| Summary: | Through a detailed study of the anti-racist association SOS-Racisme, this thesis examines the relationship between party politics, anti-racism and republicanism in contemporary France. It is based on fieldwork conducted in Paris over an eighteen-month period (1993-1994), involving long-term participant observation, semi-structured interviewing and archival research. Two principal themes are explored: (1) how republican ideologies and institutions have played a crucial part in determining both the form and content of SOS-Racisme's opposition to racism; and (2) how the collective identity of the association itself, as a part of a broader anti-racist movement and in relation to the political process, has been (re-)negotiated over time by its members, at both a local and a national level. It is argued that SOS-Racisme's use of a 'republican' concept of integration and its relationship to the sphere of party politics remain problematic and the implications of this for the future efficacy of its action are discussed.
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