Karina Piser’s research explored measures to promote French secularism in public high schools in immigrant-heavy areas. Beginning in suburbs of Paris, she interviewed students, teachers, administrators, and education-policy practitioners to better understand how the government is targeting schools to improve social cohesion in the aftermath of the 2015 and 2016 terrorist attacks. Prior to receiving the ICWA fellowship, Karina was an editor at World Politics Review, and has previously held positions at the Council on Foreign Relations, the European Council on Foreign Relations, and the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights in Tunis, Tunisia. She holds a master’s degree from Sciences Po Paris, and has written for Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, and World Politics Review, among other publications.
How a TV contest became the latest front in the battle of French identity politics
A Muslim woman’s appearance on ‘The Voice’ prompts an alignment of Left and Right.
How ‘Je Suis Charlie’ became a rallying cry for the French Republican model
Three years on, the debate over the attack on the satirical magazine is making it more difficult to battle extremism.
The French school system and the war on radicalization
How one teacher is trying to redefine the debate about secularism.
Can secular classrooms heal France’s social divisions?
The government wants to guarantee neutral spaces for learning, but some say they risk dividing students as much as unifying them.
Why has French secularism become so divisive?
The country’s recent attacks have given a new edge to an old debate.