ABSTRACT
Western Europe is in the midst of a multicultural revolution. Immigrants from all over the globe have flooded that subcontinent since World War II. Their arrival has been perceived as so explosive that it has produced counter movements expressed by the need on the part of many peoples, indigenous and immigrant, to reaffirm their cultural identities and the cultural boundaries that set them apart from other cultures and nations. In Europe, which has some of the lowest birthrates in the world, immigration is an important solution to the dwindling labor pool. Some Europeans have come to see the new immigrants as undesirable and have campaigned for stricter immigration controls. Governments have also attempted to discourage immigration in a variety of ways. Europeans debating the relative value of immigration face two major issues: the assimilation or lack thereof of immigrants into European culture and Europe’s tolerance or intolerance of them.
