Explaining Multiculturalism’s Survival: Electoral Outcomes, Policy Design, and Veto Players by Arjun Tremblay A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Arjun Tremblay 2017 Explaining Multiculturalism’s Survival: Electoral Outcomes, Policy Design, and Veto Players Arjun Tremblay Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto 2017 Abstract Multiculturalism, by which I mean the recognition and accommodation of cultural minorities borne out of individual and familial immigration, is a political project of the old political left, one that is logically inconsistent with the ideological positions of the political right. Due to this inconsistency, we should therefore expect multiculturalism to retreat following an ideological shift to the right in national level politics. However, this study shows that this does not always happen: sometimes multiculturalism survives an ideological shift to the right. This study argues that the likelihood of multiculturalism surviving an ideological shift to the right in national level politics is affected by electoral outcomes, by policy design and by the actions of critical veto players. More precisely, it argues that multiculturalism is more likely to survive an ideological shift to the right in national level politics when (1) parties of the political right secure enough votes in national level elections to govern but not to decide unilaterally (i.e. when they fail to form a minimum winning coalition), (2) failing that, when multiculturalism policies have been written into formal rules, have multiple stakeholders, or are ‘locked-in’ and therefore immune to the vagaries of electoral competition and (3) if multiculturalism policies are either de-institutionalized, have a single stakeholder, or are ‘open’ to re-examination, when critical veto players intercede to maintain the status quo despite strong partisan opposition to ii multiculturalism. Ironically, when the fate of multiculturalism rests in the hands of veto players their decisions to maintain the status quo seems to have little if anything to do with a genuine belief in the recognition and accommodation of cultural minorities. This study’s hypothesis of multiculturalism’s survival is developed through a step-by- step comparison of recent policy developments in three immigrant-receiving countries: Canada, Britain, and the United States. These countries share three things in common. Firstly, they were all part of a vanguard of immigrant receiving countries that turned towards multiculturalism during the latter half of the 20th century. Secondly, they have each recently experienced an ideological shift to the right in national level politics resulting from the electoral victories of center-right political parties. Thirdly, each of these cases demonstrates that multiculturalism has survived, albeit to varying degrees and in different ways, following an ideological shift to the right in national level politics. Due to these similarities, we can control for a stimulus that should have, all things being equal, entailed multiculturalism’s retreat across the three cases and, in so doing, identify the factors that provide the basis for a plausible explanation of multiculturalism’s survival. iii Acknowledgments It is profoundly true that the writing of this dissertation would never have gotten underway, continued and reached completion without the inspiration, assistance and encouragement of many people. It is an honour and a pleasure to mention those who figured most prominently in this enterprise. Accordingly, my thanks go to: Professor Jacques Bertrand, my supervisor, for pushing me to reach the next level at each stage of dissertation and for seeing me through to completion. I could not have asked for a better supervisor and I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for deciding to take me on as a student. To Professor Neil Nevitte, for going above and beyond the call of duty in guiding my thinking and for challenging me to excel during my time at the University of Toronto. The core class in Comparative Politics of Industrial Countries that I took with you was an important turning point for me and I can’t thank you enough for all of your help. To Professor Randall Hansen, for the advice, corrections and recommendations that you have provided. To Professor Erin Tolley and to Professor Yasmeen Abu-Laban for the constructive feedback, comments and recommendations and for seeing me through the final stages of completion. To Professor Richard Iton, who provided great advice during the proposal stage of my dissertation, who sadly passed away before I could show him the finished product. Au Professeur Alain-G. Gagnon. Quel coup de fortune d’avoir assisté à votre école d’été à Chapala en 2007! Je vous suis profondément reconnaissant pour m’avoir accueilli à la chaire de recherche du Canada en études québécoises et canadiennes (CRÉQC) et surtout pour votre soutien à travers les années. Je tiens aussi à remercier tous mes collègues à l’UQAM de m’avoir donné un si fort et utile coup d’épaule durant la rédaction de ma thèse doctorale, dont: Valérie Vézina, Paul May, Olivier de Champlain, Jean-Charles Saint-Louis, Mathieu Champoux, Étienne Schmidt, Félix Mathieu, Bachir Sirois-Moumni, Benjamin Pillet, Olivier Ritchie. To Professor Csaba Nikolenyi and to all the faculty and staff in the department of Political Science at Concordia University. Thank you for providing a home for me at Concordia for three years and for being a constant source of support. I wish in particular to thank Professors Daniel Salée, Jim Kelly, Francesca Scala, Tina Hilgers, Jean-François Mayer, as well as Professors Kimberley Manning, Jason Ferrell, Harold Chorney, and Rick Bisaillon for their words of encouragement over the years. iv To all my colleagues and friends at the University of Toronto and at Massey College. Thanks for all the good times, good conversations, for providing a spirit of friendly competition, and for being a sounding-board for me over the years. Thank you: Karlo Basta, Patricia Grieve, Sanjay Jeram, Marcin Kedzior, Nicolas Riegel, Geoffrey Little, Cliff van der Linden, Dubi Kanengisser, Melissa Levin, Mike Painter-Main, Rebecca Sanders, Alanna Krowlikowski, David Houle, Anthony Sealy, Seung Hyok Lee, Luc Turgeon, Jennifer Wallner, Gabriel Eidelman, Chris Cochrane, Steve White, Reuven Sholzberg, Merom Kalie. Special thanks go out to the great staff at the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto: Louis Tentsos, Carolynn Branton, Joan Kallis, Sari Sherman, Elizabeth Jagdeo, and Mary-Alice Bailey. I would also like to thank Massey College at the University of Toronto, the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (Ontario), the Thomas and Beverly Simpson Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), and the Ethnicity and Democratic Governance Project (SSHRC) for funding my research at different stages. I owe a debt of gratitude to the following people: Antranik Tovmassian, Gaetano Liberatore, Anat Rosenthal, Huy-Du Nguyen, Deb Thompson, Yonathan Kellerman, Nina Valiquette- Moreau, Luke Moreau, and Josh Nichols. What can I say? Thank you all for being my friends and for bringing me back into the real world when I most needed it. Finally, I could not have completed this project without the help and love of Reeta and Michel Tremblay, my parents. Thank you mom and dad for being a constant source of support, encouragement and tolerance. I am proud to be your son and I am forever grateful that you are my parents. My debt of gratitude is wide as well as deep and I apologize for the undoubted omissions in this abbreviated list. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures and Tables.............................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 - Introduction 1.1 Question, Context, and Content .................................................................................................1 1.2 Logical Inconsistencies and Historical Precedent: Why multiculturalism shouldn’t survive an ideological shift to the right in national level politics ...............................................4 1.3 Indicators of Multiculturalism’s Survival ..................................................................................8 1.4 Explaining Multiculturalism’s Survival ...................................................................................15 1.5 Developing the Hypothesis: Methodology and Case Selection ...............................................19 1.6 Decisions and Clarification ......................................................................................................21 1.7 Outline of the Study .................................................................................................................30 Chapter 2 - Writing on Multiculturalism: Review of the Literature 2.1 Chapter Introduction ................................................................................................................37 2.2 Normative-Critical ...................................................................................................................38 2.3