Empowerment without emancipation: performativity and political activism among Iranian refugees in Italy and Turkey
Rivetti, PaolaORCID: 0000-0002-1794-0504
(2013)
Empowerment without emancipation: performativity and political activism among Iranian refugees in Italy and Turkey.
Alternatives, 38
(4).
pp. 305-320.
ISSN 0304-3754
This article examines the centrality of political activism in Iranian refugees’ identity
and investigates how they perform and incorporate it by considering the interlocked pressure
of international politics, personal networks and civil society organisations’ assistance. The
case of Iranian political refugees in Italy and Turkey is of particular interest, due to the
international visibility the Green movement enjoys, the Iranian people’s historical experience
of emigration and to the fact that Iran is a subject of great interest for a number of human
rights NGOs. The article shows how the process of incorporation of “being a refugee” comes
about not only through classical forms of institutional pressure but also through “unexpected”
forms, such as NGOs’ efforts of empowering the refugees politically. Despite the positive
value attached to it, in this context political activism can force refugees into pre-established
role, such as the one of “human rights defenders” or “Green movement activists.” The article
brings further evidence to the fact that refugees are merged in a context that dominates them,
even when it paradoxically tries to empower them.
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Iran; Green Movement; Iranian refugees; political activism; Italy; Turkey