The claim that 'ethnic diversity poses a threat to social cohesion' has become almost ubiquitous in the political discourse of race and immigration 'i"the UK. This claim has emerged alongside (and later drawn from) a growing body of academic research which suggests greater ethnic diversity is associated with lower levels of 'social capital' and' social trust'. This thesis examines the validity of this politically-sensitive statement by investigating four previously unexplored avenues of enquiry. This includes: (1) a dual-analysis of the effect of ethnic diversity on local 'social capital' and community 'inter-ethnic relations'; (2) an analysis into the mechanisms which account for the effect of community diversity on 'social cohesion'; (3) an investigation into the (neglected) role of segregation in the current diversity/'social cohesion' debate; and (4) a test of the causal assumptions regarding the effect of diversity, implicit in the current empirical research. Through the application of multi- level cross-sectional and panel-data modelling techniques, this thesis demonstrates that increasing ethnic diversity can undermine 'social cohesion'; however, on the whole, it is only in specific communities and amongst specific individuals. We show that neighbourhood diversity only undermines attitudes such as 'neighbour trust', and levels of 'weak-tie social connectivity', in more segregated wider- communities. Identically diverse neighbourhoods, nested within integrated wider- communities, exhibit just as much 'neighbourliness' and 'weak-tie connectivity' as homogeneous neighbourhoods. We also reveal that diversity's effect on community 'inter-ethnic relations' is substantially moderated by both: (1) the level of community disadvantage, and (2) whether an individual possesses 'bridging' ties or not. We find it is only individuals in disadvantaged communities who do not possess 'bridging' ties that report greater community 'inter-ethnic tensions' with increasing diversity. Whilst some important differences exist in how these relationships apply to 'majority' and 'minority' ethnic populations, the striking similarities in the effect of diversity on both groups far out-weighs the differences. Yet, whilst demonstrating that the effect of diversity is highly context-specific, we observe that increasing socio-economic disadvantage directly undermines both 'neighbourliness' and community 'inter-ethnic relations'. Furthermore, the pejorative effect of disadvantage is (for the most part) unrelated to either the 'quantity' or 'quality' of 'social connectivity'. We conclude by suggesting that policy initiatives need to be refocused to address the much more detrimental and pervasive effects of disadvantage for' social cohesion' in the UK. APPROXIMATE WORD COUNT: 99,500

The literature is characterised by two main types of approach to tthe question of hy ethnic conflict erupts; one emphasising rationality, instrumentality and interests, and the other tocussing on non-rationality, affectivity and identity. While it is increasingly recognised that both positions capture important elements of the truth, they are also generally perceived to be in opposition to each other. This thesis develops an approach that allows for integrating the best insights from both positions in a single coherent framework.

THIS thesis investigates whether national identity still has a role to play in present-day society, and whether this role can be measured multidimensionally and cross-nationally. In reviewing the existing literature on nations and nationalism, national identity is defined as an abstract social identity based on a belief in an involuntary, historically extended community. Two theoretical mechanisms, cognitive biases and functional interdependence, are identified as potential sources of national identity effects at the indi- vidual level. However, in light of the definition of national identity as being abstract, these mechanisms are also found to be wanting regarding their explanatory power. A major aspect of this thesis is the measurement of national identity, which must take into account the multidimensional nature of the concept and the need for cross-national comparison. National identity is measured along four dimensions: its strength, geographical attachment, evaluation and content. It is found that these represent irreducible aspects of national identity. Furthermore, it is investigated whether national identity is cross-nationally com- parable, both in terms of survey compatibility and equivalence of meaning. A set of novel ideal-types are uncovered using the four dimensions of national identity to characterize countries. Empirically, national identity is associated with individuals' sense of solidarity, although in an unexpected and more general man- ner. Additionally, lower levels of welfare-state benefits and living in post-socialist countries are associated with higher levels of soli- darity. A second analysis provides some plausibility for an indirect national identity political participation mechanism, mediated by social trust and a sense of representation amongst individuals. A further direct relationship between national identity's civic content and political participation found, leading to a discussion on the association between national identity and social cohesion.

Policies aimed at increasing urban integration are currently amongst the most important priorities for the UK government. However, there is little evidence that policy attempts to induce mixing have been successful in the long run. Hence, the thesis addresses the following four questions. First, how do patterns of segregation arise? Second, why do they persist? Third, can they be changed by policy? Fourth, can we solve the methodological problems associated with modelling neighbourhood change? The thesis argues that population patterns - including levels of deprivation and segregation arise from the interactions between housing market choice, labour markets and neighbourhood status.

This thesis utilises a socio-psychological approach to reconciliation to explore the process of reconciliation between groups divided by intractable ethnic conflict in the Mindanao-Sulu region of the Philippines. It suggests that, in order for reconciliation to advance, group identities, in the form of a specific configuration of societal beliefs held by ethnic groups in such situations, require transformation. Specifically, this study explores the reconciliation process in the absence of formal settlement, shedding light upon how reconciliation develops, the actors involved and the challenges faced in such circumstances. Through the case of Mindanao, this thesis analyses a stage and type of conflict which has hitherto been little studied in relation to reconciliation, and in a region (Southeast Asia) which has also been comparatively neglected. Using data acquired from fieldwork interviews conducted with key stakeholders in Mindanao, analysis of a wide range of documents and a content analysis of both the national and Mindanaobased print media, the extent of identity transformation in line with reconciliation in Filipino society, is explored. The role of societal elites and social institutions in reflecting, disseminating and appealing to conflict-supporting societal beliefs, as well as their role in progressing reconciliation, is assessed. Existing attempts to promote reconciliation initiatives are evaluated. This study argues that reconciliation initiatives undertaken at the pre-settlement stage can have significant influence on both individual and group identities. It also suggests that, whilst there has been substantial progress in transforming conflict-supporting societal beliefs and forging transcendent identities crucial to the process of reconciliation at a Mindanao level, this success has not been replicated to the same degree at the national level. These findings have significance for future policy relating to the conflict and for the theoretical literature on reconciliation. They support initiatives undertaken at the pre-settlement stage and suggest that reconciliation should be considered as consisting of multiple independent, yet intrinsically linked, processes which advance at differing tempos across various levels of society and between stake holders.

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This thesis draws on ethnographic fieldwork in Keighley, West Yorkshire, to interrogate the turbulent sociality of everyday multicultures and the temporary, but recursive fixings of race on the ground in interaction. Arguing that the routine framing of race as a social construct in the social sciences has had a 'deadening effect' on our academic talk about race, this study takes a line of flight from social constructionist and abolitionist arguments by addressing the underside of intercultural relations in Keighley through questions of experimentation. Repeatedly questioning what race does and how race functions, this research develops a non-determinist, non-essentialist conception of race that continuously takes form through heterogeneous processes of differentiation in moments of intercultural encounter. The thesis develops an ontology of race that grasps how race is simultaneously fluid and fixing, as it momentarily takes form through arrangement bodies, things and spaces. Coupling this conception of race with theorisatdons of thinking as a layered, practical and distributed activity, I assemble a conception of race thinking as thought-in action. Here race thinking is an outcome of, and distributed across, an entanglement with the world and opens up the half-second delay as a space of prejudice during which the push of race sorts bodies, things and spaces, and coordinates thinking and action. Three empirical chapters each take a different materiality as a point of entry into the dynamic socialities of intercultural relations. A chapter on bodies examines the tendencies and distributions of differently raced bodies on the ground in Keighley. This chapter argues that bodies do not have race, but they become raced as the heterogeneous elements that constitute bodies emerge as sites of intensive difference in interaction. A chapter on the car questions how race rides on the car to examine the force of things in race thinking, and track how suspicion and innuendo stick to, and circulate through, particular objects. The final empirical chapter constructs a topographical approach to urban multiculture to evoke the life， passion and intensities of living with difference. The momentum accumulated through these perspectives works towards a distinct understanding how race is done in Keighley. Through the cumulative force of these chapters I begin to reconstruct understandings of urban multiculture from below, emphasising how urban multiculture in Keighley is practised, visceral and felt.

The thesis defends a form of contextual dialogical multiculturalism as necessary to the important task of achieving cross-cultural understanding. In response to the simplified accounts of culture found within abstract liberal theory and "strong" multiculturalism, the thesis develops a position that responds to the deep reality of difference and the embeddedness of persons within different horizons, whilst at the same time sensitised to the dynamic and internally diverse nature of cultural and religious communities. Engaging with claims within contemporary debates that multiculturalism segregates communities, it is argued that a form of multicultural integration is necessary to foster connection between groups. Through appeal to a range of literature, including Anglo- Indian imaginative literature and feminist discussions of culture, the thesis develops a more subtle and nuanced understanding of culture and identity as characterised by change and continuity. Using the insights of Gadamer's hermeneutic position and the feminist "world travelling" approach, it is argued that cross-cultural understanding and dialogue can be reached only through complex recognition of the situated position from which the self and the other speak. Gadamer's metaphor of an evolving "fusion of horizons" is invoked to illustrate the ability of a dialogical contextual position to mediate a path between moral relativism and abstract universalism. The compatibility of a culturally sensitive approach with a situated universalism is illustrated through discussion of the culture of human rights, which is seen as a powerful example of universalism constructed through dialogue.

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