Sami Zemni
Biographic Data
| ID | 165767 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sami Zemni |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sami |
| FAMILY NAME | Zemni |
| SIGNATURE | ZEMNI S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ghent University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0252-0080 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 153 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Nigerian and Ghanaian Women Working in the Brussels Red-Light District
This book unravels the lives, needs and experiences of Nigerian and Ghanaian women working in prostitution in Brussels. This volume casts a light on the working conditions and the experiences of 38 women of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, whose daily struggles and challenges are recalled from interviews in the field. Working within the red-light district of Brussels, an area with high crime rates and lacking in basic healthcare provision, the women…
Reflections on the interplay between procedural, relational and socio-political ethics in ethnographic research with West-African women working in prostitution in Brussels
Purpose This study aims to explore and discuss the ethical challenges that the authors encountered in the SWIPSER project, a study about the well-being of West-African women who work in the red-light district in Brussels. Design/methodology/approach The study was commissioned by the municipality of Schaerbeek and executed by a Nigerian–Belgian research team. Data were collected using a multi-method qualitative approach, predominantly through ethn…
Sensing the next battle
When analysing the Tunisian uprising through its aesthetics, the premonitory and subversive agency of the artistic sphere becomes intelligible. This contribution, therefore, engages in a reconstruction of an often overlooked local and historical sequence of aesthetic contention and asks if this sequence prefigured the Tunisian uprising. This seditious premonitory subversion grew into a generalized practice as it emerged into full daylight during …
The Tunisian Revolution
This article engages in the debate on urban contentious politics by returning to the Tunisian revolution. In the article, I chart movements provoked by neoliberal restructurings, and show how these ultimately came together to form a mass movement demanding radical political change. I first describe the socio-spatial roots of the Tunisian revolution to understand its dynamics. Based on the chronology of the unfolding events I sketch the classes, s…
Liberalism and the elusiveness of Islam
From Revolution to Tunisianité
Sami Zemni explains how, after Ben Ali’s escape, the discovery of a conflict-ridden society led to a polarized debate about the definition of the Tunisian people. The discourse on tunisianité served as a hegemonic discourse that was meant to help bridging the gap between opposing views on who or what constitutes the people. However, tunisianité and the call for the restoration of the state’s prestige ( haybat addawla ) also signaled the possibili…
Putting flesh to the bone
In many Western European countries, concern rises that both formal mechanisms of redistribution and informal acts of charity, reciprocity and support are challenged by ethnic and cultural diversity. Against such gloomy perspectives, this paper draws on insights from sociology, geography, pedagogy and political science to argue that four traditional sources of solidarity (interdependence, shared norms and values, struggle and encounter) remain rel…
The Extraordinary Politics of the Tunisian Revolution
To understand the current stalemate in the drafting process of the Tunisian constitution, it is important to fathom the path Tunisia has chosen to walk since President Ben Ali fled the country. This article apprehends the post-Ben Ali era as a period of extraordinary politics, i.e. a moment of explicit self-institution of society in which popular participation, following Kalyvas' analysis, aims to transform the institutions of state as well as so…
Luxemburg on Tahrir Square
The protests on Tahrir Square in Cairo have come to symbolize the Arab uprisings of 2011. They have proven that Arab political life is more complex than the false choice between authoritarian rule or Islamist oppositions. The popular uprisings witnessed the emergence of “the Arab peoples” as political actors, able to topple entrenched authoritarian leaders, challenging repressive regimes and their brutal security apparatuses. In our contribution …
Breaking the In-Group Out-Group
The ongoing popularity in some second and third generation migrants in Western Europe of marrying a partner from the countries of origin of their (grand)parents is considered to be problematic for micro and macro level societal integration of some migrant populations. Partner choice and marriage practices in migrant communities are problematized in public, media and political discourses by discriminating them from marriage practices in the 'nativ…
Urban politics in Morocco
Urban renewal and social development in Morocco in an age of neoliberal government
In this article we argue that Morocco has experienced fundamental political change over the past decades. This transition however cannot be understood in terms provided by the mainstream narratives linking economic liberalisation to democratisation. Rather, transition reflects a shift towards authoritarian modalities of neoliberal government. We focus on how political power has been reconfigured into new forms of ‘hybrid’ government where ‘state’…
The shaping of Islam and Islamophobia in Belgium
The author discusses the way in which Islam has been cast as a political problem in Belgium and how Muslims have, particularly in Flanders, become framed by politicians and commentators in the media as a threat. The actual socioeconomic difficulties that Muslims (particularly those of Turkish and Moroccan descent) face are being redrawn as problems stemming from their culture and religion. State agencies are trying to shape the political organisa…
Trade, security and neoliberal politics
This paper argues that the growing contrast between the processes of radicalisation and democratisation in the age of global market reforms and the ‘War on Terror’ are not confined to the domestic Moroccan political scene. Political movements, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society, governments, international institutions and foreign governments are all embedded within a growing number of international networks. The central problem …
Islam between Jihadi Threats and Islamist Insecurities? Evidence from Belgium and Morocco
Debates on security stand central within academia and policy concerns since 9/11. These debates have redefined the boundaries of post-cold war foreign policy. This article focuses on the Belgian and Moroccan cases to show how security and jihadi ‘threats’ are constitutive of debates that encompass much larger issues including the identity of the state, redefinitions of citizenship and power hierarchies in a changing world. More specifically, it w…
Religious discriminations and public policies
The goal of this local initiative is to identify through participative, long term observation (1995-2005) that has mediation as its starting point, to try and understand the methods of interaction between the Muslim communities and the local services and authorities, with regard to the needs of the Muslim population on the question of burials. It was necessary to perceive and analyze how the Muslim groups continued to evolve in time and how the c…
Putting flesh to the bone
In many Western European countries, concern rises that both formal mechanisms of redistribution and informal acts of charity, reciprocity and support are challenged by ethnic and cultural diversity. Against such gloomy perspectives, this paper draws on insights from sociology, geography, pedagogy and political science to argue that four traditional sources of solidarity (interdependence, shared norms and values, struggle and encounter) remain rel…
Trade, security and neoliberal politics
This paper argues that the growing contrast between the processes of radicalisation and democratisation in the age of global market reforms and the ‘War on Terror’ are not confined to the domestic Moroccan political scene. Political movements, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society, governments, international institutions and foreign governments are all embedded within a growing number of international networks. The central problem …
From Revolution to Tunisianité
Sami Zemni explains how, after Ben Ali’s escape, the discovery of a conflict-ridden society led to a polarized debate about the definition of the Tunisian people. The discourse on tunisianité served as a hegemonic discourse that was meant to help bridging the gap between opposing views on who or what constitutes the people. However, tunisianité and the call for the restoration of the state’s prestige ( haybat addawla ) also signaled the possibili…
The Extraordinary Politics of the Tunisian Revolution
To understand the current stalemate in the drafting process of the Tunisian constitution, it is important to fathom the path Tunisia has chosen to walk since President Ben Ali fled the country. This article apprehends the post-Ben Ali era as a period of extraordinary politics, i.e. a moment of explicit self-institution of society in which popular participation, following Kalyvas' analysis, aims to transform the institutions of state as well as so…
Urban renewal and social development in Morocco in an age of neoliberal government
In this article we argue that Morocco has experienced fundamental political change over the past decades. This transition however cannot be understood in terms provided by the mainstream narratives linking economic liberalisation to democratisation. Rather, transition reflects a shift towards authoritarian modalities of neoliberal government. We focus on how political power has been reconfigured into new forms of ‘hybrid’ government where ‘state’…
The shaping of Islam and Islamophobia in Belgium
The author discusses the way in which Islam has been cast as a political problem in Belgium and how Muslims have, particularly in Flanders, become framed by politicians and commentators in the media as a threat. The actual socioeconomic difficulties that Muslims (particularly those of Turkish and Moroccan descent) face are being redrawn as problems stemming from their culture and religion. State agencies are trying to shape the political organisa…
Islam between Jihadi Threats and Islamist Insecurities? Evidence from Belgium and Morocco
Debates on security stand central within academia and policy concerns since 9/11. These debates have redefined the boundaries of post-cold war foreign policy. This article focuses on the Belgian and Moroccan cases to show how security and jihadi ‘threats’ are constitutive of debates that encompass much larger issues including the identity of the state, redefinitions of citizenship and power hierarchies in a changing world. More specifically, it w…
Luxemburg on Tahrir Square
The protests on Tahrir Square in Cairo have come to symbolize the Arab uprisings of 2011. They have proven that Arab political life is more complex than the false choice between authoritarian rule or Islamist oppositions. The popular uprisings witnessed the emergence of “the Arab peoples” as political actors, able to topple entrenched authoritarian leaders, challenging repressive regimes and their brutal security apparatuses. In our contribution …
The Tunisian Revolution
This article engages in the debate on urban contentious politics by returning to the Tunisian revolution. In the article, I chart movements provoked by neoliberal restructurings, and show how these ultimately came together to form a mass movement demanding radical political change. I first describe the socio-spatial roots of the Tunisian revolution to understand its dynamics. Based on the chronology of the unfolding events I sketch the classes, s…
Breaking the In-Group Out-Group
The ongoing popularity in some second and third generation migrants in Western Europe of marrying a partner from the countries of origin of their (grand)parents is considered to be problematic for micro and macro level societal integration of some migrant populations. Partner choice and marriage practices in migrant communities are problematized in public, media and political discourses by discriminating them from marriage practices in the 'nativ…
Sensing the next battle
When analysing the Tunisian uprising through its aesthetics, the premonitory and subversive agency of the artistic sphere becomes intelligible. This contribution, therefore, engages in a reconstruction of an often overlooked local and historical sequence of aesthetic contention and asks if this sequence prefigured the Tunisian uprising. This seditious premonitory subversion grew into a generalized practice as it emerged into full daylight during …
Religious discriminations and public policies
The goal of this local initiative is to identify through participative, long term observation (1995-2005) that has mediation as its starting point, to try and understand the methods of interaction between the Muslim communities and the local services and authorities, with regard to the needs of the Muslim population on the question of burials. It was necessary to perceive and analyze how the Muslim groups continued to evolve in time and how the c…
Islam between Jihadi Threats and Islamist Insecurities? Evidence from Belgium and Morocco
Debates on security stand central within academia and policy concerns since 9/11. These debates have redefined the boundaries of post-cold war foreign policy. This article focuses on the Belgian and Moroccan cases to show how security and jihadi ‘threats’ are constitutive of debates that encompass much larger issues including the identity of the state, redefinitions of citizenship and power hierarchies in a changing world. More specifically, it w…
Trade, security and neoliberal politics
This paper argues that the growing contrast between the processes of radicalisation and democratisation in the age of global market reforms and the ‘War on Terror’ are not confined to the domestic Moroccan political scene. Political movements, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society, governments, international institutions and foreign governments are all embedded within a growing number of international networks. The central problem …
Urban politics in Morocco
Urban renewal and social development in Morocco in an age of neoliberal government
In this article we argue that Morocco has experienced fundamental political change over the past decades. This transition however cannot be understood in terms provided by the mainstream narratives linking economic liberalisation to democratisation. Rather, transition reflects a shift towards authoritarian modalities of neoliberal government. We focus on how political power has been reconfigured into new forms of ‘hybrid’ government where ‘state’…
The shaping of Islam and Islamophobia in Belgium
The author discusses the way in which Islam has been cast as a political problem in Belgium and how Muslims have, particularly in Flanders, become framed by politicians and commentators in the media as a threat. The actual socioeconomic difficulties that Muslims (particularly those of Turkish and Moroccan descent) face are being redrawn as problems stemming from their culture and religion. State agencies are trying to shape the political organisa…
Luxemburg on Tahrir Square
The protests on Tahrir Square in Cairo have come to symbolize the Arab uprisings of 2011. They have proven that Arab political life is more complex than the false choice between authoritarian rule or Islamist oppositions. The popular uprisings witnessed the emergence of “the Arab peoples” as political actors, able to topple entrenched authoritarian leaders, challenging repressive regimes and their brutal security apparatuses. In our contribution …
Breaking the In-Group Out-Group
The ongoing popularity in some second and third generation migrants in Western Europe of marrying a partner from the countries of origin of their (grand)parents is considered to be problematic for micro and macro level societal integration of some migrant populations. Partner choice and marriage practices in migrant communities are problematized in public, media and political discourses by discriminating them from marriage practices in the 'nativ…
The Extraordinary Politics of the Tunisian Revolution
To understand the current stalemate in the drafting process of the Tunisian constitution, it is important to fathom the path Tunisia has chosen to walk since President Ben Ali fled the country. This article apprehends the post-Ben Ali era as a period of extraordinary politics, i.e. a moment of explicit self-institution of society in which popular participation, following Kalyvas' analysis, aims to transform the institutions of state as well as so…
Liberalism and the elusiveness of Islam
From Revolution to Tunisianité
Sami Zemni explains how, after Ben Ali’s escape, the discovery of a conflict-ridden society led to a polarized debate about the definition of the Tunisian people. The discourse on tunisianité served as a hegemonic discourse that was meant to help bridging the gap between opposing views on who or what constitutes the people. However, tunisianité and the call for the restoration of the state’s prestige ( haybat addawla ) also signaled the possibili…
Putting flesh to the bone
In many Western European countries, concern rises that both formal mechanisms of redistribution and informal acts of charity, reciprocity and support are challenged by ethnic and cultural diversity. Against such gloomy perspectives, this paper draws on insights from sociology, geography, pedagogy and political science to argue that four traditional sources of solidarity (interdependence, shared norms and values, struggle and encounter) remain rel…
The Tunisian Revolution
This article engages in the debate on urban contentious politics by returning to the Tunisian revolution. In the article, I chart movements provoked by neoliberal restructurings, and show how these ultimately came together to form a mass movement demanding radical political change. I first describe the socio-spatial roots of the Tunisian revolution to understand its dynamics. Based on the chronology of the unfolding events I sketch the classes, s…
Sensing the next battle
When analysing the Tunisian uprising through its aesthetics, the premonitory and subversive agency of the artistic sphere becomes intelligible. This contribution, therefore, engages in a reconstruction of an often overlooked local and historical sequence of aesthetic contention and asks if this sequence prefigured the Tunisian uprising. This seditious premonitory subversion grew into a generalized practice as it emerged into full daylight during …
Reflections on the interplay between procedural, relational and socio-political ethics in ethnographic research with West-African women working in prostitution in Brussels
Purpose This study aims to explore and discuss the ethical challenges that the authors encountered in the SWIPSER project, a study about the well-being of West-African women who work in the red-light district in Brussels. Design/methodology/approach The study was commissioned by the municipality of Schaerbeek and executed by a Nigerian–Belgian research team. Data were collected using a multi-method qualitative approach, predominantly through ethn…
Nigerian and Ghanaian Women Working in the Brussels Red-Light District
This book unravels the lives, needs and experiences of Nigerian and Ghanaian women working in prostitution in Brussels. This volume casts a light on the working conditions and the experiences of 38 women of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, whose daily struggles and challenges are recalled from interviews in the field. Working within the red-light district of Brussels, an area with high crime rates and lacking in basic healthcare provision, the women…
Political science (16 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Politics (13 works) · Law (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender (9 works) · Political economy (8 works) · Political and Social Issues (6 works) · History (5 works) · Migration, Refugees, and Integration (5 works)