ABSTRACT
Political science needs to institute an ongoing, coordinated study of tolerance and link the research results to real world solutions that policymakers can draw upon to craft strategies for mitigating conflicts among groups. Since the turn of the millennium, a number of factors have emerged that represent challenges to the growth of political tolerance in democratic societies. The events of September 11, 2001, clearly changed the landscape in terms of weighing the relative importance of security and civil liberties. The murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh and the Madrid train bombing in 2004, the London Tube bombings in 2005, and the riots outside Paris that same year are other examples of events that create a climate less conducive to political tolerance. Views on Islam and ethnic groups with ties to Islamic countries were also influenced by the events of that now infamous day. Immigrant groups have become a concern in many democratic societies for a variety of reasons. In Europe, immigrants are often from Islamic countries with very different traditions regarding a wide range of social customs (e.g., the role of women), and their very presence in growing numbers challenges the relative homogeneity of many nations (e.g., France). In other countries, most notably the U.S., immigration both legal and illegal has become a more contentious issue in recent years. The increasing percentage of Hispanics in the population is a regular topic of discussion along with the related concerns regarding border control, English as the only language, and rights for the children of illegal immigrants. With the aging of the post-World War II generation and the generally higher birth rates of immigrant groups, these issues will become more prominent in the coming decade.
