Multiculturalism and its difficulties in contemporary Europe

Multikulturalizam je pojam koji se često spominje u raspravama o manjinskim pravima, imigracijama i sl., no vrlo teško možemo reći što se točno pod njim podrazumijeva. Mnogi su teoretičari iznijeli svoje viđenje multikulturalizma, a nastale su i mnogobrojne kritike koje prikazuju njegova ograničenja koliko u teoriji, toliko i u praksi. Ukratko ga možemo definirati kao pojam koji obuhvaća razne politike uređivanja kulturnih odnosa, a koje sve kulture gledaju kao jednako vrijedne te žele stvoriti prostor na kojemu one mogu živjeti jedne pokraj drugih. U ovom ćemo radu stoga najprije pokušati objasniti temeljna obilježja multikulturalizma, potom iznijeti najbitnija teorijska razmatranja o multikulturalizmu najvažnijih autora, zatim opisti najznačajnije kritike koje se vežu uz njega, a na kraju dati pregled multikulturalizma u Europi kroz primjer 4 zemalja koje su u nekom djelu bile ili su još uvijek dio diskursa o multikulturalizmu. Također ćemo reći nešto u budućnosti multikulturalizma u Europi i, njemu srodnome pojmu, interkulturalizmu koji se nameće kao njegov logički nastavak.Multiculturalism is a word we often hear when we talk about minority rights, immigration, etc., but it is very difficult to say exactly what is meant by it. Many theorists have presented us withtheir definitions of multiculturalism. It is for this reason that many critiques of multiculturalism havebeen developed that seek to portray its limitations in theory and practice. Altogether, we can say that multiculturalism is a term that icludes regulation policies for cultural diversity that consider each culture equally valuable and seek to create a place where they can live side by side. In this paper, we will first try to explain the basic features of multiculturalism, then outline the most important theoretical considerations of the most important authors, then describe the most significant criticisms associated with it, and finally provide an overview of multiculturalism in Europe through the example of 4 countries that were in or still are part of the discourse on multiculturalism. We will also say something about the future of multiculturalism in Europe and its related notion of interculturalism, which is imposed as its logical upgrade