Multiculturalism and its exclusions in New Zealand: the case for cosmopolitanism and indigenous rights
John LOWE
Abstract In light of biculturalism’s prevalence as a power-sharing agreement between New Zealand Maori and the Crown, any attempts to establish a state-sponsored project of multiculturalism have been treated by Maori with suspicion and controversy. This article presents cosmopolitanism as an appropriate solution to citizenship and cultural diversity in New Zealand that can coexist in harmony with the country’s biculturalism that enjoys a constitutional-like status. A state-sponsored policy of liberal multiculturalism comparable to the legal species found in Western democracies, it is argued, would remain mutually exclusive and hostile towards biculturalism. This work concludes with a discussion on the theoretical applications of cosmopolitanism in New Zealand and how it could work empirically, in practice, without attenuating biculturalism.
Keywords: New Zealand, Multiculturalism, Biculturalism, Cosmopolitanism, Indigenous, Maori, Citizenship
Author’s biography
John Lowe is an independent researcher. His research interests are in the areas of multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, the ethnic-relations ethnicity and the sociology of gender. Prior to completing his PhD in Sociology at the School of Government and Society, John studied philosophy at the undergraduate level and is therefore interested in researching the dimensions of race and ethnicity that resonate philosophically with cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism.