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

在整个西欧，穆斯林移民受到各种形式的歧视，导致人们普遍认为自由民主与穆斯林少数群体的政治利益不相容。本研究探讨政治话语、边界、地方历史和城市隔离如何动态地与共融概念相关联在北非摩洛哥海岸的西班牙飞地休达（“同居”或“生活在一起”）;在那里，自我认同的穆斯林（“穆斯林”）和基督徒（“基督徒”）在一系列文化，政治和经济裂痕的不同方面生活了几个世纪。 本文提出两个研究问题：第一，休达的政治领袖如何建构不同的共融话语，以及共融话语与立法程序之间的关系。第二，穆斯林和基督徒之间关系的本质是什么，是什么导致了这些关系的变化？该项目的研究方法包括与普通公民和政治领导人的非正式和正式访谈，参与观察，口述历史的数字记录，文本分析和档案研究。这项研究进一步加深了我们对国际边界的地方政治的理解，并有助于人类学和政治哲学中有关多元文化主义和自由民主治理形式的辩论的理论问题。更广泛的影响：了解多元文化主义是如何在欧盟边境的政治谈判是重要的政策制定者和社会科学家在其他地方试图把握治理和多元文化政治的动态。

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.