Dissertation Research: Convivencia, Politics and Borders in Ceuta, Spain

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Throughout Western Europe, Muslim immigrants have encountered various forms of discrimination leading to popular perceptions that liberal democracy and the political interests of Muslim minorities are incompatible. This research examines how political discourses, borders, local history, and urban segregation are dynamically related to the concept of convivencia ("cohabitation" or "living together") in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the North African coast of Morocco; where self identified musulmanes ("Muslims") and cristianos ("Christians") have lived for centuries on different sides of a series of cultural, political, and economic rifts. Two research questions are posed: First, how do political leaders in Ceuta differently construct discourses of convivencia, and what is the relationship between discourses of convivencia and legislative processes? Second, what is the nature of relationships between musulmanes and cristianos, and what accounts for variations in these relationships? The research methods for this project include informal and formal interviews with ordinary citizens and political leaders, participant observation, digital recordings of oral histories, text analysis, and archival research. This study furthers our understandings of local politics at international borders, and contributes to theoretical issues in anthropology and political philosophy concerning debates over multiculturalism and liberal democratic forms of governance.Broader impacts: Knowing how multiculturalism is politically negotiated at the borderlands of the European Union is important for policymakers and social scientists elsewhere trying to grasp the dynamics of governance and multicultural politics.