After empire : melancholia or convivial culture?

After Empire is in many ways a sequel to Paul Gilroy's classic study of race and nation, There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack. Taking the political language of the post 9/11 world as a new point of departure he explores the plight of beleaguered multi-culture and defends it against the accusation of failure. The liberal discourse of human rights is then examined from the vantage point of race politics and found wanting when it comes to both racism and imperialism. From here, Gilroy reaffirms the importance of cosmopolitan solidarity and moral agency which are today all to often condemned by cheap anti-humanism and vacuous identity politics alike. Gilroy uses the concept of melancholia to explore Britain's failure to come to terms with the loss of its empire and pre-eminent global position. This results not only in hostility and violence directed at blacks, immigrants, strangers and aliens but also in the country's inability to value the ordinary, unruly multi-culturalism that has evolved organically and unnoticed in its urban centres. The last part of the book explores aspects of that convivial culture and celebrates its welcome ability to live with otherness without becoming anx