Comparative Ethnic and Race Relations - Böcker

Harry Goulbourne's theme is how post-imperial Britain has come to define the national community in terms of ethnic affinity, instead of a traditional multi-ethnic/multi-racial understanding of the nation. He argues that the continuing 'reception-experience' of non-white groups in post-war Britain not only arose out of an ethnic perception of the British nation by the indigenous population, as expressed through state action, but has also, in turn, encouraged an equally ethnic awakening or mobilisation among non-white minorities. The result is a failure to construct a common national ground or sense of community by all those claiming a formal British identity. Goulbourne draws upon a diverse literature, including race relations, politics and history. His two case studies of the Khalistan question in the Punjab and democracy in Guyana are examples of how exilic politics may affect Britain's ethnic minorities, partly as a result of the experience of exclusion from British society.

This book, first published in 1985, presents a comprehensive analysis of immigration policy in Europe. Six representative countries are looked at in detail: Sweden, Holland, Britain, France, West Germany and Switzerland. All have experienced large-scale postwar immigration and exemplify different policy responses: the 'guestworker' system in Germany and Switzerland; policies aiming at permanent settlement in Britain and Sweden; intermediate policies in France and Holland. Britain, France and Holland are also countries where there has been substantial immigration from ex-colonies. The book looks at the size and composition of immigration to each country, its history, the economic and social background to immigration, its regulation and policy measures and their effects on immigrants. The second part of the book provides a comparative analysis of the different immigration policies and the reasons for them; changes in immigration policy; the different forms of regulation and control, housing, education, and social welfare provisions.

This book, first published in 1983, examines why people prefer to talk about immigrants or ethnic minorities when they are referring to differences marked not by the migratory process of ethnicity, but by skin colour. How, without mentioning racial criteria, have politicians managed to introduce immigration controls deliberately aimed at reducing the number of black migrants? This book identifies a central feature of British political life: the ability to justify racially discriminatory behaviour without recourse to explicit racist language. It gives an account of British racial ideology as it is practically experienced in the form of political discourse and helps to provide a theoretical understanding of its relationship to the social structure as a whole and in particular its relationship to inter- and intra-class divisions. The author argues that traditional class-based ideologies are perfectly capable of supporting racially oppressive institutions and have far better 'protective' properties than expressions of overt racism. As a result, the objective structures of British race relations are obscured by a facade of 'deracialised ideology'.

This book, first published in 1986, focuses upon the processes whereby black workers were systematically disadvantaged in the recruitment and selection process. Based on research into forty organisations in the public, manufacturing and retailing sectors in Britain, the book argues that straightforward, racist, direct discrimination was still a major problem during the mid-1980s. In addition the book identifies a range of more subtle processes, involving stereotypes of acceptability and ethnic stereotypes, informal social networks and 'word of mouth' contacts, which also constitute a barrier for black job seekers. These processes are documented on the basis of extensive quotations from interviews. Using detailed case-study material from two organisations the author draws attention to the importance of organisational politics and their impact upon the recruitment of black workers and the formulation and implementation of equal opportunity policies. Finally the implications of unemployment and recession for the prospects of black workers are discussed and the feasibility and desirability of a range of policy options are assessed.

The South Asian diaspora came into being with the end of slavery in the British Empire. Huge numbers of labourers were recruited in the Indian sub-continent for indentured labour schemes, notably in Southeast Asia, South and East Africa, Mauritius, Fiji and the Caribbean, and also in French colonies. Later there were waves of 'free' immigration to these and other countries, including, in the last generation, Britain itself and North America. This set of essays by scholars from several different disciplines offers detailed accounts of the experience of the migrant communities, and the editors contribute valuable overviews. Originally published in 1990, it is an indispensable resource for scholars interested in the diaspora, or concerned with problems of migration.

Western industrial societies underwent a massive transformation during the 1980s, and this was particularly noticeable in the older cities whose economies were based on labour-intensive industry. In the period following World War II, racial and ethnic minorities who migrated from overseas, or from the rural areas within the same country, formed a pool of low-paid labour upon which the prosperity of the industrial city depended. With the subsequent reorganisation of these economies, industrial production shifted overseas, while the new technological industries expanded locally, requiring fewer, and better skilled workers. The consequence for those seemingly excluded from the prosperity of the post-industrial age was disastrous. In this collection of essays, which was published in 1992 and edited by Malcolm Cross, leading authorities compare the situation of racial minorities in the post-industrial cities of Europe and North America, and examine ways in which their position can be ameliorated.

Originally published in 1984, this book was the first broad review of the development of business among ethnic minorities in Britain. Chapters describing business performance among established groups such as Jews and Italians were accompanied by accounts of business development among minorities from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent. Reviews of parallel trends in the United States and Western Europe underlined the important role of ethnic businesses in capitalist societies as a whole. At the time, ways of encouraging business development among minorities were raising important questions. Was this the way to give new life to the economy in the inner city? Could involvement in business provide opportunities for economic advance and increase stability in ethnic communities? Or was it simply an attempt to make the best of the increasingly marginal social and economic situation in which they found themselves in the 1980s? This book allowed for a clearer assessment of ethnic business development as a strategy for economic survival.

This book studies the relations between black and white adolescents in an urban environment (South London); the processes by which racism is relayed within adolescent communities, and the strategies which subvert or encourage them. More specifically Hewitt examines the sociolinguistic impact of the 'London Jamaican' creole used by young black Londoners on the language and culture of young whites. Basing his work on extensive fieldwork amongst racially mixed groups in youth clubs, schools and 'street corner' contexts. Hewitt is able to examine the way racial attitudes and cultural allegiances are expressed in, and affected by, inter-racial friendships. White Talk Black Talk is a uniquely ethnographic account which places the use of black language forms in the speech of whites firmly in its social and political setting: integrating disciplines in a creative way, Hewitt sites a practical sociolinguistic study within a much wider and systematic sociological context of group interaction. This study will be of special interest within sociolinguistics, the sociology of race relations and of youth culture, and urban anthropology, but its rich and fascinating ethnographic detail will also make it of interest to the non-specialist.

This book brings together internationally known scholars from a wide range of disciplines and theoretical traditions, all of whom have made significant contributions to the field of race and ethnic relations. As well as identifying important and persistent points of controversy, the collection reveals a complementary and multifaceted approach to theorisation. The theories represented include contributions from the perspective of sociology. These range from the established perspectives of Marx and Weber through to the more recent interventions of rational choice theory, symbolic interactionism and identity structure analysis.

This book discusses British thought on race and racial differences in the latter phases of empire from the 1890s to the early 1960s. It focuses on the role of racial ideas in British society and politics and looks at the decline in Victorian ideas of white Anglo-Saxon racial solidarity. The impact of anthropology is shown to have had a major role in shifting the focus on race in British ruling class circles from a classical and humanistic imperialism towards a more objective study of ethnic and cultural groups by the 1930s and 1940s. As the empire turned into a commonwealth, liberal ideas on race relations helped shape the post-war rise of 'race relations' sociology. Drawing on extensive government documents, private papers, newspapers, magazines and interviews this book breaks new ground in the analysis of racial discourse in twentieth-century British politics and the changing conception of race amongst anthropologists, sociologists and the professional intelligentsia.

This edition, first published in 1989, looks at the problems of racism and equal opportunity in employment and government policies towards them in Britain. It brings together a group of specialist contributors and covers the major areas of debate, including the law, policies towards unemployment, job training and the labour market, the role of the public and private sectors, the role of trade unions, the gap between policies and pronouncements on equal opportunity and their implementation, and the related issue of sectarian discrimination in Northern Ireland. It looks at the future prospects for equal opportunities and provides conclusions for policy. In particular, it aims to address important topics such as the assumptions underlying policies and whether they realistically reflect reality, the actual effect of legislation, and the relationship between power disparities in society as a whole and racial inequality.