Authoritarian liberalism and the triangulation of the antiracist left in France

This article reflects on the role of racial questions in the emergence of authoritarian liberalism by foregrounding France as a case study. It starts by explaining the progressive exhaustion of a model of liberal-democratic antiracism that sought to attenuate racial discrimination through cooption and education, but which failed to address state racism. This contributed to the emergence of new contentious modes for antiracist claim-making and the forging of new alliances with radical and revolutionary leftist parties. Thus, the article emphasizes the racial dynamics that underpin the shift from liberal democracy to authoritarian liberalism. Indeed, the re-politicization of antiracism collides with the political triangulation that has become characteristic of liberal regimes since the 1990s. The expansion and radicalization of the electoral strategies crafted by social-liberals results in the assimilation of antiracist elements with the "populist" enemies of the rational center.