Is America Becoming Post-Racial while France is Becoming Post-Social?

8/14/2019 Is America Becoming Post-Racial while France is Becoming Post-Social?

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IS AMERICA BECOMING POST-RACIAL

WHILE FRANCE IS BECOMING POST-SOCIAL?

Philippe BernardBosch Fellow, Transatlantic Academy

p a p e r s e r i e s


2/16

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Is America Becoming Post-RacialWhile France is Becoming Post-Social?

Transatlantic Academy Paper Series

May 2009

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4/16

Transatlantic Academy2

As Barack

Obamas election

asks the question

of a post-racial

America, France

wonders about

putting more race

in their class-

based policies.

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Does Barack Obamas election mean that the

United States now lives in a post-racial era,

that Americans are not as polarized by race

as before?

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The United States as a post-racial country?

France as a pre-racial country?

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Introduction1


5/16

Is America Becoming Post-Racial

While France is Becoming Post-Social?

3

The main

objection to the

post-racial

hypothesis is tha

race remains

a key element

to analyze the

American society

Is America shifting to the point of

becoming a post-racial country?2O , J f f w f k,

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Race as a key element

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6/16


A lot of people

dont consider a

post-racial society

as a realistic goal

or as a goal at all.

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Is Post-racial America just a campaign

slogan or a real goal?

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7/16



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A changing society challenging the

race-based system

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8/16


Several elements

tend to reflect

the weakening of

the race factor

and a shift to the

acceptance of a

multiracial society.

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A possible shift from race-based to

class-based policies?

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9/16



7

Several factors

including Obama

statements make

possible a shift

to a more class-

based policy.

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10/16


The basis of

the French

Republican

model is the idea

that the nation

is not socially

based but results

from a will of

living together.

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A non-racial Republican model shaped

by history

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Is France a pre-racial country?3


11/16



9

Discriminations

whose victims ar

people of foreign

origin, show the

insufficiency of

the Republican

model.

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A relatively flexible model challenged by

discrimination

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12/16


Nicolas Sarkozys

insistence

to establish

American-style

affirmative

action faces

opposition from

Constitution

specialists.

The impossible reform?

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The quest for the French Obama

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13/16



11

The confusion

between racial

and social

discriminations,

and the political

instrumental-

ization of the

debate on ethni

statistics lead

to paralyze any

improvement of

the system.

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14/16


The question is

the same in the

two countries: how

to fight against

discrimination

without

challenging

cultural cohesion?

The answer has

to be looked for,

in the respect of

any identity, in

the conviction

that people are

free to choose

and change their

identification.

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A common ideal4


15/16



13

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Is America Becoming Post-Racial while France is Becoming Post-Social?

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