Identity Politics Research Articles

Constructive Approaches to Analysis of Constructed Identity

The article deals with the main directions and outcomes of identity research along with the expansion of the research field as a whole and concept list. The author explores an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach well established in identitarian research. By building a general outline and defining the comparative context of the analysis of identity in general and political identity in particular, the article explores collective monographs “Integration and disintegration potential of identity in history and modernity” and “Identity. Personality, society politics. New contours of the research field”. The interdisciplinary work of Tomsk scientists is structured into three parts, corresponding to the author’s methodology. This approach enables to characterize the key positions of the authors of each part, comparing them with the arsenal developed in the social and humanities. Scientific and political relevance characterize each of the dimensions chosen by the authors of the monograph, which also determines the high disputability of the proposed topics and assessments. The collective monograph edited by Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences I.S. Semenenko has 44 sections written by a team of 32 authors. The article contains an overview of key sections and directions of research, and notes the role of the executive editor, who is one of the leaders of identitarian research in modern Russia. The collective monograph is aimed at promoting the issue of identity not only in scientific discussions, but also in the public space, since identity is considered as an important development resource. Despite all the differences in format, structure, objectives and approaches, these works are united by bringing identity into the mainstream of sociohumanitarian and political science, determining the potential of identity as a resource for social development, integration (or disintegration) of the society. Analysis of the research conducted gives grounds to attribute them to the successful search for an independent vector of domestic science.

Intercivilizational Interaction between the United States and the Non-Western World (The Civilizational Identity of Russia in the Context of S. Huntington’s Concept of the Clash of Civilizations)

The article offers a retrospective analysis of S. Huntington’s concept of the clash of civilizations, examining the scholar’s predictions concerning the development scenarios of Russian-Ukrainian relations of the post-Soviet period in the context of wars along the fault lines between civilizations. It characterizes the structure of civilizations, patterns of intercivilizational interaction, and specifics of the identity crisis manifestations in cleft and torn countries. The paper concludes that the predicted conflicting scenario of Russian-Ukrainian relations caused by the confrontation between Western and Orthodox (in S. Huntington's terminology) civilizations is coming true. In the civilizational context, the article explores approaches to deterring Russia, reflected in the documents of RAND Corporation analysts and a lecture by CIA Director W. Burns, delivered at the Ditchley Foundation. Considering Huntington’s provisions about the core role of the Russian state for the Orthodox civilization, as well as the centuries-old tear of identity and public consciousness of Russia, the author believes that the most important task of the state identity politics is nationalizing the Russian elite, overcoming the ideological gap between the nationally-oriented "deep people" and the Western-centric elite groups.

Pedagogic insularities and fragmented identities: reconsidering worldly humanism in Indian Higher Education

ABSTRACT Amid the increasing bureaucratisation of Indian universities, this article examines the evolving pedagogical implications, including the challenges of syllabus design and the growing bureaucratic interference in classroom practices. Drawing on Edward Said's notion of humanism, it interrogates the concept of the ‘differentiated human’ – fragmented and discrete identities that lack common ground for meaningful dialogue, a phenomenon that is deeply embedded in the postcolonial Indian context. The article delves into the feasibility of a ‘humanist pedagogy’ by posing critical questions: Are the humanist agenda and the effort to foreground local identities inherently incompatible? Do they operate on fundamentally discrete and insular planes? Or is there a possibility of reconciling these two seemingly divergent projects? By addressing these issues, this paper explores the tensions and synergies between universalist humanist ideals and the specificity of localised identity politics.

Sometimes “us”, other times “others”: identity politics within Chinese voluntary associations in Australia

ABSTRACT Research has noticed the heterogeneity within overseas Chinese communities. Yet, not much research has examined the internal dynamics and identity conflicts within Chinese voluntary associations (CVAs) from a transnational perspective. This article focuses on CVAs formed by two Chinese groups – Taiwanese and Hong Kongers in Australia, and argues that homeland identity politics influences association participation and the day-to-day lives of migrants residing overseas. Based on participant observations and in-depth interviews, I illuminate the intersection of pragmatic needs and national identity – a situation where Taiwanese and Hong Konger voluntary associations infuse with mainland Chinese ones sometimes, while other times they maintain identity boundaries and reject a broader Chinese identity shared with migrants from mainland China. This article highlights the space–time-culture nexus of participation in overseas CVAs and identity change or continuity, which manifests in different roles these CVAs played in sustaining ethnic connection, solidarity, and distinction among Chinese migrants in Australia.

Neoliberalism’s Persistence and the Struggle for What Comes After

In this article I assess the contribution of works by Nancy Fraser and Wendy Brown on neoliberalism and the rise of right-wing populism. Both theorists report on monstrous and morbid symptoms that have emerged recently: the result of a crisis of hegemony for Fraser, and of contradictions in morality and moral conscience produced by neoliberalism, for Brown. Both also offer a feminist lens in relation to the politics of recognition and identity on the one hand, and wounded angry white maleness on the other. I discuss the differences in their particular contributions to post-Marxist debate and ways forward from the uneasy place in which we find ourselves, in which the moral authority of neoliberalism both wanes and continues to persist. Their work is of particular importance in understanding how subjects are enrolled into neoliberalism and, therefore, how alternative principles, practices and subjectivities, and new coalitions and alliances might be built.

Colorblind Cops in Christian America: Christian Nationalism, Race, Politics, and Beliefs About Racist Policing

ABSTRACT Growing research finds that Americans’ views on race, policing, and punishment are shaped by a desire to restore America’s traditional religio-political hierarchies (what scholars call Christian nationalism), but these associations often vary by race and party. Extending this literature, we theorize Christian nationalism will influence Americans’ views on police treatment of Black and Hispanic Americans relative to White Americans, but that these effects will be conditioned by racial and political identities in different ways. Data from the 2021 General Social Survey show Christian nationalism is negatively associated with Americans’ recognizing inequality in policing. Yet interactions affirm these associations vary by racial, partisan, and ideological identities. Specifically, Christian nationalism inclines White Americans to deny racial inequality in policing, but this is less the case for Black or Hispanic Americans. Political identities show a different pattern. Christian nationalism has no influence on Republicans’ and “extremely conservative” Americans’ views on whether police treat White Americans better than racial minorities. Instead, Christian nationalism seems to make Democrats and “extremely liberal” Americans indistinguishable from their Republican and “extremely conservative” counterparts. Findings indicate Americans’ evaluations of racial inequality in police treatment are shaped by a complex interplay between racial identities, politics, and desire for religio-political supremacy.

Deformed bodies and the decolonial turn: unthinking and rethinking the colonial episteme in animal’s people

ABSTRACT Through a reading of Indra Sinha’s Animal’s People, this article draws upon disability studies to evolve a decolonial theoretical framework that would enable us to unthink and rethink the hegemonic neocolonial episteme that constitutes the human subject as able-bodied. Conceptually premised on a social model of disability that lays emphasis on the role of environmental barriers and negative attitudes in shaping the experience of disability, this article problematises the narrative of ability by first denaturalising such narratives and then goes on to underscore and advocate the need to normalise all other modes of being that an ableist archive of knowledge deems as abnormal. To achieve the above goal, Sinha, in his novel, adopts the decolonial strategy of giving voice and agency to the globally marginalised, intersectional subjects and narrates the story of the victims of the Bhopal industrial disaster of 1984. Such a strategy provides Sinha with a basis for interrogating the ableist episteme of coloniality and forging a politics of decolonisation that deconstructs the forms of identity and solidarity fostered by a neoliberal economic world order. In short, the article seeks to map the broader implications of a disability perspective on a decolonial politics of identity and vice versa.

Group-differentiated rights for Indigenous communities that straddle borders

ABSTRACT This paper examines the normative justification for special rights for Indigenous peoples whose traditional territories straddle contemporary international borders. Examining the Mohawks of Akwesasne (Quebec, Ontario, and New York state) and the Tohono O’odham (Arizona and Sonora, Mexico) as cases, I demonstrate how state claims to territorial jurisdiction and border regulation often interfere with the lives of Indigenous people whose social, cultural, economic, spiritual and political practices and relationships cluster across contemporary international boundaries. Through the concept of group occupancy interests, I argue that members of Indigenous nations whose territories straddle borders possess special rights to access and use lands presently claimed by states of which they are not recognized citizens. Moreover, I demonstrate how border-straddling Indigenous nations challenge the unlimited sovereignty of contemporary states with respect to border policy: the occupancy and self-determination interests of Indigenous peoples may ground the moral rights of their communities to co-manage international border crossings with states. Finally, I argue that collective interests in cross-border political identities and self-determination can ground the rights of Indigenous peoples to form unified cross-border jurisdictional units that demand recognition by states, alongside the rights of Indigenous peoples to regulate group membership.

Population censuses and identity politics in the Republic of Croatia

ABSTRACT This article explores the interrelation between the construction of ethnonational nomenclatures in population censuses and identity politics in the construction and representation of the ‘nation’ through the lens of ‘statistical objectivity’. Population census in the context of national identification and nation-building can be seen as a discursive practice. Through its performative effect, it objectifies the ethnonational nomenclature of the census and differentiating the social body into different identity categories through the effect of numbers, producing seemingly homogeneous ethnicised collectives in the public space. The politicization of the population census process is investigated by analysing the ambivalences in the individual-collective relations during the objectification of subjective categories of belonging, as well as by analysing the conceptualization and operationalization of these categories. The categories used in censuses and the methods employed in population censuses conducted after Croatia’s independence in 2001, 2011, and 2021 are analysed and compared.

Research on the challenges and coping strategies of the ideological and political education of young workers in public institutions

With the rapid development of the times and the continuous progress of the society, the young workers, as the new blood of the public institutions, the cultivation of their ideological and political quality is particularly important. Based on the actual situation of public institutions, this paper systematically analyzes the challenges faced by the ideological and political education of young workers in public institutions, and discusses their coping strategies one by one. This paper systematically sorts out the current situation of ideological and political education for young workers, and analyzes their importance in improving the level of political identity, professional ethics and promoting their overall personal development. At the same time, this paper points out many problems and challenges in the implementation process, including the simplification of educational content and form, the lack of participation of young workers, the uneven distribution of educational resources and the influence of external environment. Based on these findings, this paper puts forward the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions, optimize the content and methods of ideological and political education, improve the effectiveness of education, and provide theoretical support and practical guidance for the healthy development of public institutions.

Husaini M. Hasan on The Concept of Political Activism in The Social And Political Context of Aceh

This article analyzes Aceh's political activism from a political and historical perspective. This research uses a qualitative methodology, which focuses on the role of Husaini M. Hasan in the Free Aceh Movement and his struggle for the implementation of Islamic law in Aceh. This article explains how Aceh has struggled to maintain its Islamic identity within the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia from colonial times to contemporary times. This research analyzes various documents and interviews to show how Aceh's desire to implement Islamic law is related to the desire for regional autonomy and national identity. Aceh's social and political identity was shaped by political activism and Islamic ideology, which also interacted with Indonesian national politics. This study found that the political initiative in Aceh was not an independent state, but special autonomy. This shows that understanding and dealing with problems related to social identity, politics, and Islamic law in Aceh requires a more holistic and contextual approach.

Contemporary Islamic sects in Indonesia

Islam's development in Indonesia has been shaped by both positive and negative influences. On the positive side, technology, modernization, and globalization have supported the spread and evolution of Islamic thought. However, challenges include the lasting impact of the Abbasid Dynasty's decline, psychological issues among Muslims, and the rise of religious identity politics. Overall, contemporary Islamic sects bring new perspectives, demonstrating how Islam adapts to modernity and is influenced by both local and global dynamics. (content analysis) Miles and Huberman models. The results found 3 things: First, the paradigm of Contemporary Islamic Sectss in Indonesia has 7 forms: Determinism Sects of thought, Liberalism Sects of thought, Contemporary Islamic Sects of thought, Fundamentalist Sects of thought, Modernism Sects of thought, extremism movement Sects, rational religious Sects Second, internally influencing Contemporary Islamic Sectss in Indonesia there are 3 factors positive influence and negative influence, influence of ijtihad ulama, influence of scientific epistemology As for externally influencing Contemporary Islamic Sects in Indonesia there are 3 factors The influence of capitalist economy, The influence of Islamisation, The influence of pragmatism Third, the positive implications of Contemporary Islamic Sectss in Indonesia. Islam's development in Indonesia has been shaped by both positive and negative influences. On the positive side, technology, modernization, and globalization have supported the spread and evolution of Islamic thought.

Maqashid Sharia as the Foundation of Religious Moderation and Resilience in Aceh's Border Communities

The implementation of Islamic law in Aceh over the past two decades has not only reflected the enforcement of Sharia but also illustrated the cultural and political dynamics of Acehnese society. As a region rich in customary law traditions and social pluralism, the response of Acehnese communities, particularly in multicultural border areas, to violations of Islamic law and its existence varies widely. Islamic law in Aceh is often interpreted through the lens of political identity and local culture, while the maqashid sharia values, such as the protection of life, property, and security have yet to be fully integrated into daily practices. This study employs an anthropological approach with qualitative methods. Data collection was conducted through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and narrative analysis of the experiences and perspectives of local communities. The study focuses on how communities construct, understand, and respond to Sharia as part of their social lives. The findings reveal that border communities in Aceh perceive Islamic law not only as a religious rule but also as a political identity symbol to reinforce their social standing, including in rejecting the construction of non-Muslim places of worship. However, the study also highlights a gap in understanding and applying maqashid sharia, attributed to limited socialization and cross-cultural dialogue. Nevertheless, Islamic law remains respected as a crucial element of the social structure, although its interpretation is often situational and contextual.

The Chartist Press and the Emergence of a Plebeian Public Sphere: Doubleday's The Political Pilgrim's Progress and O'Brien's The Rise, Progress and Phases of Human Slavery

abstract: The early nineteenth-century radical press sparked an era of print culture that challenged the political economy of liberalism and created a counter-cultural, plebeian public sphere. The post-Napoleonic Wars economic crisis, the anti-New Poor Law movement, and the War of the Unstamped shaped an alternative anti-capitalist political economy and literature defined by working-class political identity and activism. This study examines working-class political economy popularized in the radical press, how it created a counter public sphere antithetical to liberalism, and how it conceptualized a society based on social, economic, and political equality. Featured texts include Thomas Doubleday's The Political Pilgrim's Progress in relation to the political-economy theories popularized by James Bronterre O'Brien in The Rise, Progress, and Phases of Human Slavery .

Explaining Political Differences in Attitudes to Vaccines in France: Partisan Cues, Disenchantment with Politics, and Political Sophistication

Context: The role of political identities in determining attitudes to vaccines has attracted a lot of attention in the last decade. Explanations have tended to focus on the influence of party representatives on their sympathizers (partisan cues). Methods: Four representative samples of the French adult population completed online questionnaires between July 2021 and May 2022 (N = 9,177). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to test whether partisan differences in attitudes to vaccines are best explained by partisan cues or by parties’ differences in propensity to attract people who distrust the actors involved in vaccination policies. Findings: People who feel close to parties on the far left, parties on the far right, and green parties are more vaccine hesitant. The authors found a small effect of partisan cues and a much stronger effect of trust. More importantly, they show that the more politically sophisticated are less vaccine hesitant and that the nonpartisan are the biggest and most vaccine hesitant group. Conclusions: The literature on vaccine attitudes has focused on the case of the United States, but turning attention toward countries where disenchantment with politics is more marked helps researchers better understand the different ways trust, partisanship, and political sophistication can affect attitudes to vaccines.

Legitimating Nationalism: Political Identity in Russia’s Ethnic Republics, written by Katie L. Stewart

Legitimating Nationalism: Political Identity in Russia’s Ethnic Republics, written by Katie L. Stewart

Framing in media and communication studies: A bibliometric analysis

This paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of framing and frame theory in media and communication studies, utilizing Web of Science (WOS) data from 2014 to 2023. Framing, as a critical concept in media discourse, shapes public perception by highlighting specific aspects of information while downplaying others. Despite its central role in political communication, news framing, and social media research, there is a notable gap in better incorporating linguistic perspectives, particularly metaphor framing, within the existing literature. Using VOSviewer, this study analyzes co-occurrence networks and thematic clusters to map the evolving landscape of framing research. The results reveal key areas of focus, including political communication, science communication, and identity politics on social media platforms, while also highlighting the underrepresentation of linguistic approaches. This analysis not only identifies influential authors and institutions but also underscores the need for further integrating cognitive linguistic theories, such as metaphor framing, to deepen our understanding of how media discourse constructs reality. The paper concludes by suggesting directions for future research, calling for more interdisciplinary studies to explore the complex mechanisms underlying media framing.

Political brand culture of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: An internal perspective

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the body of research on political brand identity by specifically exploring political brand culture as a key element of political brand identity. Thus, this study addresses a significant gap in the literature on political brand identity using the developing world context of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party [PTI]. Adopting a qualitative methodology, this research involved in-depth interviews with PTI members to uncover the underlying values, beliefs, and cultural elements that shape the party’s brand culture. The findings reveal that PTI’s brand culture is an intricate and complex network of values, beliefs, and strategies that shape its identity and influence its interactions with both internal stakeholders and the broader public. These core values not only define PTI’s culture but also distinguish it from its competitors. The originality of this study lies in its development of a new framework for understanding political brand culture, comprising Brand Core Values, Collaborative Engagement, and Brand Strategy & Goals. This framework provides a nuanced tool for both academics and practitioners to analyse and manage brand cultures across various contexts, offering valuable insights for enhancing brand coherence and resilience during times of change.

Inheriting Empire, Wealth, and Art: The Baring Family and London’s National Gallery in the Nineteenth Century

ABSTRACT The Baring family was one of the most influential families in nineteenth-century Britain. They held great financial power through the merchant bank Baring Brothers, political influence as members of parliament, and cultural pre-eminence through their longstanding involvement with institutions such as the National Gallery. The Barings were also esteemed art collectors. Members of the family gained wealth from both the British East and West Indies, as well as owning plantations and enslaved people in the Danish West Indies. Simultaneously, they gained profits from imperial commerce, made public statements both for and against abolition, while being praised for their picture collection, thus complicating the relationships between their commercial, political, and cultural identities. In light of the Gallery’s bicentenary in 2024, this article, engaging with previously underutilised archival sources, argues that we can write back into the National Gallery’s history the previously absent histories of the British Empire, including the lived experiences of colonised people by using as a case study an intergenerational investigation of a single family.

Actors of the Political Socialization of the Youth

The formation of political identity of contemporary Russian youth is a dynamic socialization process involving constant communication with various actors and reassessment of norms and beliefs in political and cultural media discourse. Using the methods of actor-network theory, we can better understand how individual groups, accounts construct political identity through cultural narratives and practices by means of their affordances. Such properties of actors build trust in them in the case of discursive coincidences and common frames of self-identity within the network. By examining the practices of actors and the effects of their affordances in political socialization, we can understand how these processes shape the collective beliefs and the practices of young people that follow.The purpose of the article is to identify the sources of political socialization of student youth as actors by examining the trust mechanisms that contribute to successive processes of socialization formation.Methods of survey, focus groups, text analysis, actor-network theory methods, and Python, Gephi, and Google Excel programs were applied to map and represent the results.The study analyzed essays, surveys, and interviews (300 students in total) in order to qualitatively identify actors that influence the political socialization of young people. These actors include official cultural policies, family, school, media and social networks, church, society, political leaders and bloggers. The research allowed us to identify the most stable cognitive, affective and practical components of these actors’ discourses, emphasizing the special significance of cultural and historical facts in the formation of political identity.The process of political socialization begins in childhood and continues in the following stages of personal development, always intertwined with one or another social reflection, forming a coherent picture of the world. Young people trust information supported by facts and consistent with their worldview; young people are influenced by parents, official sources and bloggers. In the political sphere, young people are interested in political leaders, elections, the work of government bodies, and the influence of politics on areas of life such as culture and ecology.The analysis conducted in the optics of ANT has revealed the mechanisms of how student youth are influenced by various actors and how this influence shapes their political beliefs and behavior. The study emphasizes the importance of constant communication for the formation of youth political identity through the influence of various actors in media discourse.