ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines a very basic distinction between two forms of cultural pluralism that is multinational states versus polytechnic states. Liberal democracies have a long history of seeking to accommodate ethnocultural differences. With respect to national minorities, liberal democracies have typically accorded these groups some degree of regional political autonomy, so that they can maintain themselves as separate and self-governing, culturally and linguistically distinct, societies. Some multinational states have arisen voluntarily, when different cultures agree to form a federation for their mutual benefit. The notion of citizenship is commonly perceived as an institutional status from within which a person can address governments and other citizens and make claims about human rights. As a result of extensive immigration, combined with the increased toleration of ethnic identities, the United States and Australia have a number of 'ethnic groups' as loosely aggregated subcultures within the larger English-speaking society, and so exhibit 'polyethnicity'.
