The Racism Debate in Germany

Concepts of Anti-Racism and Matters of Solidarity
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-19804-8
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 132 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Ethnic and Racial Studies

This book traces the current debates on critical theory of racism in Germany and emphasizes its contribution to the global discourse on racism and anti-racism. It provides a comprehensive examination of the key debates, blind spots, and pitfalls of this theory while exploring the politicization of discussions surrounding the relationship between anti-Semitism and racism. The contributions shed light on the current state and weaknesses of anti-racism in Germany, including government measures, while offering alternative understandings of difference and highlighting the importance of solidarity in combating racism.

The concept of 'structural racism' is presented as central to political conflicts, showing how this term is used in anti-racist movements and the barriers to its discussion. The book examines the link between state violence, restrictive migration policies, police practices, and the moral panic surrounding 'clan crime' through the lens of 'carceral racism.' It also analyses the crucial role of language in creating racist distinctions, focusing on how the German language can function as a marker of difference and a 'linguistic hiding place for race.' The discussion extends to the methodological challenges of integrating critical theories of racism with quantitative methods.

This book is an essential read for scholars, students, and activists interested in critical race theory, German studies, migration studies, and global anti-racism movements. It offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to understand how Germany's specific historical and social context shapes contemporary debates on racism within a broader international framework.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bojadzijev, Manuela

Bojadžijev, Manuela

Mecheril, Paul

Celikates, Robin

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Minderheiten, Interkulturelle & Multikulturelle Fragen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Deutsche Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: The racism debate in Germany: concepts of anti-racism and matters of solidarity: introduction to the special issue 1. Racism or racisms? Rethinking differentiation and the significance of solidarity 2. From “Xenophobia” to structural racism, and back? Epistemic obstacles, conceptual struggles, and the role of critical theory 3. Counting racism: quantitative methods and the challenges of structural analysis in Germany 4. “Sprich Deutsch”. A race critical reading of discourses on language and citizenship in twenty-first century Germany 5. Policing the surplus crisis, carceral racism and abolitionist resistance in Germany 6. Antisemitism and racism revisited: historical genealogies and current research debates

Über Autor(innen)

Manuela Bojadžijev is Professor at Humboldt University Berlin's Institute of European Ethnology and the Berlin Institute for Migration Research. She is a permanent fellow at Frankfurt's Institut für Sozialforschung. Her work examines racism and migration from global perspectives, focusing on how social change manifests through representations of migration. Through collaborative projects, she investigates mobility transformations in relation to digitalization and logistics, particularly in urban spaces. Her research bridges conceptual questions of migration with lived experiences in migration societies.

Robin Celikates is Professor of Social Philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin and co-director of the Centre for Social Critique Berlin. He is a permanent fellow at Frankfurt's Institut für Sozialforschung and co-directs the "Transforming Solidarities" research project. Previously at the University of Amsterdam and Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, his research focuses on critical theory, civil disobedience, democratic theory, migration, and racism.

Paul Mecheril is Professors of Educational Science with a focus on Migration at Bielefeld University, Germany. With a background in psychology and philosophy, his academic journey includes positions at the universities of Innsbruck and Oldenburg, where he specialized in intercultural learning and education in migration societies. His work examines the intersection of education, migration, and social change.