Bodies as Battlegrounds: Being a Refugee in the Divided Cyprus

Abstract

This thesis explores the embodied experiences of refugee racialization in Cyprus. It focuses on how structural policies and everyday interactions perpetuate racial prejudices against refugees. Through a three-month ethnographic study employing sensory ethnography, this research investigates the dynamics of racialization at both individual and institutional levels. By analyzing the role of social structures in creating a regime of racial difference, this research reveals how racial meanings are ascribed and internalized within Cypriot society. In this way, it contributes not only to the understanding of racialization processes among the legally defined category of the refugee but also to the manifestations of racism toward black and brown bodies. It highlights and examines the intersection of class, culture, and sensory dimensions in shaping racial attitudes. Through detailed ethnographic encounters and theoretical insights, this thesis offers a critical perspective on how refugee policies and practices in Cyprus produce and sustain racial hierarchies.