The Persistence and Mutation of Racism

36 Pages Posted: 20 Oct 2008 Last revised: 24 Oct 2008

See all articles by Douwe Korff

Douwe Korff

Oxford Martin School - Global Cyber Capacity Centre; Eur. Univ. Viadrina - Centre for Internet & Human Rights; Yale University - Information Society Project; London Metropolitan University

Date Written: 2000

Abstract

PLEASE NOTE: I was involved in the drafting of this paper, but am not claiming it as my own; it was published by the International Council on Human Rights Policy, ICHRP, in English, French and Spanish.

The following abstract is an edited text from the Preface to the paper by Robert Archer, then Executive Director of the ICHRP:

This paper provides a brief survey of some of the main issues that currently preoccupy people who suffer from racial discrimination or who study its effects. It looks at racism as an international phenomenon, because in one form or another it is to be found in almost every society on earth. It is deeply associated with certain forms of entrenched poverty and certain kinds of violence. No subject is rawer for those who suffer it, precisely because it is a denial of human relationship. Yet it is a feature of racism that, though widespread, for many people it remains unseen. When it is not physically violent, those who do not experience it often fail to understand how profoundly offensive it is. The paper tries to show how persistent racism is, and how it mutates to re-appear in different contexts.

The paper is limited. For instance, there is no full agreement about the definition of racism and we did not try to find one; our aim was merely to identify a range of issues for debate. For similar reasons, this document does not take adequate account of history. Numerous issues of substance arise here too, but such complex historical questions can unfortunately also not be addressed in so short a paper. Finally, this document does not describe what it is to experience racism and racial discrimination. Perhaps only literature can do this adequately.

As Rober Archer put it: "If this paper helps in any way to sharpen our awareness of the numerous and also subtle forms that racism and racial discrimination take in our societies, it will have served its purpose."

Keywords: human rights, racism, race, discrimination

Suggested Citation

Korff, Douwe, The Persistence and Mutation of Racism (2000). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1287057 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1287057

Douwe Korff (Contact Author)

Oxford Martin School - Global Cyber Capacity Centre ( email )

University of Oxford
34 Broad Street
Oxford, OX1 3BD
United Kingdom

Eur. Univ. Viadrina - Centre for Internet & Human Rights ( email )

Grosse Scharrnstr. 59
Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg 15230
Germany

Yale University - Information Society Project ( email )

P.O. Box 208206
New Haven, CT 06520-8206
United States

London Metropolitan University ( email )

London
United Kingdom

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