Equality and Transparency: A Strategic Perspective on Affirmative Action in American Law (The Sciences Po Series in International Relations and Political Economy)

in 1952, CERI has about sixty fellows drawn from different disciplines who conduct research on comparative political analysis, international relations, regionalism, transnational flows, political sociology, political economy and on individual states. This series focuses on the transformations of the international arena, in a world where the state, though its sovereignty is questioned, reinvents itself. The series explores the effects on international relations and the world economy of regionalization, globalization (not only of trade and finance but also of culture), and transnational flows at large. This evolution in world affairs sustains a variety of networks from the ideological to the criminal or terrorist. Besides the geopolitical transformations of the globalized planet, the new political economy of the world has a decided impact on its destiny as well, and this series hopes to uncover what that is.

Can affirmative action policies be convincingly justified? And how have they been legitimized over time? In a pluridisciplinary perspective at the intersection of political theory and the sociology of law, Daniel Sabbagh criticizes the two prevailing justifications put forward in favor of affirmative action: the corrective justice argument and the diversity argument. He defends the policy instead as an instrument designed to bring about the deracialization of American society. In this respect, however, affirmative action requires a measure of dissimulation in order to succeed. Equality and Transparency explains why this is so and provides a new interpretation of the strategic component in the Supreme Court's case law while identifying some of its most remarkable side effects.

"Can affirmative action policies be convincingly justified? And how have they been legitimized over time? In a multidisciplinary perspective at the intersection of political theory and the sociology of law, Sabbagh criticizes the two prevailing justifications put forward in favor of affirmative action: the corrective justice argument and the diversity argument. He defends the policy instead as an instrument designed to bring about the deracialization of American society. In this respect, however, affirmative action requires a measure of dissimulation in order to succeed. Equality and Transparency explains why this is so and provides a new interpretation of the strategic component in the Supreme Court's case law while identifying some of its most remarkable side effects."--BOOK JACKET Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-10 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 The Corrective Justice Paradigm....Pages 13-30 The Diversity Paradigm....Pages 31-48 A Strategic and Consequentialist Perspective: Affirmative Action as an Instrument for Deracializing American Society....Pages 49-85 Front Matter....Pages 87-91 The Problems with the Deracialization Argument....Pages 93-104 The Negative Side Effects of Transparency....Pages 105-115 Evidence of Dissimulation Strategies....Pages 116-162 General Conclusion....Pages 163-168 Back Matter....Pages 169-257 A unique exploration by a French scholar of the contradictions inherent in the practice and justification of affirmative action programs in the United States. Can affirmative action policies be convincingly justified? How have they been legitimized over time? In a pluridisciplinary perspective at the intersection of political theory and the sociology of law, Sabbagh criticizes the two prevailing justifications put forward in favor of affirmative action: the corrective justice argument and the diversity argument