ABSTRACT
One of the most enduring legacies of the 2001 riots is most likely to be the emergence
of the official discourse and policy of ‘community cohesion’. The riots triggered a
major shift in government public discourse around race, ethnicity, religion, national
identity and citizenship. Following the terrorist attacks on New York in September
2001 and London in July 2005, the stakes in this were further heightened. Implicated
in this debate has been a wholesale rejection of the discourse of multiculturalism.
