Intelligibility frames of racial discrimination: Homogenisation, hierarchisation and individualisation

Abstract

Identity politics has an impact on the intelligibility frames of anti-discrimination policies. This article explores the institutionalization of identity discourse in the governmental policies against racism and xenophobia, analyzing 90 publications (2005-24) from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia. We coded the publications with Atlas.Ti based on six frames of meaning (problem-solution, agents-actions, axes-subjects) and its areas of intervention, and analyzed the co-occurrence of codes with a network analysis that identifies four communities: police-legal action; rights, subjects, and axes of discrimination; public policies; and understanding of migratory phenomena. The interpretation of representative excerpts from each community reveals frameworks of intelligibility that construct forms of hierarchy and identity homogenization. This places the issue of discrimination in the context of interpersonal relationships in terms of aggressor/victim or privilege/discrimination, sidestepping its colonial genealogy and structural dimension.