ABSTRACT
The question of multiculturalism has been a central one in the political concerns of European countries since 1945. It covers a number of different issues however and which of them predominates has varied with differing political circumstances. It reflected concern about immigration and the ways in which immigrants might settle in Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. After the break-up of the Eastern Block in 1989 and the resurgence of ethnic nationalism in the East it centred around questions of devolution of power from central national governments to regionally based sub-national groups and the possibilities of power sharing at the centre. Thirdly, it has had to deal with the growing numbers of political refugees and asylum seekers in Western Europe. Fourthly, and most recently, in the wake of terrorist attacks on America and the subsequent assertion of American power in the world at large, it has been concerned with the dangers posed by unassimilated immigrant groups.
