This article suggests that a cumulative process has generated a growing segmentation of the social space along ethno-cultural lines in polyethnic societies over the last century. The concomitant rise of egalitarianism as a modern democratic dogma has tended to produce a heightened degree of tension and envy at the intercultural interface and to trigger violence. The authors examine a number of alternative ways that have been used to manage the intercultural interface and to contain violence. They are led to propose a new social contract built on the principle "different but united" and rooted in an explicit civil theology. Such a contract would provide for hierarchies, separateness, and complementar ities in institutional forms to reduce envy and contain violence.
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