ABSTRACT
Increasing levels of ethnic and racial diversity in industrialized democracies have given rise to growing concerns about community and social cohesion in Europe and North America. There are worries that ethnic diversity may threaten the ties that bind civil society together (Putnam 2007). Sceptics of diversity seem to believe that diverse societies create problems. Accordingly, the assumption is that they are more likely to breed ethnic confl ict, less likely to develop into stable democracies, less likely to enact a solidaristic social welfare system and less likely to foster widespread generalized trust. While some of these earlier concerns have been refuted, pessimism continues to linger, especially within the broader public debate. Indeed, the acceptance of cultural diversity is relatively low across Europe, and the rise of far-right parties in some European countries has been partly fuelled by widespread anti-immigrant sentiment (Sniderman et al. 2000).
