Debating Diversity Analysing the Discourse of Tolerance

Immigration, racism and nationalism are major political themes throughout the Western world, vigorously debated by politicians, the media, and the public at large. "Debating Diversity" turns these discourses themselves into a topic, and suggests that a major "problem" of diversity may be the way in which it is debated. The authors discuss the "tolerant" rhetoric now finding its way into news reporting, policy statements, social-scientific research reports, government- sponsored antiracism campaigns and training programs. An unlikely and disturbing consistency is revealed between this rhetoric of tolerance and the discourse of radical racist and nationalist groups, in that their discourses share a fundamental non-acceptance of diversity. Based on empirical analysis of data taken from the texts of "migrant policies" in Belgium, this study also situates Belgian policy within the wider context of racism and nationalism throughout Europe and the United States.

Immigration, racism and nationalism have become hotly debated issues in the Western world. This highly original and controversial work focuses on the language used by the vast majority who regard themselves as being open to a multi-cultural society.Using Belgium as a case study and drawing parallels with the UK, US, Europe and the former Yugoslavia, the authors analyse this language and reveal a remarkable consistency between these liberal voices, such as in news-reporting, and the language used by radical racist and nationalist groups.

Introduction PART I Diversity: the issue 1 The management of diversity 2 Group relations, cognition and language PART II The ingredients of an ideology 3 The ‘migrant problem’ 4 The central concepts 5 Homogeneism PART III Homogeneism at work 6 Training for tolerance 7 Educating the public 8 Anti-racism, Epilogue

Jan Blommaert is Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghent, Belgium. Jef Verschueren founded the IPrA (International Pragmatics Association) in 1986 and currently directs its research centre at the University of Antwerp. Both authors have previously collaborated on The Pragmatics of Intercultural and International Communication (1991).