Although experienced as a problem and threat to well-being by victimised individuals and groups, racism may not be given high priority on the political agenda. Threatened individuals may perceive that the authorities are of little or no help at all. Reducing in-migration is an example of the latter. Roger Griffin concludes the volume by discussing the struggle between democracy and ethnocracy in Europe. He points to the problems of liberal democracies to respond adequately to the threats posed by Fascist and racist movements.
Racism brings basic issues of democracy to a head.
Democracy means popular rule according to the principle of one person, one vote. A genuine democracy does not accept that people are treated differentially on the grounds of descent, sexual preference, ethnicity, culture, religion, or race . In many democracies the freedom of expression, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, and the freedom of organisation are protected by the constitution. One of the paradoxes of true democracy is that even movements whose aim it is to abolish the democratic system are permitted to carry out their political work. Democracy s defence is to confront and challenge anti-democratic, Fascist, Nazi, and racist movements in open debate.