The International Politics of RaceISBN: 978-0-7456-3049-6
Paperback
240 pages
December 2002, Polity
Other Available Formats: Hardcover
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In this important and timely new book, Michael Banton examines
the international politics of racial discrimination and racism. The
book recounts key events in the international politics of race
during the past few decades. It discusses the difficulties in
defining race and racism, provides case studies of international
initiatives and national measures against discrimination, and
reviews the 2001 World Conference Against Racism.
The idea that humans naturally belong in races derives from a
scientific error, but it is not easily dispelled from popular
thought. By relying on this conception of racism, the international
antiracist movement continually recycles the very idea of race that
it condemns. In its place, the adoption of an international
perspective should inspire a powerful critique of the language of
race as used in the English-speaking world. The new language of
human rights reformulates the issues in ways that should appeal to
everyone.
Michael Banton's writings over many years have included classical studies of race and ethnicity and have made him one of the best-known and respected sociologists of race. This book will be a key text for students of the politics and sociology of race, international relations and anti-discrimination law. It is written in a style that will also appeal to the general reader.