Political Identity Formation Research Articles

The American Indian Adivasi: Writing Adivasi Indigeneity in Ranendra’s Lords of the Global Village

Marginal communities in India have often claimed indigeneity in contests over rights to the environment. While the significance of these claims has been analyzed in the context of political identity formation, social movements, and transnational activism, the role of vernacular literature in constructing indigeneity has not received much attention. In this paper, I analyze a contemporary Hindi novel Lords of the Global Village (Global gamv ke devta) within the context of this broader discussion of the meanings of indigeneity in India. The novel, set in the east Indian state of Jharkhand, describes how the Asur, categorized as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) by the government of India, resist the takeover of their lands for bauxite mining. The distinctive feature of the novel is that it describes metropolitan exploitation of the region by invoking the history of displacement of American Indian communities in the Americas. What does this invocation of settler colonial history signal in the postcolonial Indian context? I argue that the novel attempts to craft indigeneity as a far more polyvalent concept than official discourse has allowed.

Transnational AIDS networks, regional solidarities and the configuration of meti in Nepal

This paper critically examines the role of transnational AIDS networks and resources in the consolidation of one of the earliest identity categories, meti, used within an emerging Nepali LGBT movement in the early 2000s. It argues that political identity formation in resource-poor contexts with limited domestic support for queer organising has been a cumulative effect of transnational exchanges between activists and resource networks. Beyond this, the paper traces the emergence and changing meanings of meti to show how a seemingly Indigenous category is more closely linked to modern configurations of male same-sex sexuality in response to opportunities available for political mobilisation. The paper is based on secondary research and interviews with 71 participants and participant observation conducted during seven months of fieldwork in Nepal, and interviews conducted outside the country between 2016 and 2019.

Populism as a layered system: ideological, social identity, and psychodynamic perspectives

ABSTRACT This paper analyses populism as a layered system with three levels: the political/institutional, the social/interactional, and the psychological/intrapsychic. Each level is theorized using a specific analytic concept, At the political/institutional level the analytic concept is ideology, and populism is theorized as a ‘thin ideology’ that divides society into the pure people and the corrupt elite. At the social/interactional level the analytic concept is social identity and populism is theorized as a form of identity politics in which devalued social groups develop a compensatory positive identity based on populist ideology. At the psychological/intrapsychic level the analytic concept is psychic structure, in which individuals use a paranoid/schizoid psychic structure that allows them to ward off the negative effects associated with their devalued social identity. Each analytic concept has the same deep structure: a binary polar opposition in which one pole is positive and good and the other pole is negative and bad.

Biopolitics and Im/Possible Citizenship: Gender, Epidemiology and ‘Panoptic Citizenship’ in India

This essay proposes to advance the discussion on the political implications of gender and its transgressive imperative, highlighting, further, the discursive and unsettled gendered positions. Proposing references with the entanglement of the epidemiological knowledge around gender(ed) politics in India, this work emphasizes the niche around claiming citizenship that is strengthened around health system paradigm. The globalisation of the identarian categories as a form of political identity as tied to the orthodoxy around the neoliberal norms of accountability. This essay thus foregrounds a subversive imagery in building theorisation around biopolitics and bio-citizenry, with a critique to the neocolonial allegory of the State, global health and International activism. Also, by bringing in the critical perspective on ‘sexuality’ and ‘equality’, this text debates the thematics of citizenship, that resides on a non-sovereign position -that is to say, the corporeal politics within biopolitical articulation. Also, the essay critically examines the biopolitics of citizenship with an analytical lens that is viable, de-medicalised as allowing the possibility to de-embrace technocratic and depoliticised sense of belonging.

On Mitigating Islamophobia

On Mitigating Islamophobia

Unveiling the Formation of Political Identities of the Filipino Youth in Tacurong City, The Philippines

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Filipino youth’s participation in politics regarding how their political identities were formed. The novelties in this study are (1) political identities of the Filipino youth, and (2) factors affecting the political identity formation of the Filipino youth. A qualitative case study approach was used to analyze the different statements of the Filipino youth towards the factors that made them be involved in politics, their political identities, and their political identity. Six Filipino youths residing in Tacurong City participants were purposively chosen and interviewed via Google Meet due to COVID-19 restrictions. As revealed by the data gathered, issues in the society, the availability of information to the public, their relationship circle, and their respective school’s Influence was found to play an essential role in making the Filipino youth participate in politics. The same factors such as the issues in the society, availability of information to the public, relationship circle, and the influence of school were also responsible for the formation of their current political identity. It is concluded that the Filipino youth’s political participation and identity were the results of the significant influence of the society. This study has a major impact in contributing to the knowledge on how the youth behave and why they have different perspectives and preferences of sides specifically in politics.

“Un film français et fier de l’être”: Gaspar Noé’s Climax in Context

Reading Gaspar Noé’s 2018 film Climax against the grain of the majority of critical reactions and the director’s own pronouncements, this article argues that this is a deeply political film. In line with West’s analysis of the films of the New French Extremity as works that are not (as suggested by Quandt) passive but a committed and politically engaged form of cinema, this article suggests that Climax can be read as an allegory of France’s current Realpolitik. Noé’s vision of this reality is revealed to be particularly bleak, for in line with the metaphysical stance of his other films, his is a universe ruled by entropic forces. The ramifications for Climax’s commentary on contemporary France are devastating, for the ideals of the Republic are shown to be no longer operational or capable of bringing people together, nor are they replaceable by any other form of identity politics.

Eritrea’s Chosen Trauma and the Legacy of the Martyrs: The Impact of Postmemory on Political Identity Formation of Second-Generation Diaspora Eritreans

In the collective memory of Eritreans, the liberation struggle against Ethiopia symbolises the heroic fight of their fallen martyrs against oppression. After independence, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front created an autocratic regime, which is adored by many second-generation diaspora Eritreans living in democracies. I engage with bodies of literature exploring the political importance of collective trauma in post-conflict societies and apply two theoretical notions, “postmemory” and “chosen trauma,” to explain how the government’s narrative of Eritrean history produced a culture of nationalism through the glorification of the martyrs. This narrative and the trauma experienced by their parents created experiences of postmemory among the second-generation diaspora that have influenced their worldview. I demonstrate how Eritrean pro-government activists utilise US-born artists who recently discovered their Eritreanness, such as Tiffany Haddish, to instil long-distance nationalism. The article is based on a social media analysis, long-term observation of Eritrean diaspora communities, and recent fieldwork.

Nuancing political identity formation in higher education: A phenomenological examination of precollege socialization, identity, and context.

Nuancing political identity formation in higher education: A phenomenological examination of precollege socialization, identity, and context.

Guerra Civil y la transmisión intergeneracional de la identidad política a través de la familia

Este artículo estudia la transmisión de la identidad política en la familia desde la guerra civil española hasta nuestros días. Concretamente, se trata de encontrar: 1) qué factores son los más importantes en la socialización política de la persona, 2) cuáles específicamente juegan un mayor papel en la conformación de identidades políticas extremistas y 3) qué relevancia tiene la Guerra Civil en estos procesos. Para ello, se han realizado diversos análisis de datos de una encuesta sobre una muestra representativa de la población española. Los resultados señalan: 1) el rol materno como eje central en la conformación de la identidad política del individuo y 2) el aumento en el número de agentes de socialización política significativos con el paso de las generaciones, manteniéndose la madre y la religión como los factores más relevantes.

Political Identity as a Security Factor of Ukrainian Statehood

In the article, the authors analyze the formation of the political identity of citizens of Ukraine as a security factor of Ukrainian statehood. It is noted that, in addition to political identity, there are many other identities, that are presented in the form of a matrix, the components of which continuously interact with, complement and influence each other. In terms of methodology, the process of forming political identity is considered from the standpoint of symbolic interactionism, where the emphasis is placed on political interaction. In addition, in order to objectively assess the effectiveness of the formation of political identity and potential negative consequences in the form of a crisis of statehood, the mechanism for transforming a situational identity into a basic political identity is considered from the standpoint of post-structuralism. The study identifies and formulates criteria for constructing this basic type of political identity, the prerequisites for their formation and correlation with the actual political situation in Ukraine. The multitude of approaches to the study of the formation of political identity is complemented by the consideration of various models of its construction. Fragmental, elite and organic models are considered. Particular attention is paid to the leading role of the state in the process of forming political identity, where the key participants are political elites, the media and civil society. To determine how the perception of the degree of influence of each participant affects the process of political identity formation by the population of Ukraine at different periods of time, with its intermittent outbursts of social activity, the method of factor analysis is used. On the basis of the results of the analysis of the constructed triangular diagrams, two patterns are extracted. According to one, an increase in positive perception and integration into the process of socialization of models of the political identity formation proposed by the political elite is observed in society after each surge in mass protests that leads to a regime change. The other pattern is manifested in the revealed tendentiousness of the influence of the media and political elites on the security level of Ukrainian statehood and the growth of tension in society.

Racial Reclassification and Political Identity Formation

AbstractThis article leverages a phenomenon of racial reclassification in Brazil to shed new light on the processes of identity politicization. Conventional wisdom tells us that race mixture, fluid racial boundaries, and stigmatized blackness lead Brazilians to change their racial identifications—to reclassify—toward whiteness. But in recent years, Brazilians have demonstrated a newfound tendency to reclassify toward blackness. The author argues that this sudden reversal is the unintended consequence of state-led educational expansion for the lower classes. Educational expansion has increased the exposure of newly mobile citizens to information, social networks, and the labor market, leading many to develop racialized political identities and choose blackness. The author develops and tests this argument by drawing on in-depth interview data, systematic analyses of national survey and longitudinal census data, and original survey experiments. This article contributes a novel account of identity politicization and emphasizes the interaction between social structures and citizenship institutions in these processes.

What Price Equality? The Academic Cost of Government Supervised Gender Mainstreaming at Swedish Universities

This article is focused on gender mainstreaming at Swedish universities in the period from 2016–2019. Our research questions are: (a) In what form was gender mainstreaming introduced and did the form itself affect scholar’s academic rights? (b) Was the process in question compatible with international standards of institutional autonomy? (c) What effect did gender mainstreaming have on scholars’ ability to exercise their academic rights in accordance with international standards? Using the UNESCO Recommendations Concerning the Status of Higher-education Teaching Personnel (1997) as our international standard, we conclude that gender mainstreaming was introduced as a form of identity politics though government action and de facto supervision; that the latter was problematic from the perspective of institutional autonomy; that the choice of gender studies as a preferred scientific framework for university policy had a chilling effect on inquiry and free speech in other areas of research; and, finally, that gender mainstreaming led to violations of some scholars’ individual rights. The findings may be taken into account in evaluations of the outcome of gender mainstreaming at Swedish universities, all things considered.

Формирование протонациональной английской политической идентичности VIII-XIII вв. (Formation of a Pro-National English Political Identity of the VIII-XIII Centuries)

Russian abstract: Основная задача - проанализировать механизмы становления и особенности английской идентичности, сформировавшейся в Средние века. Ее суть состояла в наложении германских племенных идентичностей на географический концепт «Британия», сложившийся еще в эпоху Античности. После ухода с острова в начале V века римских войск и т. н. «англосаксонского завоевания» часть бриттской интеллектуальной элиты сохранила представление о Британии как о политическом целом. В этот же период Беда Достопочтенном идея о Британии как о едином географическом понятии, и, в то же время, о полиэтничном и политически раздробленном острове. Нет убедительных свидетельств, что кто-либо из англосаксонских правителей вплоть до 2-й четверти Х века заявлял претензии на власть над всем островом. English abstract: The goal of the work was to analyze the ways of the forging of English identity in the Middle Ages. Its components were the tribal identities of German-speaking (‘AngloSaxon’) population and geographical concept of ‘Britain’ (Latin ‘Britannia’) that had emerged in the Classical age. After the departure of the Roman troops and collapse of imperial administration the early fifth century at least part of the Brittonic elite kept the idea of the island as a political entity.

To the question on consequences of staging political reality on the Internet

The subject of this research is the sociopolitical consequences of staging reality on the Internet. The object of this research is the coverage of the international political agenda by modern online media. Methodological frameworks for this study is comprised of polyparadigmatic approach that allows juxtaposing macro-and micro- approaches towards examination of reality staging and its consequences. The term “staging of reality” reflects the process of creating a certain image, situation, or genuine semantic link by analogy with the hyperbolized fictional reality “presented” on stage. Despite the fact that this phenomenon exist for a long time, transformation of the character of communication processes, as a result of advancement of information technologies, led to acquisition of enormous influence by online media upon the political processes in society, as well as creation of worldview by a modern person. The article describes the consequences and risks caused by staging political reality on the Internet on several levels. Analysis is conducted on correlation of this phenomenon with the formation of political identity, institutionalization, political communication, and staging political risks of local and global scale. The conclusion is made that negative effect from staging political reality exceeds the boundaries of just the news field, and manifests as a problem that requires comprehensive and cross-disciplinary approach. Attention is given to such consequence of staging political reality as the reconstruction of staged risks in mass media, as it plays one of the determinant roles in the process of devaluation of democratic principles. Along with creation of the distorted worldview due to escalation of uncertainty, loss of confidence in political sources, political anomia and, altered understanding of the freedom of speech and criteria for appropriate information, the staging of risks sidetracks an individual from the ideals of lawful society.

Pharaoh and the Divine Wont of Respiting: A Critical Analysis of Quranic Themes

Respiting or giving extra time (imhal) is a divine wont that means postponing the punishment of wrongdoers. Although not mentioned with a specific title, this wont is explicitly noticeable in the Quran in various places, such as in the encounter of prophets with the disbelievers and oppressors, particularly in the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh. An analysis of this divine wont using the critical discourse analysis method shows the use of an element of Jewish discourse and its new articulation as a central signifier in the formation of religious-Islamic identity. This belief plays a vital role in the early centuries of Islamic history in the redefinition of religious concepts, formation of political identity, antagonism, and the formation of independent social identity for Muslims and for specific groups among them.

Sexual violence, identity and gender: ISIS and the Yezidis

ABSTRACT This paper explores the gender dimension of the relationship between the political marketplace and identity formation. Gender is a central, not tangential, component of violence and gender norms are an essential part of singular and exclusive identity formation. The article focuses on ISIS’s sexual and gender-based violence against the Yezidis and contextualises this case within wider long-term gender- and identity-based structural inequalities that facilitate sexual violence in conflict. Structural inequalities are understood here within a continuum of violence and through an intersectional study of sexual violence in conflict. In the case of ISIS and the Yezidis, specific ethnic or religious constructions of identity intersected with gender, leading to targeting of a minority community. This identity formation is part of becoming a militarised masculine warrior within a group – ISIS used sexual violence in forming its group identity against a subordinated outgroup. In doing this, ISIS objectified and commodified the bodies of the Yezidi women and created an economic market around this. Objectification and commodification of Yezidi women reinforced ISIS’s hegemonic and militant masculinity. The construction of identity through sexual violence took place in a socio-economic and political context situated within a long-term history of the intersection of gender and identity-based hierarchies. This was possible because of the existing repertoires of values, perceptions and practices of hegemonic and militant masculinity. The organisation and institutionalisation of sexual violence and objectification and commodification of Yezidi women and girls was based on this repertoire which was based on intersectional hierarchies of gender and religious-ethnic-sectarian identities.

Nationalism and national identity formation in Bangladesh: A colonial legacy behind the clash of language and religion

The nature of identity formation is complex. The production of identity in South Asia, with its colonial past, has been largely dependent on the region’s colonial history. In this article we chart the process of political identity formation in Bangladesh. We identify the various historical causes that led to the creation of each of the two types of identity prevalent today. These two divisive identities based on language and religion, one pitted against the other, each became the central platform of each of the two major political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). This disquisition shows clear patterns of political distress that resulted in the bifurcation of these two divisive political identities that ossified by the late 20th century due chiefly to the actions of the colonial government of the Raj.

‘Globalized difference’: Identity politics on social media

By drawing on an ethnographic study of digital communication practices of Serbian Londoners, this article identifies a new form of subtle spontaneous identity politics on social media that seeks to reassert national identity and present it both as an exotic difference and as cosmopolitan. It argues that this form of identity politics has been brought about thanks to social surveillance on social media, the context of London – as a global city – and the particular socio-historical position of the Serbian national identity. Thus, this article contributes to the socio-technical approach to social media, which considers both technical properties of social media and a range of social factors, including users’ agency, in understanding the social consequences of social media. The article concludes that this identity politics is ambivalent in its character – while it is a source of empowerment, it also tends to commodify difference.

Time to rebuild class consciousness

Labour’s election defeat of 2019 highlights underlying issues of class — what is it? How is the working class formed? How can Labour represent that class in the twenty-first century? The article looks at the decline in class consciousness and its electoral impact, alongside the rise of other forms of political identity, crystallised around the referendums on the European Union and Scottish independence, and how ‘Corbynism’ attempted to respond to this. It sets the strengths and weaknesses of the Labour Party post-2015 and the 2019 election result in a broader political context.