ABSTRACT
Race is not a singular concept in Europe. It does not occupy a singular social position and nor does it enjoy a central or stable definition across European countries. One might expect there to be more internal coherence to the legal concept of race in Europe than currently exists, due to the overlapping histories and legal jurisdictions among European countries. However, despite various common discussions about racism taking place in Europe, race remains highly contextually contingent, dynamic and contentious. One commonality across much of Europe, however, is that race as such is frequently framed in a language that minimises its importance as an analytical concept. This is not to deny the importance of other identity traits and status positions, such as citizenship status, gender, sexuality and religion as constituent co-valences of systemic marginalisation. The issue is that in various settings across Europe, race is discussed as something of an American relic, part of a clunky imported vernacular unfit to serve as framework for understanding the European context. With this undercurrent of thought as a backdrop, the work of self-identified antiracism activism can be difficult to describe to a broad public. This difficulty is sharpened in the current times of growing nationalism, xenophobia and racism throughout Europe. Rising nationalism and overt racism is dangerous not only for the threat that it represents to immigrants and people of colour, but also for the ways it distracts us from seeing forms of structural and institutional racism. In other words, it is difficult to focus social energy on identifying and countering obscured structural exclusion when overt racism captivates and monopolises the public imagination. This form of distraction is not new, but it is certainly a dynamic that must be considered in contemporary Europe, particularly now.
