In the Shadow of the Colonizer: Studying Up in the Postcolonial Middle East
The article discusses challenges related to studying mobile elites in a postcolonial country, Egypt. It draws on the author’s ethnographic fieldwork with privileged members of Egyptian society during a politically turbulent period between 2011 and 2014. It illustrates how both the positionality of t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Helsinki University Press
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of Migration Research |
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| Online Access: | https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/777 |
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| author | Liina Mustonen |
| author_facet | Liina Mustonen |
| author_sort | Liina Mustonen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article discusses challenges related to studying mobile elites in a postcolonial country, Egypt. It draws on the author’s ethnographic fieldwork with privileged members of Egyptian society during a politically turbulent period between 2011 and 2014. It illustrates how both the positionality of the researcher and the research subject are shaped by various geographic, social, and temporal locations. By delving into the complexities of elite research in a context that is informed and shaped by colonial legacies, the article questions the analytical value of binaries such as ‘Western’ and ‘non-Western,’ the ‘Global South’ and the ‘Global North,’ and ‘colonized’ and ‘colonizer’. These binaries, embedded in various research agendas, are often too shallow to grasp the existing social hierarchies and power asymmetries. Instead, they can be co-opted by the elite in pursuit of power and influence. The article proceeds by first tracing the (colonial) histories of contemporary taxonomies of difference in the Egyptian context. It then examines how subjectivities and agendas shift along political constellations and calls for political reflexivity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b4efdc30eb9644c2ae33428768a2e54c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1799-649X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Helsinki University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Migration Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-b4efdc30eb9644c2ae33428768a2e54c2025-01-08T08:39:14ZengHelsinki University PressNordic Journal of Migration Research1799-649X2024-12-011445510.33134/njmr.777753In the Shadow of the Colonizer: Studying Up in the Postcolonial Middle EastLiina Mustonen0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0972-6273The Centre for Research on Ethnic Relations and Nationalism, University of HelsinkiThe article discusses challenges related to studying mobile elites in a postcolonial country, Egypt. It draws on the author’s ethnographic fieldwork with privileged members of Egyptian society during a politically turbulent period between 2011 and 2014. It illustrates how both the positionality of the researcher and the research subject are shaped by various geographic, social, and temporal locations. By delving into the complexities of elite research in a context that is informed and shaped by colonial legacies, the article questions the analytical value of binaries such as ‘Western’ and ‘non-Western,’ the ‘Global South’ and the ‘Global North,’ and ‘colonized’ and ‘colonizer’. These binaries, embedded in various research agendas, are often too shallow to grasp the existing social hierarchies and power asymmetries. Instead, they can be co-opted by the elite in pursuit of power and influence. The article proceeds by first tracing the (colonial) histories of contemporary taxonomies of difference in the Egyptian context. It then examines how subjectivities and agendas shift along political constellations and calls for political reflexivity.https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/777elite mobilitypostcolonialethnographythe middle eastpositionalitypolitical reflexivity |
| spellingShingle | Liina Mustonen In the Shadow of the Colonizer: Studying Up in the Postcolonial Middle East Nordic Journal of Migration Research elite mobility postcolonial ethnography the middle east positionality political reflexivity |
| title | In the Shadow of the Colonizer: Studying Up in the Postcolonial Middle East |
| title_full | In the Shadow of the Colonizer: Studying Up in the Postcolonial Middle East |
| title_fullStr | In the Shadow of the Colonizer: Studying Up in the Postcolonial Middle East |
| title_full_unstemmed | In the Shadow of the Colonizer: Studying Up in the Postcolonial Middle East |
| title_short | In the Shadow of the Colonizer: Studying Up in the Postcolonial Middle East |
| title_sort | in the shadow of the colonizer studying up in the postcolonial middle east |
| topic | elite mobility postcolonial ethnography the middle east positionality political reflexivity |
| url | https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/777 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT liinamustonen intheshadowofthecolonizerstudyingupinthepostcolonialmiddleeast |