PUBLI : Emmanuel Santarromana & Simeng Wang, «“Thanks for Getting Me in Touch with Local Politicians!” A Sociological Study of the “Association of Young Chinese in France” as a Political Professionalization Springboard for Descendants of Chinese Migrants », Journal of Chinese Overseas, vol. 19, n°2, 2023

Abstract

This article focuses on the poli­tical enga­ge­ment and profes­sio­na­li­za­tion of French youth of Chinese origin through a case study of the Asso­cia­tion of Young Chinese in France (Asso­cia­tion des Jeunes Chinois de France, AJCF), acting as a spring­board toward poli­tical profes­sio­na­li­za­tion. It relies on several quali­ta­tive studies recently carried out in the Paris region, with French asso­cia­tive and poli­tical actors of Chinese origin. After analy­zing the raising of aware­ness regar­ding anti-Asian racism as a key factor in the poli­tical socia­li­za­tion and enga­ge­ment of French Chinese youth, the article shows that being a leading member of the AJCF allows one to build a social network of contacts among poli­tical actors and affirms that this acquired poli­tical capital is one of the cata­lysts for being iden­ti­fied and recruited by poli­tical autho­ri­ties at the local level, as a step toward the deve­lop­ment of an elec­toral career.
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