Azizi, as I understand the use of the term in the US, the inclusion of white European and American music traditions under the 'world music' umbrella is rare. You notice how countess richard states unequivocally that American bluegrass music is NOT world music, but English traditional music IS world music?

In the UK, the inclusion of white European music traditions under the 'world music' umbrella is more recent. Initially, it was an all-encompassing term to define any music that was (as Ian Anderson puts it) 'not from here'. In other words, it was a term used to categorize music from Africa, Asia, Latin America, etc. with one label. Like 'race music' was once used, in other words.

Nowadays, English traditional musicians & audiences especially, love to park themselves under the world music banner. They are trying to market & identify themselves in a way that associates them with a more popular 'exotic other' music category, because their fellow citizens perceive their own music culture traditions as boring and/or too strongly attached to English nationalist sentimentalism.

In other words, in the UK especially, this term is awash with race implications. IMO, it hasn't caught on in the US in the same way it has in the UK, because the dynamics of race and class in the UK are different than they are in the US.

Therefore, it is ridiculous to claim the politics of race and class has nothing to do with the term.