ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses the symbiosis of a discourse that forwards the multiculturalization of Modern Greek society with voices admitting the 'uninterrupted continuity' of its cultural homogeneity. Criticisms of liberal-humanist visions of multiculturalism and the integration of ethnocultural groups recur in studies on Canada where multiculturalism emerged as a mode of nation-building. Relevant measures involved explicit recognition to Canadians whose origin was non-French, non-British and non-Aboriginal, thereby including ethnocultural and racial minorities. Yet, cultural barriers are set to immigrant's political mobilization and full participation in the division of power and resources. The Greek version of multiculturalism is grounded in the precedence that national culture supposedly enjoys over immigrant's history and traditions. In essence, multiculturalist claims are intended to disguise the fact that the pressures raised by the 'novelty' of immigration have not given birth to radical changes in relevant institutions and infrastructures. Turner promptly states that the multiculturalist language developed by cultural nationalists reduces culture to a licence for political separatism.