ABSTRACT
Because terrorist groups often draw their support from individuals who feel isolated from wider society, efforts at integrating different communities together may help to reduce the risk of home-grown terrorism in many countries. Such policies, however, are likely to be controversial, not least of all because they appear to be in conflict with various theories of multiculturalism, all of which claim that minority groups should be afforded protections to ensure the survival of their distinct culture. This chapter surveys three representative arguments for multiculturalism—one from Iris Marion Young, which justifies multiculturalism on the need to avoid oppression; one from Will Kymlicka, which justifies multiculturalism on the need to promote autonomy; and one from Chandran Kukathas, which justifies multiculturalism as a way of allowing individuals to live in line with the claims of their conscience. It is shown that accepting these arguments is not inconsistent with calling for certain forms of modest integration for counterterrorist purposes and, in some cases, the logic of the arguments actually support these practices.
