Modern societies are increasingly characterized by cultural diversity. Awareness of this is becoming important not only for scientific analysis but also for the formation of policies of peace and social cohesion, especially in countries experiencing war or post-war reconstruction.
A member of the research team, “Caring to Survive, Surviving to Care“, Doctor of Sociology Yuliia Soroka, in the article “Cultural Diversity in a Sociological Perspective: Multicultural Society, Power, Dialogue” reveals the concept of a multicultural society. The concept emphasizes that modern societies are not homogeneous: they coexist with different cultural groups, values, and ways of life that are related to social relations and power. This understanding is important for the formation of sustainable peace.
The origin of the concept is associated with post-structuralist theories, according to which social reality is fragmented and consists of many different cultural worlds. And with the approaches of Pitirim Sorokin about the indissoluble unity of the individual, society, and culture, and Pierre Bourdieu about the social space of positions and the struggle for resources, power, and prestige.
The development of the concept is also associated with studies of European society, which was formed under the influence of many cultures, and currently, pluralism is being strengthened by globalization processes. At this moment, the role of tolerance is increasing, because such a society can exist only when people are able to accept the differences of others. At the same time, social sciences sometimes exhibit “multicultural blindness” when researchers recognize diversity in the past or in distant societies, but almost do not notice it in modern society.
Cultural diversity and heterogeneity continue to be a source of apprehension and fear. This is also associated with a narrow understanding of culture as ethnic or national, when the statement of heterogeneity becomes a claim to encroach on the cultural monopoly of the nation-state. Such problems do not arise when multiculturalism is understood not only in terms of ethnicity, but also of race, class, gender, education, lifestyle, and other socially significant distinctions, and is conceptualized as an integral characteristic of society, emphasizes Yuliia Soroka.
So, an inclusive approach to shaping public discourse, built during dialogue outside the “hot phase” of the conflict, is an important condition for the stability of societies during post-war reconstruction.