The politics of a republican anti-racism in contemporary France : an ethnographic study of the anti-racist association SOS-Racisme

• Main Author: Gibb, Robert Alexander
• Published: University of Edinburgh 2001
• Subjects: 320
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.651423

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.