ABSTRACT
This Chapter looks at that concept at the heart of claims for the emergence within Britain, during the last two decades or so, of a new cultural politics of racism: the 'New Racism' (NR). It describes the seminal concept of NR in order to explicate its foundational logic, and the scope and focus of its claims, within the theoretical and historical context of its emergence. The chapter examines the concept in terms of the role it has played in providing a conceptual 'tool box' for understanding the role of Smethwick and Powellism in the construction of the 'new' cultural political language of racism. It explores the 'fault lines' through an examination of the relationship between the 'content' and claims of the NR writers. The chapter seeks to identify and explain the contribution the NR has made to the analysis of postwar racial discourse.
