European Multiculturalism: Between Unity and Exclusion

摘要

This study addresses the immigrant issues in European countries. It attempts to mostly evaluate the developed European countries. After the world wars, the need for labor force emerged in developed European countries. Those countries demanded a high amount of qualified labor force from Turkey and other Muslim countries through agreements signed. Decreased birth rate and increase of elderly population constitutes a really big dilemma for European countries. Such that increased labor demand of European countries has not yet reached an optimum level. Not soon after the immigration traffic, main culture and compliance issues have arisen among immigrants, and they have tried to overcome such issues. Many attempts have been made to overcome the real problems that still exist today. For solving such problems, different methods have been tried such as assimilation, integration and lastly multiculturalism. Historically, this process emerges as an issue on which consensus could not be reached in Europe even in 2015. The most obvious signs of this situation particularly include the harshening rhetoric of the extreme right-wing party leaders in various European countries as well as the rise of social acceptance rate of these parties. Though they were invited to the host country by private agreements and welcomed with flowers, those people are still described by the host culture and official authorities as 'foreign' or 'immigrant workers', which imply alienation. Considering the problem stated above, this article is intended to investigate this historical experience.