CROSSROADS IN CULTURAL STUDIES
Fourth International Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2002, Tampere, Finland

Multiculturalism in Nation-State

Organisers: Outi Lepola and Seija Tuulentie

Lautensach, Sabina (University of Canterbury, New Zealand) MULTICULTURAL HUMANITARIANISM: AUSTRALASIA'S REFUGEE CHALLENGE
In the past, New Zealand has welcomed a relatively large number of refugees to its shores. However, attitudes towards a new (and larger) influx of refugees have been mixed. The notion of asylum as a positive act of prosperous states committed to humanitarian ideals has been seriously eroded. Increasingly, refugees are seen not as people in need but as people who threaten the present order of things. Recent decisions by the Australian government to prevent asylum seekers from setting foot in their country has forced New Zealand to review its own immigration policies. Despite a growing reluctance of the public to accept more refugees into the country New Zealand's Labour government is expected to increase its quota for newly arriving refugees. How will New Zealand as a country respond to the challenge represented by a growing number of refugees entering the country?

Lepola, Outi (University of Helsinki, Finland) and Suurpää, Leena (Youth Research Network, Finland) POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF IMMIGRANTS AND ETHNIC MINORITIES IN FINLAND
This presentation focuses on the classical question of whether it is possible to combine meaningfully two logics of societal membership: on the one hand that of a multicultural society and on the other hand that of a national welfare state. Whereas a multicultural society supposedly integrates various values, ways of life and cultural traditions, a welfare state policy provides comprehensive entitlements, rights and responsibilities to the whole population - and tacitly comprehenses the population as a homogeneous nation. The question is addressed both in general terms and in the light of a case study on Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations (ETNO). ETNO is a consultative expert organ, which gives statements on matters relating to migration and ethnic relations. A variety of immigrant groups and ethnic minorities are represented in this board. Three questions will be raised: To what extent immigrants are able to
articulate their interests and to participate in developing the Finnish society? Membership can be regarded to comprise activity in social, cultural and political realms - to which of these realms do interests of the members of
ETNO extend? Regarding the idea of members representing a certain group: do the members of ETNO interpret their representation to be of political or cultural type?

Shamai, Shmuel (Golan Research Institute and Tel-Hai Academic College, Israel) and Ilatov, Zinaida (Golan Research Institute, Israel) MULTICULTURALISM OR MULTI-VOICES? THE CASE OF RUSSIAN IMMIGIRANTS IN ISRAEL
Ethnic relations in Israel are being re-shaped in ideological ambiguity. Multiculturalism, Zionism and Post-Zionism are part of conflicting ideologies in the national discourse. The ethnic identities (Israeli and Russian) of Soviet immigrants in Israel are studied: among the age group 20-40, the Russian identity is negatively connected to Israeli identity. Among older age groups, there is no connection between these identities. Russian and Israeli identities are connected to exposure to Russian and Israeli cultural consumption respectively. There are high negative correlations between the Russian and Israeli use of cultural aspects. Thus, Multiculturalism is questioned: on the one side, there is a legitimatization for immigrants to maintain their previous culture, but the two identities seem to conflict, mainly among the young adults. The Russian community has an obvious voice in the Israeli society, but has partial legitimation to keep both identities.

Tirronen, Tanja (University of Lapland, Finland) POLITICS OF INTERPRETING ILO-CONVENTION No. 169 -THE CASES OF SCANDINAVIA AND LATIN AMERICA
The 1989 ILO-Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples is the only multilateral convention dedicated to indigenous peoples. The Convention aims at protecting indigenous peoples and their languages from vanishing with special actions by the governmental authority. The question of land ownership has been the most difficult and problematic issue of the convention. It has caused [political] conflicts among the indigenous peoples, other local people and states, and these conflicts can be seen as disagreements of values and means. The purpose of this research is to evaluate how four so similar Scandinavian countries; Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark have had so different views about the most important convention concerning indigenous people. In comparison to Nordic countries it is useful both theoretically and empirically to examine the Latin American countries which have already ratified the convention and those who seriously consider the ratification at the moment. The theoretical approach of critical geopolitics will give the needed guidelines to examine the identity which the land forms to indigenous peoples.

Toivanen, Reetta (Åbo Akademi, Finland) MULTICULTURAL STATES AND RIGHTS OF MINORITIES
This paper explores obstacles in implementing the existing international minority law on groups of modern cultural minorities from an anthropological perspective. There are more international right treaties to protect ethnic and cultural minorities than ever. Simultaneously, the number of minority groups which formulate legitimate arguments to demand protection and special forms of fostering in plural states is increasing. The international minority rights are obviously not only protecting minorities from state oppression. These rights also co-determine which identity claims are possible for the minority activists in the given context, the state. My research points out that the minority activists tend to seek answers in a nationalistic, ethnic-oriented discourse stressing a common heritage. This discourse idealizes homogeneity and authenticity of nations. Why this static identity constellation may be the most successful, is answered by analyzing the minority definitions of the international law and its implications for European national policies.