Au Brésil, aujourd’hui, il existe une importante population d’origine libanaise dont São Paulo est le centre de ralliement principal. Forte de plusieurs millions d’individus, cette population s’est constituée par vagues successives dont les premières remontent au dernier quart du 19ème siècle. Elle a connu un notable succès entrepreneurial dont une conséquence majeure a été un phénomène peu commun, dans une population d’immigrants, de mobilité sociale ascendante. C’est ainsi qu’après avoir été à leurs débuts pour l’essentiel des mascates (colporteurs), ces immigrants sont parvenus, ultérieurement, à accéder à l’entrepreneuriat, principalement commercial. Et aujourd’hui, on voit ses membres se déployer, horizontalement, dans tous les domaines d’activité ou presque et, verticalement, escalader les échelles de la société jusqu’aux plus hautes sphères économiques, sociales et même politiques. C’est cette mobilité des immigrants et de leurs descendants, sur les deux plans horizontal et vertical qui constitue l’objet d’étude de cette thèse. L’objectif est, d’un côté, de retracer les parcours ayant sous-tendu le phénomène en question et, de l’autre, de repérer les causes qui l’ont rendu possible. S’agissant des causes, elles s’avèrent avoir tenu à des facteurs internes à la collectivité des immigrants libanais et à une conjoncture historique favorable. Cette dernière fut la résultante des grandes mutations économiques et sociales dont le Brésil a été le théâtre dans la période en vue. Quant aux parcours, ce furent ceux conduisant, après une transitoire situation de « minorité intermédiaire », à une intégration des Libanais dans la société d’accueil. Il s’agit d’une intégration « à la brésilienne », qui leur a permis de ne pas renoncer à leur libanité en tant qu’identité propre, mais de la conserver en la réinterprétant comme identité libano-brésilienne. / A large segment of the Brazilian population today is of Lebanese origin. These people are concentrated mainly in the economic hub of São Paulo. Comprising of several million individuals, this population was formed by successive waves of immigrants; the first dating back to the last quarter of the 19th century. Unusual in an immigrant population, this group has experienced remarkable entrepreneurial success, and consequentially a sociological phenomenon of outstanding upward social mobility has occurred within its ranks. Hence, although initially a population of mascates (hawkers), they subsequently managed to branch out into predominately commercial entrepreneurship. Today its members are deployed, horizontally, in almost all fields of economic activity and, vertically, have climbed the ladder into the highest spheres of economic, social and even political life. This thesis studies the issue of the upward social mobility of these immigrants and their descendants on both the horizontal and vertical levels. The aim of the study, on the one hand, was to trace the pattern underpinning the phenomenon in question, and on the other, to clarify the causes which made it possible. The findings of the study shed light on the causes relating to the specific personal characteristics of those concerned, coming into play in a historical window of opportunity. The latter, for its part, was the result of major economic and social changes, Brazil was encountering in the period under review. Following a transient self-structuring form of an 'intermediate minority', the ensuing pattern led to the perfect integration of these concerned into the host society adopting a model peculiar to Brazil, and as such, this population did not renounce their specific “Lebaneseness” as a component of their own identity. While the Brazilian syncretic model of integration allowed them to uphold, and maintain the specificity of their identity, it equally enabled them to redefine and reinterpret the same.

Submitted by Marouane EL KHADIR (marouane.el-khadir@hec.edu) on 2016-11-23T12:00:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Thesis_Marouane_El_Khadir_finalv.pdf: 2045081 bytes, checksum: 8e837263c2c3c5ce44b922c99844f995 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josineide da Silva Santos Locatelli (josineide.locatelli@fgv.br) on 2016-11-23T12:47:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Thesis_Marouane_El_Khadir_finalv.pdf: 2045081 bytes, checksum: 8e837263c2c3c5ce44b922c99844f995 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-23T13:30:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thesis_Marouane_El_Khadir_finalv.pdf: 2045081 bytes, checksum: 8e837263c2c3c5ce44b922c99844f995 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-10-28 / Brazilians of Lebanese descent occupy high positions in economic, political and cultural fields. This community is widely associated with the image of success in the country’s collective psyche. Historically, most of the first Lebanese immigrants have started their journey in Brazil as entrepreneurs, concentrating on trade and moving later to industry. This focus on entrepreneurial activities still holds true today. Their early success in business then led to the emergence of a powerful elite whose influence goes beyond the economic sphere. This study deals with this case of ethnic entrepreneurship and aims at presenting and explaining why and how this phenomenon took place. It also shows that entrepreneurship can not only be an economic activity but also lay the foundation of a community and structure its identity. This work thus brings a contribution to the study of ethnic entrepreneurship which can be important in order to understand the economic and social rise of certain minorities or immigrant groups and draw up possible inspirational models. This dissertation also outlines several factors that participate to the success of entrepreneurs. / Os brasileiros de origem libanesa ocupam posições bem elevadas em áreas econômicas, políticas e culturais. Esta comunidade é amplamente associada com a imagem de sucesso na psique coletiva do país. Historicamente, a maioria dos primeiros imigrantes libaneses começaram como empresários, com foco no comércio e, em seguida, movendo-se para a indústria. Este foco em atividades empresariais ainda é verdade hoje. Seu sucesso inicial no negócios levou depois ao surgimento de uma poderosa elite cuja influência vai além da esfera econômica. Este estudo aborda esse caso de empreendedorismo étnico. Ele tem por objetivo apresentar e explicar por que e como esse fenômeno ocorreu. Ele também mostra como o empreendedorismo não pode ser apenas uma atividade econômica mas também lançar as bases de uma comunidade e estruturar a sua identidade. Portanto, este trabalaho traz uma contribuação para o estudo do empreendedorismo étnico que pode ser importante para compreender o crescimento económico e social de algumas minorias e grupos de imigrantes e elaborar modelos possíveis de inspiração. Esta dissertação também descreve vários fatores que participam para o sucesso dos empreendedores.