Anti-Racism, Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Egalitarian and diversity theorists, like all theorists, want to emphasise their differences from each other as well as from their opponents. Pier-Luc Dupont aims to get us beyond that by focusing on how to disrupt and eliminate the exclusionary experiences of minorities without rejecting the need for a theoretical framing. Rather, he seeks a theoretical synthesis of anti-racism, multiculturalism and human rights discourses, highlighting that each has something to offer, but that they are complementary, and together help us to tackle pressing equality, diversity and inclusion issues in relation to education and employment. - Tariq Modood,FBA, University of Bristol, UK.   Institutional diversity policies do not always keep their promises – far from it. Pier-Luc Dupont’s timely, thoughtful and well-argued book explores how modern human rights concepts, such as substantive equality, positive state duties, and cultural rights, must inspire diversity and anti-racist policies. In the process, Dupont does justice not only to human rights, but to institutional and legal approaches. His analysis will be relevant in Britain and beyond. - Pierre Bosset, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada.  

This book unpacks the long-term impact on racism of positive action in employment and multicultural school curricula. It also explores whether international human rights law creates a duty for states to adopt these policies. The continuing prevalence of racial inequality and discrimination is well documented in the UK. While there are multiple accounts of how state institutions are shaped by and reproduce racism, much less has been said about their current and potential contribution to anti-racism. Positive action and multicultural curricula are not new and have long been advocated by multiculturalists, but this book systematically analyses how they can counter four structural drivers of racism: racialised national identities, racialised power inequalities, racial fearmongering, and racial segregation. The book goes on to examine the extent to which they have been implemented in the UK, as well as the legal and political opportunities for future development.

Pier-Luc Dupont is Lecturer in Identity Politics and Director of Comparative Politics and Policy Research Centre at Swansea University, UK.