Rethinking racism, moving towards tolerance
Our perceptions of racism and tolerance in Europe are shaped by many elements, from historical events and colonialism to the extremist ideologies of the Nazi regime. The EU-funded project Tolerace is investigating how various conceptions of racism and tolerance are shaped. It is looking at specific issues such as the impact of World War Two (WWII) and has examined official documents that manage cultural diversity, including public campaigns and politicians' discourses. Several important ideas have already emerged from the project. The first is the necessity to disconnect, i.e. to separate racism from current immigration, questioning the distinction between the 'ethnically marked' and 'ethnically un-marked' populations. The project shows how politics and policies trivialise racism and blame problems of integration on the immigrants or minorities themselves. Tolerace is also analysing different angles of racism such as Europe's 'economic necessity' view on migrants, the continent's human rights philosophy, freedom of speech, and patronising discourse against minorities. The project is looking at racism and anti-racism at work and in school, examining case studies in national and regional contexts. It is also studying thorny immigrant 'inclusion' policies focusing on populations most vulnerable to racial discrimination, including claims of 'unwillingness' to integrate and cultural 'backwardness' of Muslim and Roma populations. Importantly, the project has found that policies on 'inclusion' and 'employability' have become issues of social assistance as authorities aim at the 'correction' of perceived deficits in culture or values. It highlights weakening of anti-racism policies in favour of discourse on diversity and identity, which legitimises 'unsuccessful' inclusion of immigrants in society and reinforces the concept of 'temporary guest-workers'. Armed with all these findings and results, Tolerace is engaging with policymakers, academia and local stakeholders on national, regional and pan-European levels. It is challenging mainstream studies on racism that consider the majority's ideals and historical attitudes, working on introducing more accurate anti-racist and anti-discrimination policies and initiatives. The outcomes of this project could potentially make Europe a better place to live in for both local populations and immigrants.
