Social cohesion in Australia has come under pressure in recent months.
The buzzword is being used more and more as Australia experiences rising levels of violence, rioting, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
On Monday, Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said: had undermined social cohesion when he increased the country’s social responsibility .
“The conflict has led to discontent, protests, undermining of social cohesion and increasing intolerance,” he said.
The decline in collective cohesion even prompted the federal cabinet to appoint Australia’s first special envoy for social cohesion, Peter Khalil, during last week’s cabinet reshuffle.
Experts explain what the concept is and what poses the greatest threat to social cohesion.
What is social cohesion?
There are several definitions of social cohesion.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, it is an important ‘determinant of well-being’, indicating the extent to which a society is ‘integrated or divided’.
In the 19th century, it was defined in a frame of reference as ‘the absence of latent social conflict and the presence of strong social bonds’.
Dr Hass Dellal is Director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation and Chair of the Federal Government’s Multicultural Framework Review.
He said the basis of social cohesion is connectedness and the ’embracing of social well-being’.
“There is actually no single definition of social cohesion, but the most recent definitions are about a sense of belonging, group connection, participation and shared values,” Dellal told SBS News.
“Belonging is a fundamental aspect of the human experience, and it is the basis of social cohesion… And in societies like ours, which are so culturally diverse, being inclusive is really important if you want to create that level of respect, but it also sets a country up for success.”
Gough Whitlam was the first Australian politician to use the term during his election speech in 1972.
Dellal notes, however, that the term only became popular in the 1990s due to “concerns about the impact of globalization, economic change, and fears fueled by global conflicts such as the war on terror.”
How is social cohesion measured?
The Scanlan Foundation Research Institute has been measuring social cohesion since 2007 with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the transition of migrants to Australian society.
They identified five key domains of social cohesion: value, social justice, acceptance, belonging and participation.
Each year they ask 90 questions to produce the Scanlon Index of Social Cohesion and conduct a series of in-depth interviews in different communities.
In 2023, at least 7,500 Australians from diverse cultural backgrounds participated, with approximately 250 people completing the survey in their native language.
CEO Anthea Hancocks said social cohesion was declining, but not at an alarming rate.
According to Anthea Hancocks, CEO of the Scanlan Foundation, older Australians have a greater sense of social cohesion because they are more established in their communities and careers. Source: MONKEY / Diego Fedele
Last year, the overall score was 78 out of 100, down 13 points from the highest level during the pandemic. Hancocks said people felt more supported by the government during that period.
She said measures like JobSeeker and JobKeeper increased people’s trust in government and made them feel “that the government was doing the right thing to look after people”.
“Now all those things are gone. So we’re back to the same place we were before the pandemic.”
Is Gaza the biggest threat to social cohesion?
While global factors, such as local violence since the war in Gaza, can undermine social cohesion, Hancocks says people’s economic circumstances are the main driver of the decline.
“The most important factor that influences social cohesion in general is the sense of economic value that people have,” she said.
“So whether or not they feel like they can be optimistic about their own economic future, and that’s often the basis for a lot of other things that people respond to.”
Despite all the setbacks, Australians remain positive about multiculturalism.
Hancocks said their measure consistently reflects this, as “85 per cent of the population believe multiculturalism has been good for Australia”.
She said that involvement at the local level promotes a positive sense of social cohesion.
“Australia is an incredibly close-knit country. People have a strong sense of comfort, familiarity, security and that they have multiple friends from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” she said.
According to Dellal, the country’s social policies are the reason multiculturalism has not failed in Australia, unlike in other parts of the world.
“You can’t claim to be a successful multicultural nation just because you’re ethnically diverse, and in the absence of good policies… You just can’t be diverse and leave it at that,” he said.
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