Racism And Anti-Racism In Europe

349 Pages·2004·1.14 MB·English

by  Alana Lentin

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Racism and Anti-Racism
in Europe
Alana Lentin
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First published 2004 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA
Copyright © Alana Lentin 2004
The right of Alana Lentin to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 7453 2221 2 hardback
ISBN 0 7453 2220 4 paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lentin, Alana.
Racism and anti-racism in Europe / Alana Lentin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0–7453–2221–2–ISBN 0–7453–2220–4 (pbk.)
1. Europe, Western – Ethnic relations. 2. Racism – Europe,
Western. I. Title.
D1056.L46 2004
305.8(cid:1)0094—dc22 2003025962
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Chase Publishing Services, Fortescue, Sidmouth, EX10 9QG, England
Typeset from disk by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in the European Union by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne, England
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For Louis and Ronit
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
List of Interviews xi
Introduction: Anti-Racism, Sociology and the Political 1
Why Anti-Racism? 4
Historicising Anti-Racism 9
Anti-Racism and Europe 12
Intercontinental Influences 17
The Interpretative Capacity of Anti-Racism 24
Writing a Sociology of Anti-Racism 31
1 ‘Race and State’: European Modernity
and the Political Idea of ‘Race’ 35
‘Race’ and Racism, Nation and State 38
Internal Rationalisation/External Fortification 49
Racism, Antisemitism and the Paradoxes of Equality 58
Racism, Europeanness and the Ideal of Humanity 65
2 Explaining Racism: Anti-Racist Discourse
between Culture and the State 72
The Culturalism of the UNESCO Tradition 74
Culturalism and the Theorisation of a Neoracism 85
Anti-Colonialism, ‘Race’ and Class 96
Conclusion: The Return of Culture 106
3 Anti-Racist Orientations: France, Britain,
Ireland, Italy 113
Touche Pas à Mon Pote!: The Emergence of
Anti-Racism in France 115
Black and White, Unite and Fight: The Emergence of
Anti-Racism in Britain 129
All Different All Equal All Exploited: The Emergence of
Anti-Racism in Ireland 149
vii
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viii Contents
‘Lavoratori Immigrati, Rompere la Catena dei Ricatti di
Padroni e Governo Italiani’: The Emergence of
Anti-Racism in Italy 163
Conclusion 177
4 Anti-Racism as Public Political Culture 179
Anti-Racism in Crisis 180
Majoritarians and Communitarians 197
Anti-Racism or Anti-Fascism? 218
Conclusion 235
5 Who Says What, for Whom and from Where?
Anti-Racism and Political Representation 237
Anti-Racism and Political Representation: Beyond
Visibility 240
Keeping it Real: Authenticity or Experience? 265
Selling Out? Claiming Rights or Asserting Independence 274
Bringing it All Back Home: Localised or Globalised
Anti-Racism? 287
Conclusion: The Possibility of Alliance 300
Conclusion: Anti-Racist Futures: A Sense of Déjà Vu or a
Journey into the Unknown? 306
Policing Strangers: Anti-Racism in Context 311
‘Globalising’ Culture? Anti-Racism’s Response 313
Notes 318
Bibliography 321
Index 331
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Acknowledgements
Writing on themes related to ‘race’ and racism in Europe at the
continent’s intellectual heartland requires a great deal of support;
academic, emotional and material. A number of people have
assisted and encouraged me in the course of researching and writ-
ing this book, and for this I owe them my heartfelt gratitude. Firstly,
my thanks to my PhD supervisor at the Department of Political and
Social Sciences of the European University Institute in Florence,
Peter Wagner. The opportunity opened up to me by our arrivals in
Florence in the same year is undeniable. His ability to help me see
the connections between the specificity of my research interests and
the broader questions thrown out by the social and political theory
of the European state are what helped make this work what it is and
keep me ‘puzzled’ over the years as it gradually came to fruition. The
external members of my thesis defence committee, Zygmunt
Bauman, Cathie Lloyd and Barnor Hesse are warmly thanked for
their insightful and encouraging comments and the support they
have continued to show me.
I have benefited immensely from the comments of a number of
people. First and foremost, my gratitude and love go to my mother,
Ronit Lentin. She has read every single version of every single para-
graph of this work and has never failed to return with her remarks
on everything from concept to style. Her unwavering commitment
to anti-racism and anti-colonialism has been a beacon through the
harder times. Others who took time to read and comment on my
work include Etienne Balibar, Craig Calhoun, Roland Erne, Paul
Gilroy, David Theo Goldberg, Karma Nabulsi, Jean Terrier and Eléni
Varikas. I would like to particularly thank Etienne Balibar and
Zygmunt Bauman for their unwavering commitment to the fight
against racism and nationalism and for their generosity towards
young scholars, from which I have been so lucky to benefit.
Without the following people, conducting this research would
have been made an arduous process. Udo Enwereuzor and Mercedes
Lourdes Frias must be thanked for the invaluable introduction they
gave me to Italian anti-racism. Friends and family provided me with
accommodation and sustenance during my research missions to
France, Britain and Ireland: Flora Bernard in Paris, Lars Nyctelius
ix
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x Acknowledgements
and Peter Lauritzen in Strasbourg and Louis and Ronit Lentin in
Dublin. Special thanks to my brother, Miki, whose flat in London
must at times have seemed like my permanent second home.
A final word must go to the friends, old and new, whose company
or voices on the other end of the phone have helped make the last
four years exceptionally enjoyable. To Yael Ohana: the special qual-
ities of our relationship bore their mark here too as they do
throughout many aspects of my life. Others with whom I have seen
these times through together and whose friendship and solidarity I
value enormously are Benoit, Chiara, Eeva, Hakim, Irene, Jean,
Joerg, Nicolas, Punky, Roberto, Sandrine, Sylvain, the members of
the EUI Women’s Running Club, those of the Collettivo IUE, the
Grays, and of course my Savta Lia.
Most importantly, to the protagonists of this book, the anti-racist
activists, for your words, thank you.
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List of Interviews
BRITAIN
Anti Nazi League (ANL)
A broad-based mass organisation involved in direct campaigns
against the far Right
Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (CARF)
Independent anti-racist magazine
National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR)
Black community-led anti-racist organisation
National Civil Rights Movement (NCRM)
Nation-wide network for racial justice against institutional racism
National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC)
Voluntary organisation that provides assistance for running
anti-deportation campaigns
Newham Monitoring Project (NMP)
Emergency service for victims of racial violence and police harassment
The 1990 Trust
National organisation for the protection of the interests of black
communities
FRANCE
Agence pour le développement des relations interculturelles (ADRI)
Assistance for the integration of people of non-French origin
Association des travailleurs maghrébins en France (ATMF)
Organisation for the protection of the interests of the Maghrebi
population of France
La lettre pour la citoyenneté
Campaign for citizenship and voting rights for ‘foreign residents’
La maison des ensembles (MDE)
Autonomous collective of sans-papiers in the Parisian 10th District
Les Sans-papiers
National Coordination of the Sans-papiers in France
Ligue contre le racisme et l’antisémitisme (LICRA)
xi
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xii List of Interviews
Organisation against antisemitism and racism with a strong legal
emphasis
Ras l’Front
Anti-fascist organisation established to oppose the Front national
Réseau pour l’autonomie des femmes immigrées et réfugiées (RAJFIRE)
Feminist collective for the rights of immigrant and refugee women
SOS Racisme
Youth-based national anti-racist organisation
IRELAND
Association of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Ireland (ARASI)
Campaigning organisation of refugees and asylum seekers
National Federation of Anti-Racism Campaigns (NFARC)
Umbrella organisation for groups campaigning for the rights of
asylum seekers and immigrants
National Travellers’ Women’s Forum (NTWF)
Organisation of Traveller women and their supporters
Pan-African Organisation
Network of African communities
Residents Against Racism (RAR)
Direct action campaign for the rights of immigrants and asylum
seekers
Sport Against Racism in Ireland (SARI)
Campaign against racism through sport and education
‘Zˇena Project’ – Bosnian Community
Project for the integration of Bosnian women refugees
ITALY
Arci Nuova Associazione (ARCI)
Social organisation based on mutual aid and solidarity
Comitato per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti (COSPE)
Development organisation running anti-racist projects including
training and the coordination of Italy’s membership in the
European Network Against Racism (ENAR)
Associazione Rom Firenze
Organisation for the rights of Roma people in Florence
La Rete d’Urgenza contro il Razzismo
Emergency hotline for the victims of racial violence in Turin