TOLERACE is a collaborative research project (March 2010 - February 2013) – funded under the EU Seventh Framework Programme – aiming at producing a better understanding of the workings of institutional racism, that is, of the ways in which racism – deeply rooted in the history of European democracies and their existing socio-economic and political structures – still persists despite an apparent political commitment to eradicate it.
TOLERACE’s main objectives have been twofold: (i) to explore how the different meanings given to racism and anti-racism are shaped by public bodies and policies, as well as civil society organisations, at the European, national, regional and local levels; (ii) to identify the impact of these meanings on the marginalisation of anti-racism within current integration/inclusion policies and post-colonial situations.
The project has carried out research in seven European contexts: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Thematic research fields
• The historicity of (anti-)racism and tolerance and the politics of integration
To advance the state of the art in the study of (anti-)racism and (in)tolerance produced in different disciplines (a specific focus on the fields of history, political theory and sociology), and its interrelations to the conceptions of racism that underlie current integration policies and public discourses on tolerance and the celebration of cultural diversity in the national contexts under analysis (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Denmark and UK). To explore the extent to which European monitoring agencies, dealing with racism(s), are shaping national public policies and their conceptions on (anti-)racism.
• The geography of (anti-)racism and tolerance: local policy responses, discrimination and employment
The objective is to analyse how public policies and bodies, as well as mediation agents (such as local authorities, social and community workers and trade union representatives), are framing and tackling questions of discrimination and racism in the sphere of employment. The empirical work explores one or two paradigmatic cases in each national and regional context. The cases chosen refer to populations considered ‘vulnerable’ to racial discrimination, or to situations and geographies that were the subject of policy intervention, the attention of the media and political discourses. The analysis focuses on the relation between dominant policy approaches based on ideas such as ‘employability’, ‘social competences’ and ‘normalisation’ and anti-racist approaches.
• Debates on difference and integration in education
Education is usually regarded as a strategic sphere where the tension between cultural homogenisation and diversity are most visible. The analysis of public education policies to explore the political relevance of the ideas of tolerance and anti-racism in this sphere is therefore a priority to map and analyse key legislations and official recommendations regarding integration and (anti)racism at national (and, if relevant, regional) level, and their interrelation to wider European trends. Through the analysis of paradigmatic cases, TOLERACE examines how public policies and bodies (such as state-endorsed institutions, regional and local authorities, and schools), as well as mediation agents (for instance, teachers, cultural mediators, social and community workers), are framing and tackling cultural diversity and denunciations of racial, ethnic and religious discrimination in state schools.
• Framing racism and intolerance in the news: public issues and denunciations
Media agents, particularly those working in the press, play a central role as producers of meaning and collective representations within a shared cultural framework. This research strand focuses on analysing the role of the (national, regional and local) press in framing and constructing public issues concerning ethnically marked populations and in making racism (in)visible. The methodology used involves a qualitative monitoring of newspapers (both print and online) and, in some cases, a diachronic monitoring of specific issues over the last ten years.
• The future of integration and anti-racist policies: proposals emerging from joint work between academics, policy makers and civil society representatives
Propositional discussions through the organisation of several participatory workshops conceived as policy dialogues, aiming to discuss the project’s analytical approach and key findings, and to bring about recommendations.