When thinking about a pluralist society, one of the things that interest me are the differences between the many varieties of cultures. Culture is related to the your origin of birth, which makes me wonder if we really have our own opinion or if it all depends on our environment and certain events that occurred. When I combined culture with democracy, I questioned if it would be easier to integrate cultures or to separate them when governing. Indirectly questioning how culture affects politics. To state my research question: What social situation is more favorable when governing a democracy, complete integration or complete segregation of cultures? .
Segregation is the division of society into different parts, which mostly occurs when one cultural group with most of the political and economic power excludes other groups. Integration is the opposite, meaning the combination of one culture with an other. Segregation also occurs when people are unwilling to adapt and want to maintain their entire culture. When multiple individuals feel the same when sharing the same beliefs, they will act as an community within society. If you share the same ideas regarding politics, your are stronger and more convincing when united. This increases your voice as an individual and as a minority in politics. Further, when minorities are united, new political parties might arise because they might not feel as if they have enough political influence. As a result, people become more politically active and the government is able to recognise the culture and the frame of reference more efficiently. This will make it easier to take their demands into account when certain political decisions are made.
A downside to segregation is the fact that the dominant culture is surely still able to ignore or overshadow the demands of minorities, denying them equal opportunities. Integration will prevent said marginalization of minorities, as there is no such thing in a fully integrated and entirely acculturated society.
