Australia's social cohesion has come under strain in recent months.
The buzzword has been increasingly used amid a surge in violence, riots, Islamophobia and antisemitism in Australian communities.
On Monday, Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said had undermined social cohesion as he raised the country's .
"The conflict has fuelled grievances, promoted protests, undermined social cohesion and elevated intolerance," he said.
The downturn in collective connectedness even prompted the federal cabinet to appoint Australia's first special envoy for social cohesion, Peter Khalil, in last week's cabinet reshuffle.
Experts explain the concept and social cohesion's biggest threat.
What is social cohesion?
There are multiple definitions of social cohesion.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare states it is an important "determinant of well-being" indicating to what extent a society is "integrated or divided".
A reference in the 1800s described it as "the absence of latent social conflict, and the presence of strong social bonds".
Dr Hass Dellal is the executive director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation and chair of the federal government's multicultural framework review.
He said the foundation of social cohesion is belonging and "embracing social good".
"There's really no agreed definition on social cohesion, but the most current definitions are on a sense of belonging, attachment to a group, participation and shared values," Dellal told SBS News.
"Belonging is a fundamental aspect of the human experience, and that's the foundation of social cohesion ... And with societies like ours that are so culturally diverse, to be inclusive is so important if you want to create that level of respect, but it also drives a nation to success."
Gough Whitlam was the first Australian politician to use the term during his election speech in 1972.
But, Dellal notes the term didn't grow in prominence until the 1990s due to "concerns prompted by the impact of globalisation, economic change and fears fuelled by global conflicts such as the war on terrorism".
How is social cohesion measured?
The Scanlan Foundation Research Institute has been measuring social cohesion since 2007, intending to learn more about the transition of migrants into Australian society.
They identified five key domains of social cohesion: worth, 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 across different communities.
In 2023 at least 7,500 Australians from different cultural backgrounds participated, with around 250 people completing the survey in their native language.
CEO Anthea Hancocks said social cohesion was on the decline, but not at a concerning rate.
Scanlan Foundation CEO Anthea Hancocks says older Australians have a greater feeling of social cohesion as they are more settled in their communities and careers. Source: AAP / Diego Fedele
She said measures like JobSeeker and JobKeeper increased people's trust in the government and gave them a "sense that the government was doing the right thing to look after people".
"Now all those things have disappeared. So we are back to the same place we were pre-pandemic."
Is Gaza the biggest threat to social cohesion?
While global factors like local violence since the war in Gaza can impact social cohesion, Hancocks said people's economic circumstances were the main contributor to declining levels.
"The main factor that influences social cohesion overall is people's sense of economic worth," she said.
"So whether or not they feel like they can be optimistic about their own economic futures, and that tends to underpin a whole lot of other things that people have reactions to."
In light of any hardships, Australians' attitudes towards multiculturalism remain positive.
Hancocks said their metric views this consistently as "85 per cent of the population believe multiculturalism has been good for Australia".
She said engagement at a local level fostered positive feelings of social cohesion.
"Australia is an incredibly cohesive country ... People have a very strong sense of comfort, familiarity, safety, and that they have multiple friends from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds," she said.
Dellal credits the country's social policies with why multiculturalism has not failed in Australia, unlike other parts of the world.
"You can't claim to be a successful multicultural nation simply because you're ethnically diverse, and in the absence of good policy … You just can't be diverse and just leave it at that," he said.
