Sociological Studies on the In-betweenness of Asian Immigrants/Residents in the Racial Hierarchy of South Africa

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K23246
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0108:Sociology and related fields
• Research Institution: Nihon University (2020-2021); Kyoto University (2019)
• Principal Investigator: YAMAMOTO Meyu 日本大学, 文理学部, 助手 (40843743)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-08-30 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: レイシズム / 白人性 / 人種編成論 / 中間性 / 南アフリカ / アジア系移民 / アフリカ-アジア関係 / 排外主義

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In recent years, growing attention has been paid to Asian immigrants/residents in South Africa, specifically characterised by the in-betweenness in the country's racial hierarchy. This project aimed to investigate how Asian minorities were racially constructed in South Africa from the late 19th century and explored their negotiations with local society within a transnational framework of sociology.
In the project, special efforts were made to reconsider the ‘honorary white’ status, purportedly afforded to the Japanese by the South African government during the apartheid period. In pursuit of the goal, archival materials, parliamentary records, and newspaper articles were examined. Three suitable informants were also interviewed.
By examining the origins of the ‘honorary white’ status and its interrelated logic of inclusion and exclusion, the project revealed that the genesis of the concept was closely linked to the transnational formation of whiteness from the late 19th century.

Free Research Field

社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、アフリカ-アジアという枠組みが再活性している。学術研究の世界でも重要な研究成果が相次いで出版されるとともに、大規模な学術研究ネットワークや国際研究集会も設立・開催されるようになった。それに伴い、南アフリカの人種的序列において入植者／ヨーロッパ系住民とアフリカ人との中間に置かれてきたアジア系移民／住民への関心も高まりつつある。彼らは当地の総人口の2～3％を占めるに過ぎないが、その差異化戦略が社会の人種化に強度を与えるものとして積極的な観察の対象とする研究も現れている。本研究は、日本のアフリカ研究の立場から本領域の推進に貢献するものである。