Monoculturalism is the policy or process of supporting, advocating, or allowing the expression of theculture of a single social orethnic group.[1] It generally stems from beliefs within the dominant group that their cultural practices are superior to those ofminority groups[2] and is often related to the concept ofethnocentrism, which involves judging another culture based on the values and standards of one's own culture, though this is usually untrue ifcultural nationalism is dominant, as opposed toethno-nationalism.[3] It may also involve the process ofassimilation whereby other ethnic groups are expected to adopt the culture and practices of the dominant ethnic group. Monoculturalism, in the context ofcultural diversity, is the opposite ofmulticulturalism.
Rather than the suppression of different ethnic groups within a given society, sometimes monoculturalism manifests as the active preservation of a country's national culture via the exclusion of external influences.Japan,South Korea, andNorth Korea are examples of this form of monoculturalism. However it may also be the result of less intentional factors such as geographic isolation, historical racial homogeneity, or political isolation.[4][dubious –discuss]
Monoculturalism is often closely associated withethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the practice of framing one's way of life as natural and valid, and applying that belief system to interpret the characteristics of other cultures.[5]
Many of thegenocides practiced throughout history were based onethnic supremacy. Ethnic supremacy is assumed by one group within a culture, following some distinct action by an external group or from one of the ethnic groups. With European intervention in places likeRwanda, social institutions worked to socially construct an ethnic inferiority, distinguishing theHutus andTutsis from one another and causing what would be one of the most horrific demonstrations of genocide in modern history.[6]
A similar example to that of theRwandan genocide was the ongoing civil war inBurma. The civil war spanned from a constitution that granted Burma their independence from theBritish Empire in which a group of leaders created conditions that did not involve many ofBurma's ethnic minorities, and instigated a fight from them.[7] Many of theseethnic minorities in Burma, including theKaren, have been significantly displaced by the military junta and placed into refugee camps in bordering nations. The remaining ethnic minorities have been living in poor conditions, and have been met by a variety of human rights abuses.[citation needed]
Globalization involves the free movement of goods, capital, services, people, technology and information throughout the world. It also involves the international integration of potentially very different countries through the adoption of the same or similarworldviews,ideologies, and other aspects of culture. American academicAnthony J. Marsella argues that this is monoculturalism on a grand scale.[8] Potentially it could lead to the suppression and loss of different ethnic cultures on a global scale.[citation needed]
