CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Farbaky, Tamas |
|---|---|
| Title | Negotiating Identities: The Case of the Coptic Orthodox Diaspora in Budapest |
| Summary | This research aims to understand how Copts in the Hungarian diaspora negotiate their identities. Its research method consisted of semi-structured interviews and participant observation. It started with the observation the Copts fit well into the narrative of the Hungarian government which is hostile towards Muslim immigrants but ready to help persecuted Christians, which is true for the Copts in Egypt. The research approached their identities (Coptic, Christian, Egyptian, Arabic and Hungarian) by conceptualising them as content and contestation. Furthermore, it introduced a hybridised methodology, combining content and salience of identities. It also built on social identity theory. Arabic identity thus was conceptualised as the out-group and the Hungarian identity as the new in-group they want to belong (hybridisation). The research found three different identity clusters. It also found that some of them subscribe to the ideology of pharaonism. In terms of Arabic identity, they were mostly hostile, but some of them assumed this identity. Towards the immigrants, they were expressed mostly negative or mixed attitudes, some of them considered it as an invasion spreading Islam. In this sense they are natural allies of the Hungarian government, which has similar views. However, some of them showed strong solidarity towards the refugees. So, it can be said that throughout the research there was a variation or contestation even if this community is rather small and close-knit. |
| Supervisor | Jenne, Erin Kristin |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/farbaky_tamas.pdf |
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