Shaping race policy : the United States in comparative perspective / Robert C. Lieberman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lieberman, Robert C., 1964-

Series:

Princeton studies in American politics.

Princeton studies in American politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--Government policy.

African Americans.

Minorities--Government policy--United States.

Minorities.

Welfare state--United States.

Welfare state.

Manpower policy--United States.

Manpower policy.

United States--Race relations--Political aspects.

United States.

United States--Social policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (335 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Shaping Race Policy investigates one of the most serious policy challenges facing the United States today: the stubborn persistence of racial inequality in the post-civil rights era. Unlike other books on the topic, it is comparative, examining American developments alongside parallel histories of race policy in Great Britain and France. Focusing on on two key policy areas, welfare and employment, the book asks why America has had such uneven success at incorporating African Americans and other minorities into the full benefits of citizenship. Robert Lieberman explores the historical roots of racial incorporation in these policy areas over the course of the twentieth century and explains both the relative success of antidiscrimination policy and the failure of the American welfare state to address racial inequality. He chronicles the rise and resilience of affirmative action, including commentary on the recent University of Michigan affirmative action cases decided by the Supreme Court. He also shows how nominally color-blind policies can have racially biased effects, and challenges the common wisdom that color-blind policies are morally and politically superior and that race-conscious policies are merely second best. Shaping Race Policy has two innovative features that distinguish it from other works in the area. First, it is comparative, examining American developments alongside parallel histories of race policy in Great Britain and France. Second, its argument merges ideas and institutions, which are usually considered separate and competing factors, into a comprehensive and integrated explanatory approach. The book highlights the importance of two factors--America's distinctive political institutions and the characteristic American tension between race consciousness and color blindness--in accounting for the curious pattern of success and failure in American race policy.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

LIST OF TABLES

PREFACE

CHAPTER ONE. Configurations of Race and State: The Politics of Racial Incorporation

CHAPTER TWO. Legacies of Slavery and Colonialism: Race and the Politics of Social Reform

CHAPTER THREE. The Roots of Welfare Incorporation

CHAPTER FOUR. Postwar Transformations of Race and State

CHAPTER FIVE. Encounters with the Welfare State: Social Security and Social Insurance

CHAPTER SIX. Encounters with the Welfare State: Public Assistance and "Welfare"

CHAPTER SEVEN. The Development of Employment Discrimination Policy

CHAPTER EIGHT. Weak State, Strong Policy: Paradoxes of Antidiscrimination Policy

CHAPTER NINE. Toward a Color-Blind Future: Varieties of Color Blindness and the Future of Race Policy

NOTES

INDEX

Backmatter

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613134691

9781400837465

1400837464

9781283134699

1283134691

OCLC:

730151785