Cosmopolitan enclaves: An introduction.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Rey J; University of Teacher Education, Fribourg, Switzerland.; Bolay M; The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.; Gez YN; Arnold Bergstraesser Institute, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany; The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Source
- Publisher: Sage Publications [etc.] Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101092871 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0308-275X (Print) Linking ISSN: 0308275X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Crit Anthropol Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0308-275X
Cosmopolitan enclaves emerge at the intersection of global dynamics and local contexts as spaces where the cultivation of a cosmopolitan ethos encounters processes of socio-spatial boundary work and segregation. In the introduction to this special issue, we discuss under which circumstances the intention to cultivate open-mindedness goes hand in hand with keeping the local environment at bay. We argue that ethnographic attention to cosmopolitan enclaves may help bridge macro-level observations regarding globalization and its graduated sovereignties with the micro-level understanding of actual day-to-day interactions and boundary work within concrete spaces. We thus address the paradox of the omnipresence of enclaves in a global world and analyse the ambiguous aspirations and expectations derived from cosmopolitan ideals and how they relate to (under)privilege. While cosmopolitan aspirations exist alongside reproductions of postcolonial representations and hierarchies, they may also express the will to resist the politics of exclusion by demarcating an alternative safe haven.
Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
(© The Author(s) 2021.)