Die Mehrzahl der Beiträge geht zurück auf eine Tagung an der University of Adelaide, organisiert vom Centre for Intercultural Studies and Multicultural Education (CISME). Die Autoren diskutieren teilweise kontrovers Erfahrungen, Probleme und Möglichkeiten multikultureller und multilinguistischer Gesellschaften, wobei die Sprach- und Bildungspolitik den thematischen und Australien den regionalen Schwerpunkt darstellen. Daneben umfaßt der Band Beiträge zu Japan, Südafrika, Deutschland, Mitteleuropa, Großbritannien und der Schweiz. Inhalt: I. Democracy and Cultural Pluralism: Nigel Grant: Democracy and Cultural Pluralism: Towards the 21st Century (25-50); Jerzy J. Smolicz: In Search of a Multicultural Nation: The Case of Australia from an International Perspective (51-76); Hania M. Fedorowicz: The Multicultural Society in Central Europe: Towards a Communication Strategy (77-92). II. Ethnic Politics, Intercultural Communication and the Multicultural Challenge to Education: John Clammer: Japanese and Foreigners: Challenges to Intercultural Communication in Japan (95-116); Patrick McAllister: Zulu Kingdom and Afrikaaner "Volksstaat": The Reinvention of Ethnic Politics in South Africa (117-124); Sigrid Luchtenberg: Stages in Multicultural Theory and Practice in Germany (125-148); Jill Moore: Brief Candle of Light Through Yonder Window? Multicultural Education in Britain in the Eighties and Nineties (149-162). III. Linguistic Diversity and Education Policies: Michael Clyne: Monolingualism, Multilingualism and the Australian Nation (165-184); Lynn M. F. Arnold: Breaking the Tyranny of Monoculturalism and Monolingualism: The Australian Experience (185-211); Giancarlo Chiro / Jerzy J. Smolicz: The Activation and Evaluation of Italian Language and Culture among Tertiary Students of Italian Ancesty in Australia (213-242); Kathleen Heugh: Disabling and Enabling: Implications of Language Policy Trends in South Africa (243-270); Richard J. Watts: Language Policies and Education in Switzerland (271-302).