Race has been a prominent public policy issue in the UK for decades and there is growing interest in academia, but it is often caught in a repetitive cycle of progress and regress. This book analyses and bridges that gap by providing a unique insight into the relationship between race and ethnicity scholarship and the reality of ‘real world’ policy and politics. Drawing on the author’s academic work as well as his background working in public policy bodies, it goes beyond ‘impact’ debates, public sociology, diversity and post-race, to examine the changing context for researching race and racism, including media and policy debates and the ways in which institutional racism has played out in public policy settings since the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. Combining theory and applied policy analysis in an accessible way, it guides the reader through the cultural and political changes in race and racism in recent decades and identifies the challenges and opportunities for policy and politically-engaged scholarship in future, clearly mapping the pitfalls and possibilities for critical work on race and racism. .

Twenty-first century British kids are more comfortable with ethnic diversity than ever before. The 'mixed race' population is rising exponentially. In school playgrounds across Britain, kids are inventing a version of colour-blind, multi-ethnic interaction that should teach the adult world a thing or two - not least about the amazing, superdiverse generation that is to come. And yet, for over a decade, playgrounds and classrooms have endured unprecedented interference in the form of official racist-incident reporting, training on the importance of racial etiquette, and the reinforcement of racial identities. Such interference is viewed by modern day anti-racists as a necessary bulwark against the creeping influence of the far-right, 'Islamophobia', and more generally the supposed covert racism of the wider population. Many official policy documents written under the influence of this approach insist a failure to tackle racist behaviour at the earliest age will allow racism to incubate and grow. Here, 'racism' is something defined by the notion of what constitutes hate speech or wounding words. Often it can be detected from an entirely innocent phrase, so long as the phrase is perceived by the offence-taker or another party or policy as 'racist'. This mindset has, in recent years, permeated public discourse on the subject. Evidence of racism - such as a gaffe by a politician or celebrity, or a footballer's on-pitch insult - is always 'the tip of iceberg' (the moment that racist society breaks the surface and is revealed to all). The idea of a hidden mass of racists in our midst explains the advent of a racism-watch approach that turns up the attenuator and trawls the nooks and crannies of everyday life for tell-tale signs. Moreover, PC anti-racism synthesises many of today's worst cultural trends: the erosion of free speech and of adult moral authority; the elevation of victimhood and of identity politics (particularly the reinstatement of racial identity); the misanthropic view of rotten, vulnerable humanity (where the state becomes purifier); the cult of child protection and the emergence of a degraded and vulgar conception of child development. It is with some irony, then, that modern day anti-racism can be argued as having taken over from old-fashioned racism as the dominant racialising force in British society.

This book develops a psychoanalytic theory of political correctness and the pristine self, which is defined as a self touched by nothing but love. It explores the damage that political correctness can do to social order. Applications include the breakdown of social capital, the financial crisis, and Occupy Wall Street. Long an issue for conservatives, alarm over political correctness has now spread to the liberal side of the political spectrum. As Schwartz argues, all have reason to be concerned. The psychology that underlies political correctness has the potential to be extremely destructive to social organization on every level. Schwartz discusses the primitive roots of political correctness and, through the use of case studies, shows its capacity for ruination. The book focuses on a transformation in the idea of the self, and specifically the rise of the pristine self. The problem is that, in truth, the world does not love us. This puts the pristine self at war with objective reality.

On 22 April 1993 black teenager Stephen Lawrence was murdered. His killers were never brought to justice. A committee of inquiry was established under the chairmanship of Sir William Macpherson to investigate 'the matters arising' from the death of Stephen Lawrence for both the investigation and the prosecution of racially motivated crimes.

Developed from the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations, now in its fourth edition, Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies has been assembled by a world-class team of international scholars led by Ellis Cashmore to provide an authoritative, single-volume reference work on all aspects of race and ethnic studies. From Aboriginal Australians to xenophobia, Nelson Mandela to Richard Wagner, sexuality to racial profiling, the Encyclopedia is organized alphabetically and reflects cultural diversity in a global context. The entries range from succinct 400 word definitions to in-depth 2000 word essays to provide comprehensive coverage of: all the key terms, concepts and debates important figures, both historical and contemporary landmark cases historical events Although unafraid to engage with cutting-edge theory, the Encyclopedia is uncluttered by jargon and has been written in a lucid, 'facts-fronted' style to offer an accessible introduction to race and ethnic studies. The Encyclopedia is also fully cross-referenced and thoroughly indexed with most entries followed by annotated up-to-date suggestions for further reading to guide the user to the key sources. It is destined to become an essential resource for scholars and students of race and ethnic studies, as well as a handy reference for journalists and others working in the field.

This book considers institutional racism as a problem that exists within modern societies. Its roots lie with the transatlantic slave trade and slavery and the solution involves ridding society of the problem. It is argued here that, first, there needs to be an acceptance of its existence, then developing the tools needed to deal with it and, finally, to implement those tools so that institutional racism can be permanently removed from society. The book has four themes: the first considers the nature of institutional racism, the second theme looks at instances of institutional racism through matters such as deaths in custody and skin lightening, the third considers the concept of reparations and the final area looks at the development of social movements as a way of pushing institutional racism up the political agenda. The development of a social movement is part of a social discourse which would, for example, push mentoring as a form of reparations. There is a need for more research on the manifestations of institutional racism and this book is part of that discourse. It is argued that the legacy of the slave trade and slavery is continuing and contemporary through the presence of institutional racism in society. This problem has not been addressed through legislation and policies devised to combat racial discrimination. Institutional racism needs to be understood as being located in the processes and procedures of societal institutions.

This book challenges the dominant assumptions and attitudes that shape education and is the first major study in the UK to adopt 'Critical Race Theory' – a radical new perspective on the nature of racism and public policy.

An independent and impartial judiciary is fundamental to the existence and operation of a liberal democracy. Focussing on Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, this comparative 2011 study explores four major issues affecting the judicial institution. These issues relate to the appointment and discipline of judges; judges and freedom of speech; the performance of non-judicial functions by judges; and judicial bias and recusal, and each is set within the context of the importance of maintaining public confidence in the judiciary. The essays highlight important episodes or controversies affecting members of the judiciary to illustrate relevant principles.

As the Labour government approaches the end of its second term in office there is a need to assess the welfare issues that have been put into place and examine what has been achieved. 'Poverty, Inequality and Exclusion' brings together the expertise of a range of authors to provide this evaluation.

"This paper is based on research into European economics and politics on the basis of ten months travelling in ten countries, as well as on four workshops run in Europe. Two hypotheses will be explored: It is possible to discern psychodynamic evidence that unresolved humiliation trauma is being re-evoked and recycled by attempts to find solutions and cures through the tyranny of austerity measures. But the question will be asked whether these are “chosen trauma” (Volkan, 2010) which may be at the heart of the foundation matrix (Foulkes, 1973) of the European Community. The exploration of political and economic leadership in the crisis in the European Union builds on the notion of society as a large group proliferating crises of identity. From a systemic perspective it is possible to analyse the nation states of Europe protesting with regressive nationalism, refusing collaboration by engaging in economic warfare while at the same time attempting rescue packages. The protest could be seen as defensive denial of their humbling at the hands of the over-ambitious aspects of the European single currency project and the demise of the potency of the nation state. The concluding section reflects on these issues and tries to distinguish the recycling of humiliation trauma from defence against the experience of being humbled."