Policies of Regulating Cultural and Ethnic Differences: On Concepts and How They are Used

Modern societies are multicultural. This is a simple statement on a complex situation which poses many questions. One of the basic questions – how are relations between different cultures in society regulated – is the theme of this paper. By focusing on two pluralistic approaches to regulating relations between cultures – the multicultural and the intercultural approach – the author attempts to indicate the complexity of problems linked to the regulation of cultural differences in modern society. As it turns out, policies on the acceptance of cultural and ethnic differences have some common points, their concepts intertwine, but there are also significant differences between them. It also appears that one and the same policy can show different faces when it comes to its implementation in reality. By stressing interactions as a key trait of culture and cultural identity, the author wishes to emphasize their importance in cultural policies, since only by introducing interactions would these policies mean the acceptance of the real nature of cultural and social relations. The paper deals with this basic intent. In the first part, it presents the basic traits of culture and cultural identity as laid out in basic theories and their reception. Various processes and phenomena linked to them are mentioned in passing. In the second part, an overview of cultural policies is given – from assimilationist policies to pluralist ones (discussion focuses on assimilation, the “melting pot”, integration and multiculturalism and interculturalism). Concepts are treated defined critically and a partial review and evaluation of cultural policies is given. The reason for concentrating on concepts is the assumption that they imply a worldview and therefore it is not insignificant how social phenomena are defined and what names are attached to them