Culture as an Alibi: Why Read Unni Wikan Today

Abstract

The text proposes a “genealogical” reading of Unni Wikan’s essay Culture: A New Concept of Race, positioning it not as an empirically up-todate contribution to migration studies, but as a still highly relevant critique of the ways in which “culture” is used in public and institutional discourse. It demonstrates that cultural argumentation often functions not as an analytical tool, but rather as a morally acceptable shortcut and an alibi for institutional power, obscuring inequalities and shifting responsibility from institutions to abstract “cultural patterns.” At the same time, the authors situate Wikan’s argument within the context of Czech debates on culture and social exclusion, highlighting both the enduring analytical value of her critique and its limits (particularly in relation to the opposition between culture and human rights).