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Europe: variations on a theme of racism

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01 March 1991

A special issue of the journal Race and Class entitled "Europe: variations on a theme of racism" was published in January. The 19 articles include ones on policies and practices on immigration refugees and asylum-seekers (From ethno-centrism to Euro-racism), the emergence of the ad-hoc bodies outside of democratic control (Towards an authoritarian European state), a guide to the far Right in Europe compiled by the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism(CARF), a bibliography and articles on Germany, France, Belgium, Italy Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Holland. In the editorial Sivanandan recalls that the journal predicted in 1988 : "The problem for an open Europe is how to close it -against immigrants and refugees from the Third World". Today he writes: "the structures for that closure are being set in place in the informal meetings of the Trevi groups of ministers and police chiefs and the discussions of the inter-state treaty makers of Schengen. And, as before, the dangers for democratic government, for accountable administration shows itself in the erosion of rights of some of its citizens. For although Trevi is meant to be addressing the problem of terrorists and drug-runners and Schengen the problem of illegal immigrants and refugees, a common culture of European racism, which defines all Third World people as immigrants and refugees, and all immigrants and refugees as terrorists and drug-runners, will not be able to tell a citizen from an immigrant or an immigrant from a refugee, let alone one black from another. They all carry their passports on their faces." Race and Class special issue "Europe: variations on a theme of racism" from the Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS. Price £4.00.