Ethnicity is perhaps as important to understanding the current tensions around minorities in Europe as religion and race are.

In this launch event for the special issue What’s ethnicity got to do with it?, the Landecker Programme invites reflection on the increasing political anxiety around Muslim and Jewish identities in Europe, and the exploitation of ethnic differences for political and electoral purposes.

The discussion looks at the interconnection of ethnicity, religion, and race, as a means of self-identification and the assertion of differences between as well as within ethnic groups. Moreover, as specific minorities might from time to time fall through the cracks of legal protection – Jews, Muslims, and Roma/Traveller communities – it considers several strategies for alleviating the pressure on ethnic minorities, for example through the use of private sector duties as well as potential innovations of anti-discrimination infrastructure.

To discuss the links of ethnicity, religion and race, moderators Professor Jonathan Wolff and Dr Lior Erez from the Alfred Landecker Programme at the Blavatnik School of Government are joined by authors Dr Gülay Türkmen, Dr Sophie Lauwers, and Dr Marietta van der Tol.