Arab Overseas Voting · Overseas voting among Arab migrants in the EU

Overseas voting among Arab migrants in the EU

1) PROJECT AND OBJECTIVE The project contributed to the literature on transnationalism and, more specifically, to the growing body of research on the migrants’ participation in the election of their country of origin (i.e. overseas voting). In addition, it responded to EU demands to further investigate the current social and political changes in Arab countries, on the one hand, and the governance of migration, on the other hand. The general objective of this project was to understand how and to what extent Arab migrants contribute to economic, social and political changes in their country of origin. This project looked at the enfranchisement of Arab citizens abroad and at the latters’ participation in the elections of their country of origin. In other words, it explored the reason why Arab states enfranchise their citizens abroad and it identified the determinants of the electoral behaviour of the Arab citizens abroad. The project focused on Tunisia as a case study for three main reasons: 1) overseas voting is a legacy of Ben Ali’s regime, which was expended after the Revolution; 2) the voter turnout among the Tunisians abroad in the 2011 election (Constituent Assembly) was relatively high, in contrast with common trends in other countries. 3) political preferences among the Tunisians abroad vary depending on their country of residence and their place of residence. By doing so, the project challenged three common assumptions according to which: 1) the worldwide diffusion of overseas voting results from the processes of democratization and globalization; 2) the reason why the turnout is low (in overseas election) is because most migrants show little interest in homeland politics; 3) the enfranchisement of non resident citizens contribute to improve democratic governance in their country of origin because most are socialized in Western countries and tend to promote liberal values. 2) DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES Collection of first hand sources During the project, the fellow: 1) Collected the electoral reports of the Tunisian polling stations abroad for both the 2011 election (Constituent Assembly) and the 2014 elections (Parliament and Presidency); 2) Conducted in-depth interviews in Tunis and in Paris with the elected representatives of the Tunisians abroad in the Constituent Assembly, with Tunisians diplomats and senior officials, and with Tunisian civil society activists; 3) Directly observed the Tunisian electoral campaign in France (electoral gatherings, social networks) in the fall 2014; 4) Implemented an anonymous exit-poll survey in Paris and its suburbs among Tunisians abroad (24, 25, 26 October 2014) (N=527). Dissemination activities The fellow has disseminated the results of the project extensively and has been very active in the host institution to advance his academic career as a migration specialist. His activities include academic publications, academic gatherings, lectures, and media interviews. Academic publications include the coordination of one special issue in a peer-reviewed academic journal (“Les diasporas africaines aux urnes” in Afrique contemporaine) and the publication of five articles in peer-reviewed academic journals in French and English (Middle East Law and Governance, L’Espace politique, Revue des mondes musulmans et de la méditerranée, Revue européenne des migrations internationals). Academic publications also include one chapter in the edited book Migrations en Méditerranée (H. Thiollet, C. Schmoll, C. Withol de Wenden) and three reports/articles. Furthermore, the fellow coordinated two workshops (a two-days workshop at the CERI/Sciences Po. with 15 participants and a one-day workshop at the 13th congress of the AFSP - French association for political science - in Aix-en-Provence) and a monthly seminar (in coordination with H. Thiollet and C. Withol de Wenden) at the CERI/Sciences Po. He also organized and chaired a section at the 2015 Conference of the Council of the European Studies in Sciences Po. In addition, the fellow contributed to one international conference (ECPR General conference) and seven workshops/research seminars (CERI/Sciences Po., Princeton University, European University Institute, EHESS, etc.). Moreover, the greatly improved his lecturing skills. He was the leading professor of two undergraduate courses at Sciences Po (Introduction to International Migration and World Politics) and he participated as a guest lecturer in five graduate courses at Sciences Po and PSIA (Paris School of International Affairs). Finally, journalists from broadcast media (BFM TV, iTélé, RFI) and from major newspapers (La Croix, 20 minutes, etc.) interviewed the fellow as an expert on migration issues. 3) RESULTS The results of the research project ARAB OVERSEAS VOTING have gone beyond the most positive expectations. Research-wise, the project’s results are threefold. First, the collection of the above-mentioned first-hand sources filled a gap in the literature on transnationalism, which mainly focuses on Latin American and European case studies. Second, it set up innovative research tools (transnational electoral maps and multi-sited surveys) that can be applied to other case studies. Third, it debunked common ideas on overseas voting and, by doing so, highlighted the importance of overseas voting as site of research for migration studies in both home and host countries and opened new research tracks on transnational elections and transnational voters. Overall, this project has succeeded in putting the topic of overseas voting on the research agenda for migration and transnational studies, and for electoral studies. The innovative and timely character of the project can be sized by the interest that it has raised amongst scholars. First, the fellow has been invited to present the results of his project in several workshops and research seminars in France, in Europe, and in North America. Second, the fellow has been solicited four times to contribute to special issue proposals in peer-reviewed journals and one time to an edited book. All of these contributions have resulted in the publication of an article. Third, the calls for proposals for two workshops (at the CERI/Sciences Po and at the 13th congress of the AFSP) and one special issue (in Afrique contemporaine) coordinated by the fellow have resulted in the submission of a large number of paper proposals by junior and senior researchers (based in Europe and in the North America). Last, and not least, these academic collaborations has led to the development of a network of researchers from different background (political science, sociology, geography, economics) and specialities (area studies, migration, elections), which have in common to be interested by the topic of overseas voting as a site of research. The above calls more for more research on overseas voting. With this aim, the fellow has already submitted two paper proposals to international conferences in 2016 (ISA, IPSA) and he is planning to submit one panel proposal at the ECP General conference and one special issue proposal in a major political science journal (Revue française de science politique).

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