Conference Paper: Challenges Of Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is not the central principle of the European state. Given the process
of state and nation building, it is not surprising that multiculturalism is regarded as
heretical novelty rather than traditional principle. The modern European state
presupposes that peace and stability in the state is based on a common, dominant
culture. That strategy is strongly backed on the liberal conception of a political nation,
arguing that there is equality of law and rule of law. Equality by law is upgraded by the
cultural hegemony of the dominant nation. In the sense of culture, the nation state is
not neutral, but in terms of law constitution of the political nation it is colorblind and
has no sense for otherness.
This volume of papers delivered at the International conference „The Challenges of
Multiculturalism: SEE Perspectives in the European Discourse”, held in Belgrade (22-24
March 2012), focuses on the challenges of multiculturalism and politics of recognition
from the perspective of political societies today. The volume particularly explores the
implications of the recent European debate on multiculturalism and the strategies on
how new democracies deal with the imperative of diversity. The first part of volume
(„Multiculturalism in the European political discourse”), written mostly in terms of
normative political theory, tries to provide answers to: „What is good about
multiculturalism?” The second part of the volume is written from an empirical and
comparative perspective („Political structure of multiculturalism in SEE”), providing
the answer to another question: „What have we learned from the European experience
and what would be the innovation of regional political legacy?”
This volume is published with the support and assistance of the Heinrich Böll
Foundation. Wolfgang Klotz , the former director of the Regional office of HBS and
Paola Petrić, the project coordinator at HBS, provided not only logistic but in many
sense substantive suggestions. Finally, my closest disciple, Žarko Paunović, Secretary
in General of SAPS and Tijana Dokić, the project coordinator gave a great input for the
quality of this volume.
Belgrade, 29 January 2013 Milan Podunavac, Editor