Nation State, Social Cohesion and Cultural Diversity

Diversity fosters new sources of energy, creativity and imagination, expands our range of choices, and enables us to see the strength and limitations of our own way of life (Parekh, 2004, p. 7). The nation state is a construct that emerged in the era of the industrial revolution. The state defines the meaning of citizenship and promotes systems which define the lives of the people living within its borders. The modem state rests on the notion of citizenship in both a legal and a normative sense. Marshall (1992) identifies that citizenship rights include civil, political and social rights. The determination of these rights, particularly social rights, is the result of historical struggles among different groups in society. The adequacy or otherwise of these rights are hotly debated topics (Babacan and Babacan, 2007).