Solidarity in diverse societies : beyond neoliberal multiculturalism and welfare chauvinism

Abstract

This issue will focus on the role of nationhood and solidarity in reconciling immigration and welfare states. In the lead essay in this volume, the Canadian political philosopher Will Kymlicka, well known for his work on multiculturalism, refers to a ‘progressive’s dilemma’ between support for social solidarity and cultural diversity. In the current European context this dilemma seems to be dramatically amplified by pitting advocates of welfare state closure against those of solidarity with refugees. However, the dilemma clearly applies more broadly to various types of migrants, beyond the scope of the current refugee situation. In fact, a potentially contested relationship between migration and welfare states was already discussed in European migration research in the 1980s.