Cultural diversity has become increasingly central to the study of political philosophy over the past twenty years. Taking cultural diversity seriously has changed the way much political theory is done, the questions it asks, the theories it proposes and the problems it addresses. This collection of recent essays by leading voices in the field reviews the development of multiculturalism, surveys the major approaches, addresses the critical questions posed and highlights new directions in research.

Introduction; Part I. Trajectories: 1. The new debate on minority rights Will Kymlicka; 2. Structural injustice and the politics of difference Iris Marion Young; 3. Multiculturalism as/and/or anti-racism? Charles W. Mills; 4. Feminism and multiculturalism: mapping the terrain Ayelet Shachar; Part II. Approaches: 5. Egalitarian liberalism and universalism Simon Caney; 6. Contextualism, constitutionalism and Modus Vivendi approaches Jacob T. Levy; 7. Negotiation, deliberation and the claims of politics Anthony Laden; Part III. Critical Issues: 8. Multiculturalism and the critique of essentialism Andrew Mason; 9. Liberalism, multiculturalism and the problem of internal minorities Daniel Weinstock; 10. Redistribution and recognition: two approaches David Owen and James Tully; 11. A critical theory of multicultural toleration Rainer Forst; Part IV. New Directions: 12. Law's necessary forcefulness: Ralph Ellison and Hannah Arendt on the battle of Little Rock Danielle Allen; 13. Imagining civic relations in the moment of their breakdown: a crisis of civic integrity in the Netherlands Bert van den Brink; 14. Democracy and foreignness: democratic cosmopolitanism and the myth of an immigrant America Bonnie Honig.