State Promotion of “Shared Values”

In a number of contemporary liberal democracies, governments from different sides of the political spectrum appear to be trumpeting ‘shared values’ as a remedy to social divisiveness and political disengagement. The public purpose of promoting the values that ‘we’ allegedly have in common gives ground to a series of state actions and public policies, such as: integration contracts, tests for immigrants, moral and civic education courses in schools, military and civic service (either compulsory or voluntary), ‘de-radicalisation’ programs as well as programs to enhance gender equality and combat violence against women, professional trainings in the management of cultural and religious diversity for public officials.