Issues of difference and citizenship for ‘new identities’: A theoretical view

Abstract

Social theories that approach the presence of ‘new identities ‘ in an already given social and political space encounter problems in defining both identities and space, and their relationship. This paper looks into the works of sociologist Bryan Turner, political theorist Chantal Mouffe and philosopher Iris Young to finally settle into the theories of space and place of Harvey, Massey and others as an alternative way to articulate the problem of marginal identities in Europe. I argue that, if we think of any given identity as multiple and dynamic (as opposed to being fixed and originary), and also the identity of any given place as multiple, and as a process, then it is logical and meaningful to re‐articulate subject identities and place identities as in a relationship. The nature of this relationship is a complex web of political, social, economic and cultural articulations. Therefore, any discourse on citizenship should be grounded within this frame of analysis and not on an ethical principle of nation state and on a‐historical, originary constructions of particularistic or universal identities.