Politics of Identity

Critical theory with emancipatory aims today to find a source of regeneration in ordinary cultures, and in particular, in TV series. Certain series can play a role in reinventing critical theories, drawing on the tradition of the Frankfurt School but shifting some of that School’s formulations through contact with current forms of interpretive sociology and pragmatic sociology. This requires a cross-border dialogue between the “language game” of TV series and the “knowledge game” of political theory, to use concepts inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein. In this article, I will focus on four series: seasons 1 of American Crime (2015) and The Sinner (2017); Sharp Objects (2018); and Unorthodox (2020). The resources provided by these cultural works can help us formulate a critical decoding of important aspects of the current ideological context, in particular, the intersecting identitarian and ultra-conservative tendencies we find in France, Europe, the United States, and Brazil. These critical resources bear affinities to a political philosophy of the opening of being inspired by the ethical reflections of Emmanuel Levinas.

Minangk@u is wide& knownfor its matrilineal system. One of the matrili11wl values is the man (sumando;l'uhat positioned as marginal. Sumando is a stranger in his wife's family, as shown in the traditional proverb saying like ushes on the stump (seperti abu di atas tunggul). This position is not profitable, so they hare to mgotiate with the woman as a "ruler" to strengthen their "maseullne idenrity". This d e argues that pig hunting is a media of the identity politics of Minawobrro's men in establishing and strengthening their identity in the domination matriarchal of the Minangka$au.

In the present thesis, I approach some aspects of the History of Goa, since the Constitutional Monarchy until the foundation of “Estado Novo”, viewed by its intellectual elites. The paths and standings of these elites were built in the crossroads produced by the construction of the post-Enlightenment currents of thought and of political and cultural practices, by the affirmation of contemporary colonialism and its questioning by the anticolonial nationalist movements, as well as by the evaluation of local, national and international contexts in which they were inscribed. In these crossroads, these elites contributed to the construction of the Goan currents of political and cultural thought and to the edification of its modernity, in a period marked by the growing discussion of the relations between politics and culture. Within these frames, they thought about the Goan condition, the Goan identity and about the local, Portuguese and Indian future in a continuously changing world. Constituting an approach of local history, this thesis represents an effort to contribute to contemporary Goan reflection, but also represents the intention to underline how contemporary history, in a permanent dialog between theory and practice, edified itself in an unstable balance between ideals and principles of universal aspiration and the impulse to distinguish inheritances, constrains and individual goals of particular societies. As such, this local was also assumed as a relevant perspective in the debate around the construction of contemporary thought and political action in general and Portuguese in particular, having specially in mind the discussion of liberalism and democracy, in face of the colonial question and in face of the imposition of modernity as the proper temporality to evaluate societies and peoples and to project their futures.


Nesta tese abordo alguns aspectos da história de Goa, desde a Monarquia Constitucional até à fundação do Estado Novo, perspectivados pelas suas elites intelectuais. Os percursos e posicionamentos destas elites edificaram-se nas encruzilhadas geradas pela construção das correntes de pensamento e das práticas políticas e culturais pós-iluministas, pela afirmação do colonialismo contemporâneo e pelo seu questionamento pelos movimentos nacionalistas anticoloniais, e, ainda, pela avaliação dos contextos locais, nacionais e internacionais em que se inscreveram. Nestas encruzilhadas estas elites foram contribuindo para a construção das correntes de pensamento político e cultural goesas e para a edificação da sua modernidade, numa época marcada pela crescente problematização das relações entre política e cultura. Dentro destas balizas problematizaram a condição goesa, a identidade goesa e o futuro local, português e indiano num mundo marcado pelo signo da mudança. Constituindo uma abordagem de história local, representa um esforço de contribuir para a reflexão goesa contemporânea, mas representa igualmente um sublinhar de como a história contemporânea, num diálogo permanente entre teoria e prática, se edificou num balanceamento instável entre princípios e ideais de aspiração universal e o impulso de distinção de heranças, condicionalismos ou desígnios próprios das sociedades particulares. Como tal, este local foi também pensado como perspectiva relevante na problematização da construção do pensamento e da acção política contemporâneos em geral e portugueses em particular, sobretudo do liberalismo e da democracia, em face da questão colonial e em face da imposição da modernidade como temporalidade própria para avaliar as sociedades e os povos e projectar o seu futuro.

This paper focuses on the socio-political and economic issues involved in the production of oil producing and non-oil producing communities as categories of identification in Nigeria. Using Ilaje people of Ondo State as a case, this paper, through qualitative methods of study, examines the factors of history, elite politics, and the state in identity formulation and the effects which the construction of the “other” among a supposed homogeneous group has on the existing forms of social relationship. It is established from the study that though the advantage of the oil producing community identity is utilized to attain political and economic height, the identity remains subordinate to a much larger and inclusive Ilaje identity. Generally, this paper is a reflection on how identity is manipulated even in the local context to suit competition for resources. It discusses the cultural creation of space and its hegemonisation in the quest for an exclusive advantage over resource in a space. The paper concludes that even when the spatial differentiation is yet to generate any remarkable conflict, the feelings of “oneness” appears to have been sufficiently weakened.

Keywords: Nigeria, oil producing community, identity manipulation, resource competition, Ilaje

Fruits d’une ethnographie de cinq mois réalisée en collaboration avec des organismes inuit et autochtones de la ville d’Ottawa, cette thèse de maîtrise s’attache à analyser la diversité et la complexité des expériences urbaines telles que vécues et racontées par dix-neuf jeunes Inuit, âgés de dix-huit à trente-cinq ans, habitant Ottawa. Cette étude révèle que la majorité des jeunes interrogés et côtoyés se positionnent et négocient, de manière transversale à leur parcours urbain, leurs interactions d’après leur relationalité (Wilson 2008), c’est-à-dire selon les relations dans lesquelles ils s’insèrent et qu’ils entretiennent avec différents agents ― humains et non humains ― au sein des mondes réels et spirituels qui sont en présence à Ottawa. En vue de leur maintien et de l’atteinte d’un équilibre, ces relations sont en constante négociation au fil de leurs expériences personnelles et collectives. Cette relationalité influence l’agentivité (Poirier 2008, 2009) de ces jeunes faisant ainsi en sorte qu’ils soient à la fois attentifs à leurs pensées, à leurs attitudes et à leurs actions quotidiennes compte tenu de leurs interconnexions.

Dans cette thèse, plusieurs dimensions de leurs parcours sont abordées et mises en relation. L’aisance des jeunes au sein de la ville est d’abord étudiée. Leurs témoignages soulignent les difficultés expérimentées au plan relationnel au fil de leur parcours à Ottawa ― allant de leur arrivée en ville à leur vie quotidienne, en passant par leur installation ―, et ce selon leurs expériences migratoires, urbaines et nordiques précédentes, de même que les ressources auxquelles ils ont accès. En vue de contrer leurs sentiments de « déconnexion » et de malaise, l’agentivité de ces jeunes est apparue orientée vers la création et l’entretien de relations leur étant significatives. Pour ce faire, les jeunes découvrent leur quartier, construisent des histoires avec de nouveaux espaces, lieux et personnes, se rassemblent avec des personnes partageant leur compréhension du monde et au sein de lieux reflétant cette compréhension. Cela s’effectue plus précisément par l’aménagement de zones de confort mobiles ― des amis inuit et autochtones fournissant à leurs explorations un cadre familier ― et par leur participation à des interactions et activités à l’intérieur d’espaces de convergence inuit et autochtones, leur procurant les bases nécessaires pour s’engager et s’affirmer avec aisance au sein de mondes leur paraissant préalablement étrangers.

Les objectifs associés à leur présence à Ottawa sont ensuite analysés. Ces motifs, enchâssés à des dimensions à la fois personnelles et collectives, guident les jeunes au fil de leur parcours urbain. D’une part, les jeunes interrogés disent profiter de leur présence à Ottawa pour mieux se positionner au sein de mondes inuit en (re)trouvant un certain bien-être personnel, c’est-à-dire qu’une majorité y saisit l’occasion d’affirmer leurs préférences personnelles ou orientations sexuelles, d’abandonner des dépendances, de se renouveler ou encore de se responsabiliser et de gagner en autonomie. D’autre part, se retrouver à Ottawa est aussi pour plusieurs l’opportunité d’acquérir, autant par l’entremise de centres inuit que d’institutions postsecondaires, des outils et des connaissances qu’ils pourront mettre à profit au sein de leur famille, de leur communauté et de leur peuple dont ils sont mandataires et redevables; que ce soit pour combler des besoins quotidiens ou atteindre des aspirations collectives. Ces démarches aboutissent pour certains en une plus grande cohérence entre leur identité et leur personne grâce à la force de caractère (inuusiqattiarniq) qu’ils y gagnent.

Les relations entretenues par dix-sept de ces jeunes au sein des mondes inuit selon les rôles de leaders qu’ils occupent sont finalement étudiées. D’un côté, on y comprend comment ils sont amenés à devenir des leaders à travers leurs expériences postsecondaires par les critiques sociales et politiques qu’ils y formulent et par l’entremise des réseaux inuit et autochtones militants qu’ils créent et intègrent, ce qui les motive à s’engager, de différentes formes, à Ottawa pour la défense et la résurgence du peuple inuit. D’un autre côté, on saisit comment ces jeunes s’affairent, non sans contradictions ni tensions, à correspondre à l’idéal du leader attendu de leur communauté : être des personnes exemplaires. En ce qui les concerne, il s’agit autant de faire preuve de sobriété et d’avoir des relations saines que de maîtriser leur langue, leur histoire et d’être attentifs aux critiques exprimées à leur égard par des membres de leur collectivité.

What do Malaysians understand by the term, "intellectual"? Is the intellectual in the Malaysian context undefined, or insignificant? Do Malaysians see the need for intellec-tuals? Answers to these questions reflect the extant to which Malaysia has advanced in her post-colonial development. Amidst the race towards IR 4.0 and Society 5.0, Malaysia's education system lags behind and leaders continue to be embroiled in identity politics. Syed Hussein Alatas, a world-renowned Malaysian intellectual, raised these questions in the 1950s. His writings focus on social change, corruption, and intellectual captivity. Even though his writings are easily accessible, his ideas have not been widely assimilated by Malaysia's ruling elite, as part of the reform agenda. This article highlights the relevance of Alatas's ideas in Malaysia's current socio-political transformation. It concludes that leadership's failure to identify relevant problems is because they have neglected the vital role of intellectuals, such as the critical ideas of Syed Hussein Alatas.

This essay focuses on political implications of Derrida’s messianicité as a form of Marrano messianism: a universal vision of community “out of joints” which, despite its disjointedness and inner separation, nonetheless addresses itself as “we” (although always in inverted commas). By referring to the generalized “Marrano experience” – the
fate of those Sephardic Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity and, in consequence, became neither Jewish nor Christian – Derrida takes the Marrano as his paradigmatic political figure of a “rogue” (voyou) who escapes every identity politics. In Derrida’s project of “living together” (vivre ensemble), the Marrano stands for the non-participatory remnant of otherness which is not just the other of this or that particular tradition, but becomes a bearer of a new universalism, based not on the abstract notion of human nature but on the non-identity, a distance-from-identity or what Yirmijahu Yovel calls the “non-integral identity.”

The Jakarta Gubernatorial Election 2017 is an important momentum for improving and evaluating the quality of democracy at the local level. Various issues of religion, ethnicity, as well as differences in political support, colored both in the first and second round. Anies-Sandi's victory in this local election is interesting to study further by using the political representation approach by Olle Törnquist. The results of this study showed that voters have been polarized through strengthening religious and ethnic sentiments so it can be ignored the factor of achievement, capacity, and track record of candidates. Extensive efforts to spread identity politics were carried out through various movements and actors. The quality of political participation among DKI Jakarta residents can also be seen from the extent of voter autonomy and literacy in determining positions. Based on those results, a critical discussion of the Jakarta Gubernatorial Election 2017 will be a reflection of useful learning to observe the political climate, which transform relation to connect or disconnect relations between constituent and their representative. Abstrak Pemilihan Gubernur DKI Jakarta 2017 menjadi momentum penting untuk meningkatkan dan mengevaluasi kualitas demokrasi di tingkat lokal. Berbagai isu terkait agama, etnis, serta perbedaan dukungan politik turut mewarnai baik di putaran pertama maupun kedua. Kemenangan Anies-Sandi dalam pemilukada ini menarik untuk diteliti lebih lanjut dengan menggunakan pendekatan representasi politik yang dikemukakan oleh Olle Törnquist. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa voters telah terpolarisasi melalui menguatnya sentimen agama dan etnisitas sehingga seolah mengabaikan faktor prestasi, kapasitas, dan rekam jejak kandidat. Upaya luas untuk menyebarkan politik identitas dilakukan melalui berbagai gerakan dan aktor. Kualitas partisipasi politik di antara penduduk DKI Jakarta juga dapat dilihat dari tingkat otonomi dan literasi pemilih dalam menentukan posisi. Berdasarkan temuan tersebut, tinjauan kritis dari Pemilihan Gubernur DKI Jakarta 2017 menjadi refleksi pembelajaran berharga untuk meninjau iklim politik dimana dapat mentransformasi relasi untuk memperkuat atau justru memutuskan hubungan antara konstituen dengan wakil politiknya. Kata kunci: identitas; demokrasi lokal; politik transformative; PilGub DKI Jakarta.

Thailand adalah sebuah negara monarki di Mainland Asia berpenduduk mayoritas etnis Thai beragama Budha dan sebagian kecil etnis Melayu beragama Islam. Pada umumnya, Melayu Muslim di Thailand tinggal di wilayah selatan atau eks Kesultanan Patani Raya. Sebagai kelompok minoritas, Melayu Muslim di Thailand dalam catatan sejarahnya kerap mendapatkan diskriminasi di berbagai aspek. Salah satu bentuk diskriminasi terberat adalah kebijakan asimilasi budaya yang diterapkan secara paksa sejak rezim Jenderal Phibul Songkhram, dimana dalam kebijakan tersebut Thai Budha ditetapkan sebagai budaya dan identitas tunggal. Kebijakan tersebut membawa konsekwensi berupa larangan penggunaan nama, bahasa, dan identitas Melayu lainnya. Bahkan Bahasa Melayu dilarang digunakan terutama di sektor formal seperti bahasa pengantar sekolah dan instansi pemerintah. Kondisi tersebut mengakibatkan masyarakat Melayu Muslim melakukan perlawanan sosial yang kemudian direspon secara represif oleh pemerintah hingga menimbulkan konflik berkepanjangan. Situasi tersebut tak berubah hingga rezim Perdana Menteri Thaksin Shinawatra yang juga mengeluarkan statement menyudutkan penggunaan bahasa Melayu. Dalam konflik tersebut, Melayu Muslim bukan hanya menggunakan bahasa sebagai sarana perlawanan sosial, namun juga sebagai simbol politik identitas untuk menunjukkan eksistensi bahwa mereka tetap mampu bertahan di tengah berbagai tekanan.

Brazil experienced, in June of 2013, the largest popular demonstrations in its recent history —an event that has been called the June Journeys. In this paper, we briefly address briefly the processes of spatial diffusion and dispersion observed during these journeys. We then reflect on how these processes relate to a politics of identity, and the strategies used by protesters to differentiate themselves from other groups, and by the State to classify the protesters in order to guide the use of police repression. Identity can, therefore, group individuals around a common struggle using as reference the location of the demonstration as ‘spaces of identity reference’, but can also play an important role in the reproduction of dominant power relations by creating mechanisms with which to legitimate punitive action. The ‘vandal’ is, then, understood as the identity constructed to allow the transition from an indirect regulation to a mode of violent intervention. We conclude the paper by emphasising how both of these processes highlight the role of the politics of identity on this recent series of demonstrations in Brazil.

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the gap between the Indonesian legal framework and civil society's use of the term masyarakat adat and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 7 definition of " indigenous people. " It begins by revisiting key legislations produced after independence that directly and indirectly affect local/indigenous rights. Then it continues with identification of a variety of terms used in national legal frameworks in conceptualizing indigeneity that are similar to the concept of masyarakat adat, and pulls together the main themes used in defining and categorizing masyarakat adat. Furthermore, it discusses the gap analysis of the Indonesian government's use of masyarakat adat category in comparison to the International Finance Corporation Performance Standard 7 requirements for indigenous people. The paper ends with a summary of what this gap means for the prospect of fulfillment of the rights of those who fit into the IFC PS7 criteria of " indigenous people, " but do not fit into various sectoral terms that are similar to masyarakat adat.

Auf Basis jüngster Forschungen untersucht das Tel Aviver Jahrbuch die Kontexte und Beweggründe, die unterschiedliche Gruppen von Deutschen zu verschiedenen Zeiten nach Palästina und Israel brachten. Die Autoren analysieren zu diesem Zweck die vielfältigen Wege, durch die deutsches Kulturgut in die hebräische Kultur aufgenommen wurde: von den Kochbüchern für Jeckes bis hin zu ihren religiösen Ritualen. Zudem wird das gegenwärtige Deutschlandbild der Israelis mit dem Israelbild der Deutschen verglichen.