The Struggle for Citizenship and Legitimacy: A Case-Study of the Roma in Romania

整个欧洲的紧缩和民粹主义破坏了少数群体在包容和社会流动方面取得的进展，使许多人--包括罗姆人--处于社会边缘，就他们的公民身份和合法性进行谈判。在罗马尼亚，这些斗争因罗姆人受压迫的历史而被放大。因此，出现了罗马尼亚政府如何使罗姆人成为“公民”的问题，也出现了罗姆人青年对这种言论的反应的问题。我在这个博士项目中解决了这些问题，重点是罗姆青年的公民身份和行动。这个跨部门和跨学科的项目将种族主义的边缘问题与阶级分层、性别和性行为联系在一起。这一方法--人种志--有助于建立能够维持参与性做法的关系。我将在布加勒斯特呆上一年，与青年活动家一起探索罗姆公民身份和激进主义。现有的文献没有涉及罗姆人公民身份或激进主义，而是提倡关于受害者身份和缺陷的论述。这个项目进入了罗姆尼研究领域的对话，朝着更具协作性和批判性的方法来研究罗姆人的边缘化，填补了关于罗姆人青年公民身份和激进主义的文献空白。最终，该项目探索青年公民参与的可能性和在这种困难时期重塑占主导地位的公民观念的可能性，与改善罗马尼亚和欧洲联盟罗姆人边缘地位的努力一起。

Austerity and populism throughout Europe undermine the progress made for the inclusion and social mobility of minorities, leaving many people - including the Roma - on the margins of society, negotiating their citizenship and legitimacy. In Romania, these struggles are amplified by the history of Roma oppression. Thus, questions arise about the making of Roma 'citizenship' by the Romanian state, but also about the reaction of Roma youth to such otions. I address these questions in this PhD project, focusing on Roma youth civic identity and action. This intersectional and interdisciplinary project links questions of racialised marginality with class-stratification, gender and sexuality. The methodology - ethnography - facilitates building relations that can sustain a participatory approach. I will spend up to a year in Bucharest, exploring Roma citizenship and activism with youth activists. The existing literature does not address Roma citizenship or activism, rather promoting discourses of victimhood and deficit. This project enters conversations in the field of Romani Studies toward more collaborative and critical approaches to researching Roma marginalisation, filling the literature gap regarding Roma youth citizenship and activism. Ultimately, this project explores the possibilities for youth civic engagement and re-shaping of dominant notions of citizenship in such difficult times, joining efforts to ameliorate Roma marginality in Romania and the European Union.