Racism 'Denial' in Asia

Critical Discourse Analysis of UN Cerd State Reports, 1978-2023

Bibliographic Data

ID2371330
AuthorsJunki Nakahara (0000-0002-0332-4524, Stanford University, corresponding author), Gi-Wook Shin (0009-0007-4436-6185, Stanford University)
Year2025
Publication date2025-06-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0896-9205 • E-ISSN: 1569-1632
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/08969205251350290
OpenAlexW4411765876
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited43

This study examines racism 'denial' in Asia through a critical discourse analysis of state reports submitted to the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) by 16 Asian countries from 1978 to 2023. Our findings reveal that denial is not just a rhetorical tool for deflecting accusations but functions as a deeply embedded mechanism to justify and reinforce existing discrimination. Importantly, these state discourses are shaped by social, political, and religious values, as well as struggles for national liberation, unity, and security. By unpacking these layers in historically and comparatively informed ways, we identify and classify patterns of discursive denial-literal, interpretive, and ideological-with subcategories for each. This study not only adds to empirical inquiry into racisms in often neglected Asian contexts but also presents a conceptual framework for examining the diverse manifestations and articulations of race and racism, extending beyond the explanatory capacity of existing dominant theories of race developed through Western lenses

Criminology · Critical discourse analysis · Critical theory · Denial · Ideology · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Racism · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Psychology · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

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