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A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Exploring the Mechanisms for Challenging Racial Discrimination in Relation to French Political Culture A Race Critical Approach Katya Salmi Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Sussex June 2011 2 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature…………………………………………………… 3 Pour Basidi 4 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX KATYA SALMI Doctor of Philosophy Exploring the Mechanisms for Challenging Racial Discrimination in Relation to French Political Culture A Race Critical Approach SUMMARY This thesis questions the effectiveness of anti-racial discrimination mechanisms in France, particularly in relation to the national political culture. Considering the overall import of republican ideology in France, which emphasizes values of universalism, colour-blindness, and laïcité, there are significant implications for how institutional, legal and civil society actors have traditionally approached issues of racism in France. From primary data, gathered through fieldwork in France (consisting of a series of semi-structured interviews with key antiracist and anti-racial discrimination actors), this thesis highlights the ways in which the political culture impacts the anti-racial discrimination agenda. By taking into account the various levels of antiracism in France, this thesis constitutes a unique, holistic and race critical analysis whereby legal, civil society, institutional and non-conventional mechanisms are considered in conjunction with each other, instead of separately. Using “race” as an analytical tool for understanding the French context, this thesis offers a critical re-reading of French history, linking an ethnicized and racialized formation of national identity throughout key historical moments to contemporary forms of racism. This research thus argues that certain antiracist approaches based on republican ideology result in a limited understanding of racialized processes, which appears to constrain actors from producing effective mechanisms for challenging racism and racial discrimination. 5 Acknowledgements I owe my deepest gratitude to my supervisors Alana Lentin and Elizabeth Craig whose continued guidance, support and encouragement proved invaluable from start to finish. Alana, thank you for taking a chance on my project five years ago, for mentoring me, for consistently challenging me and for helping me navigate a theoretical space in which I am finally able to express the thoughts that were always under the surface but that I didn’t know how to articulate. To Elizabeth, thank you for helping me find my way in the world of antiracist and antidiscrimination law, for expecting nothing but rigor and for your keen eye for structure and precision. Alana, thank you as well for giving me a start in my teaching career; I learned invaluable lessons and an grateful for this experience. Thanks to all the activists who participated in this research; I admire your dedication to fighting injustice and racism. Thank you to the academics and institutional actors who let me into their knowledge and experience. I sincerely thank Odile and Belaïd for their generosity and kindness in welcoming me into their home for the duration of my fieldwork in Paris. I am also grateful to the British-Franco Council scholarship that gave me some peace of mind in my second year. This four-year journey would have been impossible without amazing friends cheering me on. Thanks to my Brighton family, Cherine, Clemens, Steffan, Marcella, Ishan and Verena. Thanks to Nina, Adam, Alia and Abid. Thank you to my London family, the LPT crew, Kit & Stef, and my London ladies Becky, Leda, Sofia and Mariam. Thanks to Tom, Jamil, Dounia, Verena, Julia and Rym for taking the time to look over draft chapters. Thanks especially to Rym, for the wonderful conversations that I hope we can continue for years to come. To my brothers, Yacine and Karim, your strength and constant motivation in following your dreams have been a constant source of encouragement for me. I am in awe of you both. I am eternally grateful to my parents for their unconditional support and love, which helped me get to this point. To my dad Jamil, nothing makes me happier than to know that I am following in your footsteps. Thank you for setting the example of excellence. To my mom Dounia, your courage and perseverance has taught me to never give up. To my mom Fatiha, everyday I am inspired by your strength and the lessons you have taught me. Thank you each for everything. Tom, I could not have finished this thesis without your endless encouragement and love, thank you. 6 Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... 6 List of Acronyms ........................................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 11 May 2011. Paris, France. ............................................................................................................................... 11 Race Critical Theory as the Framework for Antiracist Research ................................................. 13 Methodology ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 Outline .................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Chapter One: A Race Critical Approach to the French Context of Antiracism ....... 26 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 26 The Anathema of Race ........................................................................................................................ 27 Liberté, égalité, fraternité… and laïcité ................................................................................................... 27 “There are no races here” ............................................................................................................................. 30 Theoretical Limitations of the Republican Reticence Towards Race ................................ 35 The Republican Model of Integration as an Alternative Framework to Race ......................... 35 Traditional and Modernizing Republicanism ....................................................................................... 38 The Dangers of Multiculturalism and Communitarianism ............................................................. 40 Multicultural Republicanism ....................................................................................................................... 45 Key Limitations of Mainstream Theoretical Approaches ................................................................ 46 Introducing a Race Critical Approach ........................................................................................... 49 Particularist Universalism ............................................................................................................................ 49 Universalism and Race ................................................................................................................................... 55 Potential Contributions of a Race Critical Approach ......................................................................... 61 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 65 Chapter Two: Contextualizing Racism from a Historical Perspective ..................... 67 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 67 Historiography ...................................................................................................................................... 71 Race and Empire: The Use of Race in the Expansion of the French Colonial Empire ... 75 From the Code Noir to the Statut de l’Indigénat ................................................................................. 76 Civilizing Missions ........................................................................................................................................... 78 Islamophobia’s Roots? Colonial Orientalism and the Civilizing Mission .................................. 83 Race and Metropole: Impacts of Colonial and Racial Ideologies in Metropolitan France ......................................................................................................................................................