An assimilationist policy expects minority or newcomer groups to adopt the dominant culture or national norms, often putting aside important parts of their earlier cultural identity.
The dominant culture is the one with most influence in a society; norms are expected ways of behaving. The intended mechanism is greater similarity: shared language, practices or public expressions of identity are used to build a common national identity and make participation more uniform. Policies can differ in how strongly they encourage or require people to change.
Tension arises over which practices count as common and what people must give up. Some may see uniformity as a source of unity; others may feel that acceptance depends on abandoning a valued language, custom or religious expression. Pressure to conform can weaken belonging, and adopting majority practices does not guarantee freedom from discrimination.
Identify the actual expectation to replace or reduce cultural differences. A common language lesson or a shared rule for public life (a civic rule) alone is not enough to establish assimilation; these can also exist within an integration policy. Do not use one policy to claim that every person in a country shares the same beliefs.
Worked example: A school rule about cultural practices
A government introduces a school programme that expects minority pupils to adopt the majority's cultural celebrations and stop expressing their own traditions in school. Officials say a uniform public identity will build unity. Some families say their children are being asked to hide an important part of themselves.
- The programme expects cultural differences to be reduced in favour of dominant practices. That expectation makes it assimilationist, beyond simply asking pupils to cooperate.
- The officials' reasoning is that greater similarity will support a common identity. This is an intended benefit, not evidence that every pupil feels included.
- The families identify a tension between uniformity and preserving cultural identity. Assess both participation and the pressure to give something up, rather than assuming that visible similarity proves belonging.
Watch out for this
Any policy involving a common language is assimilation, and assimilation guarantees harmony.
Look for expectations to adopt dominant practices at the expense of distinct identities. Then examine acceptance, participation and tensions; common rules alone do not establish either the approach or its success.
Check your understanding
A government funds common-language lessons while allowing people to retain cultural practices and take part in shared institutions. Do the language lessons alone prove an assimilationist policy?
- Yes. Learning any shared language means giving up every earlier identity.
- No. Check whether the wider policy requires people to put aside distinct cultural identities, rather than inferring assimilation from language support alone.
- No cultural practice can ever change when people learn a new language.