This talk from Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affair's Center for Governance and Markets presents a political theory of governance of cultural diversity developed in Sadr's book, Negotiating Cultural Diversity. It argues that a pluralistic society should forge a balance between three key elements: individual autonomy, counter-homogenization measures, and intercultural dialogue.
Contemporary societies are increasingly facing a tremendous challenge in terms of finding social cohesion. A major challenge comes from disagreement over the issues related to social justice and other fundamental principles and ethical issues that should govern our societies. The challenge compounds when these disagreements intertwine with group and cultural identities such as race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. This leads to a conflict between individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom to practice religion, or equal opportunity with group or community preferences. A theory of governance of diversity should not only present a solution on how to peacefully accommodate deep differences, but should also present a way out on how to adjudicate disagreement between universal values and particularistic aspirations.