Leiden University Student Repository

Boelkens, Veerle (2025)

The invisible capitalist prism of racial democracy- encouraging a fractured people under the guise of unity: Seen through a lens of political consciousness

Master thesis | Political Science (MSc)

Seeking to more profoundly understand the nexus between race and class in Brazil, and comprehend its implications for political consciousness, this thesis centres the question: “How is political consciousness of Afro-Brazilian emancipation movements informed by class interests?” In this capacity, class interests are interpreted as racialised consciousness, derived from the neo- Marxist theory of racialisation, a lens that figures prominently in this study. Remaining open to alternative explanations, through exploring discourse of Afro-Brazilian movement Black Coalition for Rights, this study concludes that two forms of consciousness theoretically assumed to be different are both built on similar premises that recognise the role of capitalist structures in processes of racialisation.

Brazil, racial democracy, neo-Marxism, racialisation, Afro-Brazilian movements, class consciousness

Author

Boelkens, Veerle

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development

Supervisors

Spirova, M.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en