh, drawing on academic theorists like Gilroy and Kymlicka - Jack Straw condemns section which equates Britishness with whiteness - Forwards a 'thin' narrative based on British 'values' • - Unclear what is meant by 'multiculturalism'. Attacked or supported in different ways by various actors

  18. 2001….. • Loss of support in the centre • Street confrontations and riots in Northern cities • Straw talks tough on integration, Britishness • 9/11 and the ‘war on terrorism’ • ‘Beyond Multiculturalism’: CRE, Prospect, Observer, Guardian, Channel 4 openDemocracy, British Council etc

  19. 2003… - Trevor Phillips of CRE in 2003 • 7/7 bombings • Phillips initially backs Parekh report and other multicultural initiatives • Goodhart 2004 article - Phillips a critic of Goodhart article (2004) - Phillips' 2004 change to deride multiculturalism in favour of integration and Britishness - a civic nationalism based on 'values'. Mainly about integration in socioeconomic sphere, use of English, support for universal values

  20. British State-national Identity - New Labour: from 'cool Britannia' to Straw, Blunkett, Brown - Emphasis on British 'values': inclusive and universal - Selective use of the past to bolster liberal-egalitarian narrative - In opposition to English and other nationalisms/ethnicities - Possible contradiction between Britishness and Devolution

  21. What About the 'Ethnic' Dimension?: English Ethnicity and Nationhood - Goodhart article: diversity v solidarity (2004) - Diversity and trust (Putnam) - question of immigration control - what of recognition of majority English ethnic group?

  22. The British Far Right • Not part of mainstream debate. • English ethnic nationalism • "We, the native British people", are on track to become a minority within 60 years. • In order to keep "homeland": • Halt immigration; • "Clamp down" on asylum seekers; • Voluntary, subsidized repatriation; • End affirmative action for minorities

  23. Arraying Main Schools of Thought • Perhaps 5 Positions: • Ethnic nationalist: BNP, Linsell?, Scruton? • Civic nationalist-restrictive: Goodhart, New Labour?, UKIP • Civic nationalist-liberal: Phillips, New Labour ?, Malik, Bhatt? • Cosmo-multiculturalist: Modood, Bhatt • Communal Multiculturalist: Parekh?, Muslim Council of Britain

  24. What is Multiculturalism? • Between Assimilation (elimination) and Consociation (management) lies 'integration' (high-wire act? weasel word?) • Multiculturalists (Modood) argue for two-way integration • Civic nationalists more one-way (Straw, Blunkett, Goodhart) • Integration: Economic and political, but what about culture, identity, marriage, ethnicity?

  25. What does Multiculturalism Want? • Multiculturalism premised on the rejection of dominant ethnicity (immigration control, assimilation) • Harder to say what it supports: • Economic-political integration or parallel institutions? • Inter-ethnic marriage or endogamy? • Cultural 'hybridity' or cultural retention? • Shared cosmopolitan values or cultural diversity? • Ethnic diversity or trans-ethnic diversity? - Hybridity (diversity within individuals) or Multiculturalism (diversity between groups of similar individuals)? Does hybridity not lead eventually to monoculturalism?

  26. Means Liberal Communitarian Assimilation Nationalists Liberal Progressives Ends Cosmopolitan-Multiculturalists Communitarian Multicuturalists Mosaic

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