Scapegoats and Social Actors

Book excerpt: Dani Joly brings together theoretical and empirical research on ethnic minorities in Eastern and Western Europe showing that their positions and the increased prejudices they encounter share many similarities throughout Europe. Whether racism and exclusion are related to exploitation and power relations, ideologies, or social status, they pervade interactions between the majority society and its ethnic minorities. The history of such ideologies, the upsurge of racism and xenophobia through the general crisis of Western Europe and the various 'arenas' of racism in Germany are respectively studied by Eide, Alt and Blaschke, while Jarabova and Matei/Aluas examine prejudice and racism in the Czech lands and Romania. What international legal and theoretical instruments there are to counteract these trends are explored by Phillips and Rex, while Lloyd focuses on the social practice of anti-racist movements. Finally, Anthias theorises the different categories of disadvantage for ethnic minority women experience. Still looking at women, Campani, Vasquez and Xavier de Brito demonstrate how those establish themselves as social actors in the reception country.