Sociology

The world is becoming a global village. This statement is perhaps the most widely used statement of today by people from all walks of life and fields. One important change that we see today due to the shrinking of countries boundaries is the increase in the level of diversity. Be it the work place, educational institutes, or the society at large, diversity is spreading. The context in which were mentioning diversity is interestingly quite diverse too gender, ethnic, racial, cultural - diversity in society is present everywhere and is increasing at a fast rate. For the purpose of this paper we will maintain our focus on cultural diversity or multiculturalism. Obviously to manage such a society where many different kinds of cultures exist we need to formulate policies. This is done for a number of reasons which will be discussed later in the paper. These policies consequently have certain effects on the society. One of these effects is that it breeds social segregation. What is multiculturalism, why is there a need to have multicultural policies, and whether or not they promote social segregation is what this paper attempts to assess. The main topic of discussion will therefore revolve around the different multicultural policies and its role in advancing social segregation.

Multiculturalism and multicultural policies
Multiculturalism is quite a complicated word when it comes to defining it. However socialcollective identity or membership of, or identification with a particular group or groups is phrases that could be used in explaining the term (Benwell and Stokoe 2006, p. 24). Literally multiculturalism means a collection of two or more cultures. This consequently means multiple set of beliefs, values, languages, traditions as a result diverse societies are born within a larger society. Multiculturalism has been synonymously used with diversity and tolerance (Knight 2008, p.106).

In order to manage such a diverse society and to make sure tolerance and prosperity remains intact governments tend to formulate multicultural policies. These policies are formulated due to several political reasons. Ethnic minorities and other similar groups have little say in government related decisions and other policies which affect these cultures deeply (UNESCO-MOST, 1998). For this reason it is better to have separate policies so that rights of these ethnic and racial groups are not neglected. Formation of policies also encourages participation of these minority groups which is extremely important in protecting multicultural rights. Therefore formulating multicultural policies is a state level affair which needs to be given its due importance.

Another reason for having multicultural policies is to make sure the human rights of migrants are protected and they are able to live peacefully with the other members of the society (UNESCO, 2009). A society has a number of different people from different cultures living together, hence to avoid conflict of interests and ideas it is better to have set policies before hand to ensure a smooth way of living.

Multicultural policies promote social segregation
According to Merriam-Websters online dictionary segregation is the exclusion or the isolation of a certain group based on its ethnicity, race, or any aspect of ones culture by forcing the group to either live separately, not enter into wedlock with another group, visit separate places for education, worship and other activities, or by any other way that creates discrimination .  All these forms of discrimination create social and racial segregation therefore to avoid such inequity in the society, multicultural policies are formulated. It is however quite astonishing to say that multicultural policies promote social segregation. Policies exist to ensure no signs of intolerance occur in the society but one school of thought exists which support the statement that multicultural policies promote social segregation.

Countries have different concepts and approaches towards formulating multicultural policies. One way it is looked upon is the protection of ones own culture. Racial segregation based on housing policies has been a major factor in promoting social segregation in America (Seitles 1996). City streets were divided by race and ethnicity and color which discriminated the African Americans from the White Americans. This form of social segregation based on race was made part of all government policies related to housing which was adopted and practiced by private landowners all across America (Seitles 1996). Minorities were not given the right to choose their area of residence or even live where other White Americans were living. Such policies on the federal and state level eventually gave rise to the black ghetto which to date has had an effect on the America we know today. These policies that segregated the American societies made it difficult for the minorities to afford houses not just in the cities but also in the suburbs due to the multicultural housing policies of the government that in turn promoted social segregation.

A report by U.S. Housing Scholars and Research and Advocacy Organizations submitted to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2008) reveal the U.S. policies that promote residential segregation and housing discrimination. U.S. government policies are formulated on the basis of color and other racial discriminators that clearly segregate the unwanted groups into poverty areas. Furthermore housing credit and other similar incentives are given in poor neighborhoods which are primarily occupied by minorities. Government programs and policies therefore have a major role to play in promoting social segregation in the U.S as far as housing is concerned. One of the policies excluded African Americans from a housing loan program that guaranteed mortgages (U.S. Housing Scholars and Research and Advocacy Organizations 2008, p.4). Other similar multicultural policies of the government, especially housing policies, tend to promote social segregation which consequently disrupts the process and all other initiatives that are taken towards achieving societal integration and cultural assimilation (U.S. Housing Scholars and Research and Advocacy Organizations 2008, p.27).

Multicultural policies promote social segregation when the policies are formulated in a way to protect only the rights and the ideology of the land of the government that is forming those policies. The policies of the UK government, especially after 911 and 7 July bombings clearly show the bias UK multicultural policies have towards the religious minorities present in the country, particularly Muslims (Malek, 2005). After the attacks the UK government has become even more self-protective in their policies. Their policies single out Muslims which separates them from other religious and ethnic groups hence giving rise to social segregation. Britain has a highly diverse society with different cultures operating in it however its policies are clearly mono cultural (Malek, 2005). Although the UK government initiated projects that communicated to the general public the difference between Muslims and extremist Muslims singling out Muslims in these campaigns in a way segregated them from the rest hence giving rise to social segregation (Malek, 2005).

U.K. chief Rabbi, Johnathan Sacks further describes how multicultural policies in the U.K. have promoted social segregation and has consequently become a threat to democracy. In his new book The Home We Build Together Recreating Society Sacks talks about the segregation process that started with the Jews and Blacks, followed by women, gays, and most recently the Muslims.  He argues that British policies have in a way always promoted social segregation as initially the policies excluded the rights of minorities, and now they are formulated in a way that treats the minorities in a special way.

One school of thought argues that by formulating multicultural policies that allow the different groups operating in a society to operate and live in ways they want to governments are in a way promoting social segregation as that separates them from the rest (Sniderman, 2007). Sniderman argues in his article Identity Crisis published in the Guardian, that by giving the right to people to pray in their own places of worship, gain education in their own religious institutes, and follow their own customs and traditions, governments are in a way promoting social segregation as that makes people see themselves as dissimilar from the rest.

A research conducted on the residential segregation and socioeconomic integration of visible minorities in Canada however did not reveal a strong correlation between government policies and promotion of social segregation (Balakrishnan, Maxim, Jurdi 2005). The Canadian policies were designed in a way that preserved cultures which helped integrate all the immigrants present in Canada as they accepted the values of Canada very easily hence not giving rise to any form of apparent segregation. However the level of segregation and the development of different neighborhoods based on ethnicity needs more probing as some sort of segregation is definitely visible.

The 13th International Metropolis Conference held in 2008 in Bonn talked about the different multicultural policies and developments taking place in the world with respect to mobility and integration. The multicultural policies of France, Denmark and Germany were discussed which clearly promoted social segregation. The urban policy of France regarding housing promoted social segregation which also became the basis for the 2005 civil unrests. Similar is the case for Greece for the migrants no housing policy exists however for the ethnic returnees there is one of which gives mortgage security on constructive provisions. Both natives and migrants are responsible for their lodging and accommodation whereas the Greek ethnicity is given preference. This clearly shows the level of discrimination Greek multicultural policies represent.

Cultural assimilation and cultural integration are two concepts that are synonymously used with multiculturalism. Cultural assimilation is the integration of different ethnicities into one broad principle culture that is politically assimilated. As opposed to multiculturalism which identifies all the cultures present in a single society as different and separate, cultural assimilation treats the entire society as one and then formulate policies accordingly.  Multicultural policies will therefore in some way or the other promote social segregation as it will always view the different cultural groups in a society as separate entities. Hence political and other policies should be formulated by viewing the entire society as one with minimum multicultural policies if social segregation needs to be minimized.

Policy issues regarding social integration have been debated over and over again. The problem in policy formation such that it does not promote social segregation is the fact that it is more of a qualitative issue than a quantitative one (Jeannotte 2008, p.8). Governments need to realize that multicultural policies are not an academic phenomenon but a social one where different perspectives according to the time in context need to be involved (Jeannotte 2008, p.8).

Conclusion
Multiculturalism tends to view the different cultures operating in one society as separate entities therefore multicultural policies tend to promote social segregation. This paper focused on the government policies of different countries regarding housing and accommodation of the people living in a particular country. These policies were multicultural i.e. different for the natives, the immigrants, the ethnic returnees, and the other groups that were different on the basis of their color, race, or religion. It was quite evident from the different reports and surveys that all housing related government programs and policies discriminated the minorities or the non-natives in some way or the other which consequently promoted social segregation.

Governments need to realize that in order to have a cultural assimilated society and a socially and politically integrated country, policies and other government related programs should not have a multicultural perspective. What is not realized are the problems that countries face due to multicultural policies that promote segregation such as July 7 U.K bombings and 911. If at all there is a need to distinguish certain groups in policy formation it should be fundamentally for the protection of the rights of that particular group and should not be directed towards their exclusion in any way or form.