“How Shall we all Live Together?”

There is probably no more serious challenge to social stability and cohesion in the contemporary world than the management of intercultural relations within culturally plural societies. Successful management depends on many factors including a research-based understanding of the historical, political, economic, religious and psychological features of the groups that are in contact.
The concept of multiculturalism lies at the core of this understanding. This presentation examines three psychological hypotheses that have been derived from Canadian multiculturalism policy: multiculturalism, contact, and integration. The main goal of the project is to evaluate these three hypotheses across 17 culturally
plural societies in order to identify some basic psychological principles that may underlie successful intercultural relations. The eventual goal is to employ the findings to propose some multiculturalism policies and programmes that may improve the quality of intercultural relationship globally. The empirical findings in these 17 societies generally support the validity of the three hypotheses. Implications for the development of policies and programmes to enhance the quality of intercultural relations are discussed.