Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Enacting Trust

Campbell, Brian (2012) Enacting Trust. JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE RESEARCH IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY, 3 (2). pp. 17-25. ISSN 2068-0317. (KAR id:49001)

Abstract

Small and removed from the Spanish mainland, the Enclave of Ceuta has always depended

on flows of goods and labour out of the Moroccan hinterland, with individuals from

different ethnic and religious groups forming informal, flexible and personal economic

bonds based on mutual ‘confianza’ (trust). Since its entry into the European Union in 1986,

the Spanish government has erected a border-wall around the enclave, and introduced new

migration policies branding many informal workers within its borders as a threat to Spanish

society. Based on my preliminary months of research, this paper compares the Ceutan

context with other research recently conducted on the topics of migration and borders in

the Mediterranean region. It brings into focus key theoretical issues and assumptions that

constantly emerge in such literature, particularly regarding the role of ‘a-cultural’ personal

ties between migrants and locals in undermining State categories and ideology. This paper

observes how the Ceutan case encourages us to expand our focuses and consequently

problematise our understanding of crucial concepts such as ‘trust’ and ‘integration’.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled keywords: Trust, migration, borders, informal relations, North-Africa
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: B. Campbell
Date Deposited: 10 Jun 2015 15:48 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:20 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/49001 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Campbell, Brian.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.