ABSTRACT
The focus of this chapter is on the connections between the construction of racialised identities and the formation of the racial other. We argue that it perhaps is not surprising, given the political and social debates that have taken place over the past few decades, that ideas about race and ethnicity are important starting points in the construction of identities in contemporary societies. In this context, we shall argue that an important issue that must be addressed is the role that identity politics plays in constructing and shaping contemporary ideas about race and ethnicity. We shall also highlight the processes that ensure that the construction of racialised identities is very much an active process involving agency and is not simply the outcome of structural processes in the wider society.
