The knowledge and understanding that are believed to be authoritative, and by whom, is decisive, as is the ability to define the task in which the parties to a dialogue are engaged. But if it is to be more than a passing encounter, it must involve deep knowledge, understanding, and recognition of the Other’s culture, and a willingness to negotiate. In addressing the ‘crisis of difference’ in our contemporary societies intercultural dialogue has a crucial role. The contemporary post-colonial, globalised, transnational, neo-liberal world shapes both the sites within which intercultural dialogues take place, and the contemporary debate on interculturalism itself. That in turn means taking into account the social and political context of such dialogues. As the its title indicates, the book’s primary concern is with such dialogues as social or specifically political phenomena in which power relations are fully engaged. where they are dialogues about cultural beliefs and practices, and where ‘intercultural knowledge’, and ‘intercultural negotiations’ are involved. The particular focus is on dialogues in multi-cultural, multilingual, multi-ethnic societies when they are concerned with addressing cultural and religious difference i.e. The book therefore examines what both ‘intercultural’ and ‘dialogue’ mean, and what problems are encountered when seeking to actualise the practice of intercultural dialogue as a means of addressing our contemporary ‘crisis of difference’.

Moreover, despite the high hopes and expectations that its advocates have for it, interculturalism, or more specifically intercultural dialogue, is no ‘magic bullet’, nor is it an easy option, procedurally or politically. Interculturalism and intercultural dialogue are, however, concepts that require a great deal of deconstruction. Among other things, 2008 was declared the ‘Year of Intercultural Dialogue’ by the European Union (EU), and in the same year the Bouchard-Taylor Report (Building the Future: A Time for Reconciliation) was a powerful advocate for a policy of interculturalism in Québec. In the last fifteen years, interculturalism has received a great deal of attention from academics and policy makers in Europe and North America, notably in respect of contemporary debates about multiculturalism.

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