From anti-imperialism to multiculturalism. (Post)-migrant media in postcolonial France

Abstract

ABSTRACT The paper analyzes how (post)-migrant media outlets discussed the position of (post)-migrant people in France. (Post)-migrant media are periodicals, radio stations, and other forms of media produced by (post)-migrant actors and addressed to them. I argue that changes in the Global Cold War order, French national politics, and social changes in French (post)-migrant communities fostered a transition from anti-imperialist to multicultural understandings of migration in the examined media. The paper shows how these changes affected the experiences and identities of (post)-migrant people and adds a global history perspective to existing explanations about generational change and national political developments. It tracks how (post)-migrant media offered a space to negotiate the position in France against the backdrop of global developments such as the Cold War, decolonization, the disillusion with postcolonial governments, and the rising human rights movement.