Doctoral Dissertation Research: Differential Recognition of Two Afrodescendent Populations, 1970-2018

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This project investigates why rights have been enacted and implemented only for some Afrodescendent populations. In many places, Afrodescendent movements have been politically visible and culturally resonant since the 1980s and yet they have been unable to achieve substantive recognition of their rights. To achieve understanding of why only some places have extended rights to Afrodescendent populations while others have failed to do so, this study compares the differential recognition of Afrodescendent populations in two places. Data come from interviews, archival records in both places, and 12 months of participant observation. Findings from this research will improve understanding of processes that enhance recognition of diverse groups and so contribute to national cohesion and well-being.This project seeks to explain in comparative perspective why only some places have extended rights to Afrodescendent populations while others have failed to do so. Two places with opposite trajectories of political recognition or lack thereof of Afrodescendent populations are investigated. It is hypothesized that the differences are due to differences in long-term projects of nation-state formation, practices of ethno-political organization, and critical junctures of regime change. A key analytical approach to critical junctures is to disentangle the analysis of local settings where mobilization processes emerge from the analysis of national arenas where political claims are recognized.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.