Race in mainland European legal analysis: towards a European critical race theory

Understanding the contemporary race–migration nexus

“…A recent discourse and content analysis of highly cited works on European migration and ethnic minority scholarship finds that the concepts of race and racism are rarely spoken about (Lentin 2014). Recognition of racism as a structuring feature of European societies is needed to address how Europe's migration regimes articulate and are articulated by racialization and coloniality (Gutiérrez Rodríguez, Boatca, and Costa 2010;Lentin 2014;Mignolo 2012;Möschel 2011).…”

The International Handbook of the Demography of Race and Ethnicity

“…So far, "racial skepticism" and "racial constructionism" have characterized the European legal and normative approach on race and ethnicity (Möschel 2011 ). The former concept denies the existence of race, the latter defi nes race as socially constructed.…”

The EU and the Rights of the Roma: How Could the EU have Changed the French Repatriation Program of 2010?

“…They permeated the French method of distinguishing groups of people and resulted not in equality, but a French/non-French binary where "non-French" is largely constructed to mean non-white (Möschel, 2011).…”

“…It insists on a historicized, contextualized analysis in understanding how a law effects minorities, and chooses an interdisciplinary approach in analyzing a law, claiming that the intersection between race and law crosses the boundaries of multiple disciplines. As a result of these tenets of theory, CRT is very critical of the idea of "color-blindness" in government, arguing "colorblindness functions as the modern and less explicit version of old-time racism" (Möschel, 2011). In determining how EU and French law handles race-specifically in regards to the Roma-CRT provides a framework upon which to understand the current legal situation as well as what the EU could potentially do in the future to alleviate any injustices incurred by the Roma as a result of law.…”