ABSTRACT
A lot is happening in the field of multiculturalism these days, and the task of the introduction is to explain how this volume fits among the wealth of publications on this topic. It starts by showing how the arguments put forward here straddle the multiculturalist debate by adding support to both its more cautious and its more committed sides. It also demonstrates the ways in which the collection reflects the changes in mainstream political theory resulting from the significant presence of multiculturalism in it. The introduction then outlines the three themes into which the chapters are organized, and comments on the way in which the collection has reflected the impact of 9/11 on multiculturalism. The section on context sketches some of the latest developments in the field, and the final section summarizes the nine chapters of the volume.
