ABSTRACT
The numerous ethno-national conflicts around the world indicate that some of the values and customs of differing ethnic cultures seriously conflict with one another, and are not resolvable by negotiation. Civic nationalisms are always embedded in particular cultural values and traditions. They involve not only a rational allegiance to the state, but also an intuitive, emotional 'ethnic' allegiance to the nation. It is these deeper cultural meanings that make a nation-state an imagined community. Domestic cultural universalism is therefore hardly an option for a state. Difficult questions and difficult decisions face any culturally pluralist society, but particularly if it purports to positively welcome "diversity and difference." John Locke's approach to religious pluralism is analogous to the relationship between separatist multiculturalism and the hegemonic nation-state. It is contended that the development of mutual trust between the mainstream society and minority groups would be reinforced by the absence of an increasing threat of acquired multiculturalism.
