ABSTRACT
In the 1990s, prominent scholars, such as Alain Touraine and Stuart Hall, commented on the significance that ‘living together’ would have in the 21st century (Hall, 1993; Touraine, 2000). While in the 1990s diversity gained recognition and became something to be ‘celebrated’, the 2000s started to be concerned—albeit not for the first time—with the relation of diversity and social cohesion (CIC, 2007; Demireva, 2011; Hooghe, Reeskens, & Stolle, 2007; Hudson, Phillips, Ray, & Barnes, 2007). By the end of the 21st century’s first decade, it had become clear that diversity has become a ‘hot’ point of discussion, with Council of Europe (CoE, 2011) phrasing these concerns in its report by the ‘Group of Eminent Persons’: ‘Living together: Combining diversity and freedom in 21st century Europe’. Thus, whilst diversity has been associated with multicultural richness and has ensured a level of recognition and rights for different groups, it has also been perceived as a possible threat to societal cohesion due to ‘irreconcilable’ differences.
