Transnational practices in local settings: Experiences of citizenship among Bangladesh-origin Muslims in London and Birmingham

当地环境中的跨国实践：伦敦和伯明翰孟加拉国裔穆斯林的公民身份经历

基本信息

批准号：
ES/N000986/2
负责人：
Victoria Redclift
金额：
$ 16.89万
依托单位：
University College London
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2018
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2018 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FN000986%2F2
关键词：
Transnational practices local settings Experiences

项目摘要

'Transnational citizenship' (Baubock, 1994; Fox, 2005) has been conceptualised to reflect the processes through which political identity transcends the nation-state (Basch et al, 1994). However, the degree to which political identities that cross borders may be informed by political identities within borders remains a matter of considerable academic debate. It has been argued, for example, that transnational ties represent an impediment to the formation of national and local identifications; a danger to citizenship and integration in countries of settlement (Snel et al, 2006). Others argue that the reverse may also be true. The concept of 'political opportunity structure' has come to suggest that transnational practices take place in local settings; shaped by the particular opportunities and constraints present in different localities (Guarnizo and Smith, 1998; Mahler, 1998). This deviates from the majority of the literature on Muslim transnational relations in particular, in which the focus is very often on the characteristics of the population, or the characteristics of Islamic culture, in a way that ignores "the role of social and political circumstances in shaping how people make sense of the world and then act upon it" (Kundnani, 2014, p.10). This project considers the relationship between the local and transnational citizenship experiences of Bangladesh-origin Muslims in London and Birmingham. It investigates local experiences of citizenship in relation to a) different histories of settlement, b) different population profiles in terms of ethnic concentration, age, gender, socio-economic background, length of residence and naturalization status, and c) the different social and political environments of the two cities. The project will examine how these local political identities influence processes of transnational engagement, and consider how transnational identities and relationships in turn inform local political subjectivity. It will draw on the insights of 'political opportunity theory' but depart from it in two key respects. First, previous work has tended to construct migrant populations as homogenous groups and this project will devote greater attention to considering how issues play out differently according to gender, generation and class. Second, it will move beyond characterisations of citizenship based on 'formal status' to consider more 'substantive' dimensions of socio-political engagement - the social, cultural, political, or symbolic 'acts' that legal status may or may not make possible (Isin and Nielsen, 2008). This includes examination of access to education, employment, housing, healthcare and local political processes. In each location, 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews will be conducted with 15 Bengali families in the form of same-sex parent/child dyads. The use of same-sex parent-child dyads will help draw out generational dimensions and focus the issues of continuity and change over time. In addition, 5 oral history interviews and 5 civil society interviews will be conducted in each location, producing a total of 80 interviews, complemented by ethnographic observation with the Bangladeshi community in both field sites. In the context of the on-going 'War on Terror', and an increasing political and media focus on a security threat that is 'home grown', the transnational practices of British Muslims have generated particular concern. This has fed into a range of recent policy proposals with respect to the treatment of British subjects who engage in transnational activities the Government does not support, and brings the constitutionally protected activities of a large number of people under increasing surveillance (Kundnani, 2014). In popular debate and the practice of public policy, therefore, transnational ties may affect local experiences of citizenship, but more research is needed to understand how transnational activity is situated in local social, cultural and political milieu.

“跨国公民身份”（Baubock，1994； Fox，2005）已被概念化，以反映政治身份超越民族国家的过程（Basch等，1994）。但是，在边界内的政治身份可能会为跨越边界提供的政治身份仍然存在很大的学术辩论。例如，有人认为跨国联系代表了对民族和地方认同形成的障碍。在定居国家中对公民身份和融合的危险（Snel等，2006）。其他人则认为相反也可能是正确的。 “政治机会结构”的概念表明，跨国实践发生在当地环境中。受不同地区存在的特定机会和约束的影响（Guarnizo和Smith，1998； Mahler，1998）。这偏离了大多数关于穆斯林跨国关系的文献，其中，重点通常放在人口的特征或伊斯兰文化的特征上，这种方式忽略了“社会和政治环境在塑造人们如何理解世界，然后对世界采取行动的作用”（Kundnani，2014年，第10页）。该项目考虑了伦敦和伯明翰的孟加拉国穆斯林的地方和跨国公民身份之间的关系。它调查了与a）不同定居历史的当地公民身份经历，b）在种族集中，年龄，性别，社会经济背景，居住时间和归化状态以及c）两个城市的不同社会和政治环境方面的不同人口概况。该项目将研究这些地方政治身份如何影响跨国参与的过程，并考虑跨国身份和关系如何依次为当地的政治主观性带来。它将借鉴“政治机会理论”的见解，但要在两个关键方面偏离它。首先，以前的工作倾向于将移民人口作为同质群体建立，该项目将更加关注考虑问题如何根据性别，发电和阶级来不同。其次，它将超越基于“正式地位”的公民身份的特征，以考虑社会政治参与的更多“实质性”维度 - 社会，文化，政治或象征性的“行为”，法律地位可能会或可能不会成为可能（Isin and Nielsen，2008年）。这包括检查获得教育，就业，住房，医疗保健和当地政治程序的机会。在每个位置，将以同性父母/儿童二元组的形式对15个孟加拉家族进行30个深度半结构化访谈。同性亲子二元组的使用将有助于提高世代相传，并集中随着时间的推移和变化的问题。此外，将在每个地方进行5次口述历史访谈和5项民间社会访谈，共同进行80次访谈，并在两个野外地点与孟加拉国社区的民族志观察得到补充。在持续的“反恐战争”的背景下，政治和媒体越来越重点关注“自家成长”的安全威胁，英国穆斯林的跨国习俗引起了人们的特别关注。这已经为对跨国活动的英国受试者的待遇提供了一系列政策提案，政府不支持，并带来了越来越多的宪法保护的活动，受到了越来越多的监视（Kundnani，2014年）。因此，在流行的辩论和公共政策实践中，跨国纽带可能会影响当地公民身份的经历，但是需要更多的研究来了解跨国活动如何位于当地的社会，文化和政治环境中。