Identity: The demand for dignity and the politics of resentment

Author(s):  
Enrico L. JOSEPH

Identity is an urgent and necessary book―a sharp warning that unless we forge a universal understanding of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict. In 2014, Francis Fukuyama wrote that American institutions were in decay, as the state was progressively captured by powerful interest groups. Two years later, his predictions were borne out by the rise to power of a series of political outsiders whose economic nationalism and authoritarian tendencies threatened to destabilize the entire international order. These populist nationalists seek direct charismatic connection to “the people,” who are usually defined in narrow identity terms that offer an irresistible call to an in-group and exclude large parts of the population as a whole.Demand for recognition of one’s identity is a master concept that unifies much of what is going on in world politics today. The universal recognition on which liberal democracy is based has been increasingly challenged by narrower forms of recognition based on nation, religion, sect, race, ethnicity, or gender, which have resulted in anti-immigrant populism, the upsurge of politicized Islam, the fractious “identity liberalism” of college campuses, and the emergence of white nationalism. Populist nationalism, said to be rooted in economic motivation, actually springs from the demand for recognition and therefore cannot simply be satisfied by economic means. The demand for identity cannot be transcended; we must begin to shape identity in a way that supports rather than undermines democracy.

Author(s):  
Timofey DMITRIEV

The review article provides a critical analysis of the main points of Francis Fukuyama's latest book, which deals with the identity crisis of Western liberal democracy. The author focuses on Fukuyama's assessment of actual global developments from the perspective of struggle of nations and groups for recognition. Special attention is given to the role that a broadly understood national identity could play in stabilizing social and political processes of the modern world.


Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Schupmann

Chapter 1 analyzes Schmitt’s assessment of democratic movements in Weimar and the gravity of their effects on the state and constitution. It emphasizes that the focus of Schmitt’s criticism of Weimar was mass democracy rather than liberalism. Schmitt warned that the combination of mass democracy, the interpenetration of state and society, and the emergence of total movements opposed to liberal democracy, namely the Nazis and the Communists, were destabilizing the Weimar state and constitution. Weimar, Schmitt argued, had been designed according to nineteenth century principles of legitimacy and understandings of the people. Under the pressure of mass democracy, the state was buckling and cannibalizing itself and its constitution. Despite this, Schmitt argued, Weimar jurists’ theoretical commitments left them largely unable to recognize the scope of what was occurring. Schmitt’s criticism of Weimar democracy was intended to raise awareness of how parliamentary democracy could be turned against the state and constitution.


Author(s):  
Takis S. Pappas

Based on an original definition of modern populism as “democratic illiberalism” and many years of meticulous research, Takis Pappas marshals extraordinary empirical evidence from Argentina, Greece, Peru, Italy, Venezuela, Ecuador, Hungary, the United States, Spain, and Brazil to develop a comprehensive theory about populism. He addresses all key issues in the debate about populism and answers significant questions of great relevance for today’s liberal democracy, including: • What is modern populism and how can it be differentiated from comparable phenomena like nativism and autocracy? • Where in Latin America has populism become most successful? Where in Europe did it emerge first? Why did its rise to power in the United States come so late? • Is Trump a populist and, if so, could he be compared best with Venezuela’s Chávez, France’s Le Pens, or Turkey’s Erdoğan? • Why has populism thrived in post-authoritarian Greece but not in Spain? And why in Argentina and not in Brazil? • Can populism ever succeed without a charismatic leader? If not, what does leadership tell us about how to challenge populism? • Who are “the people” who vote for populist parties, how are these “made” into a group, and what is in their minds? • Is there a “populist blueprint” that all populists use when in power? And what are the long-term consequences of populist rule? • What does the expansion, and possibly solidification, of populism mean for the very nature and future of contemporary democracy? Populism and Liberal Democracy will change the ways the reader understands populism and imagines the prospects of liberal democracy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 183-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
James To

The overseas Chinese (OC) form a vast network of powerful interest groups and important political actors capable of shaping the future of China from abroad by transmitting values back to their ancestral homeland (Tu 1991). While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) welcomes and actively seeks to foster relations with the OC in order to advance China's national interests, some cohorts may be hostile to the regime. In accordance with their distinct demographic and ethnic profiles, the CCP's qiaowu ([Formula: see text], OC affairs) infrastructure serves to entice, co-opt, or isolate various OC groupings. This article summarises the policies for managing different subsets of OC over the past three decades, and argues that through qiaowu, the CCP has successfully unified cooperative groups for China's benefit, while preventing discordant ones from eroding its grip on power.


Letonica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergejs Kruks

Keywords: discourse analysis, general will, Latvian politics, political representation, Saeima Latvian citizens are characterised by a very low level of political activism. How can this be explained through an understanding of politics? Prior to the 2018 Saeima (Latvian parliament) election, voters were interviewed on Latvian television discussing the pronouncements of various members of parliament. The researcher explores the relationship between the comments of these voters and the way they feel their interests are being represented by the state’s law makers. Throughout the interviews, voters are critical of Saeima, yet they fail to clearly explain their interests. The generally agreed upon duty of MPs is to discover the general will of the people, and attempt to fulfil this will through law making. In Latvia, the concept of forming interest groups representing the desires of various groups of citizens to create public expressions of their opinions is not considered a viable resource for political action. The citizens being interviewed believe that they cannot expect to have their interests represented by Saeima and prefer individual strategies focused on non-political action.


Author(s):  
Matthew J. Lacombe

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the most powerful interest groups in America, and has consistently managed to defeat or weaken proposed gun regulations — even despite widespread public support for stricter laws and the prevalence of mass shootings and gun-related deaths. This book provides an unprecedented look at how this controversial organization built its political power and deploys it on behalf of its pro-gun agenda. Taking readers from the 1930s to the age of Donald Trump, the book traces how the NRA's immense influence on national politics arises from its ability to shape the political outlooks and actions of its followers. The book draws on nearly a century of archival records and surveys to show how the organization has fashioned a distinct worldview around gun ownership and has used it to mobilize its supporters. It reveals how the NRA's cultivation of a large, unified, and active base has enabled it to build a resilient alliance with the Republican Party, and examines why the NRA and its members formed an important constituency that helped fuel Trump's unlikely political rise. The book sheds vital new light on how the NRA has grown powerful by mobilizing average Americans, and how it uses its GOP alliance to advance its objectives and shape the national agenda.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Suhail Hussein Al-Fatlawi

<p>Democracy was established in the Greek cities in the fifth century B.C. It is a liberal western system. In this regard, various Islamic countries applied democracy as a political and legal system where the people elect their representatives in the legislative authority in order to put the legal regulations that organize the human behavior.</p>The research included a brief idea about liberal democracy, its history and objectives, the political and legal system in the Islamic state, the dispute among Muslim scholars on the application of democracy in the Islamic states; some Muslim scholars refuse to apply democracy since the legal system in Islam relies on the Holly Qor'an and the Prophet's speeches, which are a biding regulation for Muslims, while other authors believe that Islam accepts democracy and others think that Islam should have its special democracy that differs from the liberal democracy. This paper discussed the political and legal systems that were applied the Islamic state during the history of Islam. Finally the paper presented the most conclusions and recommendations reached by the researcher.


1970 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 278-290
Author(s):  
Youba Raj Luintel

The PDF of this file is 2,443 kbytes in size and therefore will take a long time to download if you click on the PDF link below. If you would like the file to be sent to you by email, please send a request to [email protected]. Please include the citation below in your request. DOI: 10.3126/opsa.v9i0.1144Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology Vol.9 2005 p.278-290


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Ridwan - Mubarok

For every Muslim, the role of civilization is identical to authentic mission as a leader as a leader in this earth, whose role is greater than leading a province or country. The participation of ulama, dai or da'wah movements in the political sphere is his right, but the missionary movement or organization must also be aware of and be aware of people or persons who want to manipulate da'wah as a vehicle for world politics. Da'wah movements or dai must be able to use various life instruments that exist today for the sake of da'wah. Ulama and the da'i who join in the organization movement or da'wah movement, must realize that they are part of the chain of struggle of the people. Now is the time for da'i or ulama to proclaim themselves from the past fetters that castrated the political life of the scholars.Bagi setiap muslim, peran peradaban identik dengan misi otentik sebagai pemimpin sebagai pemimpin dimuka bumi ini, yang perannya lebih besar dibandingkan memimpin sebuah provinsi atau negara. Keikutsertaan para ulama, dai atau gerakan dakwah dalam ranah politik merupakan haknya, akan tetapi gerakan atau organisasi dakwah juga harus menyadari serta mewaspadai terhadap orang atau oknum yang hendak memperalat dakwah sebagai kendaraan politik dunia. Gerakan dakwah ataupun para dai harus dapat menggunakan berbagai instrument kehidupan yang ada saat ini untuk kepentingan dakwah. Ulama maupun para da’i yang bergabung dalam gerakan organisasi atau gerakan dakwah, harus menyadari bahwasanya dirinya merupakan bagian dari mata rantai perjuangan umat. Kini sudah saatnya para da’i ataupun ulama dapat memproklamirkan diri dari belenggu masa lalu yang mengebiri kehidupan politik para ulama, PPP menjadi salah satu alternatif.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document