Politics of Identity

The 2nd Global African Indigenous and Derived Religions Conference provided a platform for scholars of African Indigenous Religions and African-derived religions to critically appraise the status, nature and role of global African Indigenous and Derived Religions, bringing together academics, practitioners and 'activists' in civil society, from Africa and the Afro-American diaspora with special emphasis on Brazil, as one of the major countries of African culture. This aimed to provide a forum for trans-Atlantic exchange, also in the southern hemisphere, which is very neccesary. The conference encouraged research and explored avenues for the documentation and preservation of African indigenous and derived religions, both as a matter of intrinsic value as with regard to their lasting influence on Christianity, Islam and on Esotericism in the 'West'. The special importance of the study of Africa Indigenous Religion - in the forms it has developed in Africa and in the Americas - for the affirmation and further development of African and Afro-Descendant identities, in terms of politics of identity in many fields has been recognized.

“Power is war, the continuation of war by other means”: Foucault’s reversal of Clausewitz’s formula has become a staple of critical theory — but it remains highly problematic on a conceptual level. Elaborated during Foucault’s 1976 lectures (“Society Must Be Defended”), this work-hypothesis theorises “basic warfare” [la guerre fondamentale] as the teleological horizon of socio-political relations. Following Boulainvilliers, Foucault champions this polemological approach, conceived as a purely descriptive discourse on “real” politics and war, against the philosophico-juridical conceptuality attached to liberal society (Hobbes’s Leviathan being here the prime example).
However, in doing so, Foucault did not interrogate the conceptual validity of notions such as power and war, therefore interlinking them without questioning their ontological status. This problematic conflation was partly rectified in 1982, as Foucault proposed a more dynamic definition of power relations: “actions over potential actions”.
I argue, somewhat polemically, that Foucault’s hermeneutics of power still involves a teleological violence, dependent on a polemological representation of human relations as essentially instrumental: this resembles what Derrida names, in “Heidegger’s Ear”, an “anthropolemology”. However, I show that all conceptualisation of power implies its self-deconstruction. This self-deconstructive (or autoimmune) structure supposes an archi-originary unpower prior to power: power presupposes an excess within power, an excessive force, another violence making it both possible and impossible. There is something within power located “beyond the power principle” (Derrida). This (self-)excess signifies a limitless resistantiality co-extensive with power-relationality. It also allows the reversal of pólemos into its opposite, as unpower opens politics and warfare to the messianic call of a pre-political, pre-ontological disruption: the archi-originary force of différance. This force, unconditional, challenges Foucault’s conceptualisations of power, suggesting an originary performativity located before or beyond hermeneutics of power-knowledge, disrupting theoreticity as well as empiricity by pointing to their ontological complicity.
The bulk of this essay is dedicated to sketching the theoretical implications of this deconstructive reading of Foucault with respect to the methodology and conceptuality of political science and social theory.

This chapter draws a trajectory from the "end of history" triumphalism to a global trend of democratic backsliding, culminating with a wave of nationalist populism that has swept across Europe and the United States. Fukuyama's evolving insights into the functioning and malfunctioning of liberal democracy are used as an analytical framework to study the Polish society's turn towards illiberal democracy. The specific interest is in the relationship between lack of recognition and political radicalization highlighted in Fukuyama's latest book Identity: Contemporary Identity Politics and the Struggle for Recognition (2018). If recognition drives democratic processes, but can easily become democracy's undoing, how can liberal democracy defend its bedrock ideals when faced with the inevitability of identities in politics?

A pesquisa procurou demonstrar, inicialmente, os limites do uso do lugar de fala e, posteriormente, como esse uso e esses limites afetam a atuação política da esquerda, dos movimentos sociais de esquerda. O caráter do trabalho é teórico, fazendo uma extensa revisão bibliográfica e tendo como base a Teoria Crítica. No primeiro capitulo faz-se
um apontamento histórico, político e teórico referente ao sujeito que fala, a ação política de um sujeito entendida pelas variadas visões dentro do pensamento de esquerda. O capitulo dois trata da aporia do atual sentido empregado ao lugar de fala, qual seja: uma ênfase liberal da política nos indivíduos, estes tidos como uma categoria ideológica, o lugar de fala como um individualismo por via obliqua. Por fim, conclui-se que a política identitária contemporânea, representada pelo uso do lugar de fala, deslocou o eixo de atuação da esquerda da coletividade para o indivíduo.

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.

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.

Bu makalede yazarın 1960’larda Ankara’da geçen çocukluk yıllarındaki gözlemlerinden hareketle Türkiye modernleşmesinin o yıllardaki siyasi, kültürel ve toplumsal cinsiyet boyutları incelenerek, bu dönüşümün ürünü olan yaşam biçimlerinin daha sonra AKP tarafından köksüzlükle, taklitçilikle, yabancılıkla suçlanarak “Beyaz Türk” olarak ötekileştirilmesine eleştirel bir yaklaşım geliştirilmekte ve Beyaz-Zenci Türk kategorilerinin gerçekliğe tekabül etmeyen kurgu ve sahte kimlikler olduğu iddia edilmektedir. Yazar, AKP iktidarının kendi siyasetini ve otoritesini meşrulaştırmak amacıyla siyasi kimliğini ve vizyonunu Kemalist modernleşme projesinin topluma yabancı, yerli olmayan, “reklam arası” niteliği taşıyan, yapay ve tüm bu nedenlerle geçici ve durdurulması, hatta yok edilmesi gereken bir proje olduğu iddiası üzerine kurduğunu ifade etmektedir. Yazara göre AKP bu amaçla toplumda laik-Müslüman şeklinde suni bir fay hattı yaratarak, bu hat etrafında Beyaz-Zenci Türk gibi kimlikler ortaya sürüp bunları kendi söylemini ve iktidarını pekiştirecek ve meşrulaştıracak şekilde tanımlamıştır. Makalede AKP’nin iktidarını kurma ve meşrulaştırma çabalarının bir ürünü olan “Beyaz Türk” kategorisinin içi gerçek kişilerle doldurulması mümkün olmayan, boş ve bu anlamda kâğıttan-bebek olarak nitelenebilecek sahte bir kimlik olduğu ileri sürülmektedir. Bu kimlikle hedef alınan yaşam biçimlerinin, Türkiye modernleşmesinin geçirdiği değişik evrelerden farklı biçimlerde etkilenerek değişik nitelikler kazanmasıyla geniş bir yelpazeye yayılmış olan ve tek bir tanım altında toplanması mümkün olmayan zengin bir çeşitlilik içerdiği iddia edilmektedir. Makalenin ana argümanı, Türkiye modernleşmesinin sadece kentli üst ve orta sınıflarla sınırlı kalmış olan bir proje değil, istenen ve istenmeyen bütün sonuçlarıyla birlikte bir bütün olarak yurt dışından gelen etkilerin de zamanla yerli biçimler aldığı, heterojen, zaman zaman birbiriyle çelişen farklı unsurlar üretmiş, zengin bir çeşitlilik içeren ve eninde sonunda kalıcılaşan her şeyin yerlileştiği büyük bir dönüşüm olarak ele alınması gerektiğidir.
© Bu eser ancak referans verilerek kullanılabilir ve izin almaksızın çoğaltılamaz.

At the heart of the debates surrounding Irish and Welsh nationalism and national self-determination are essential questions on the respective Irish and Welsh national identities, on what really sets Ireland and Wales apart from their neighbours. These national identities have been irrevocably shaped by the colonial and postcolonial experiences of the Irish and Welsh people. In their search for a revitalised understanding of themselves in light of the modern world have brought the memories of their pasts together with the realities of their presents, forming two distinct national identities, each with their own language. While still minorities in their own countries, both the Irish and Welsh languages, and their speakers have made great progress in recent decades with the introduction of independence in the Republic of Ireland and devolution in Wales as distinct sociopolitical entities from the long shadow of the British Empire.

Los estudios poscoloniales de origen anglófono y el pensamiento decolonial de origen latinoamericano, en sus convergencias y diferencias, han provisto recursos para la renovación de la teoría crítica con horizontes emancipadores, al poner en evidencia los impensados eurocéntricos del pensamiento crítico tradicional y pluralizar su concepción de la dominación como de la emancipación. No obstante, algunos usos de las referencias decoloniales y poscoloniales paradójicamente pueden cerrar otra vez y demasiado rápido lo que así fue abierto. El riesgo consiste entonces en dos modalidades: 1) volver a focalizar el pensamiento crítico y emancipador alrededor de un eje principal, constituido ahora por el eje poscolonial o decolonial, siguiendo de esta manera una tentación existente en los marxismos más tradicionales acerca de la contradicción capital/trabajo (para la crítica social) y la salida de la explotación capitalista (para la emancipación), en vez de enfrentar el desafío de la pluralidad –sin tampoco dejarse llevar por la diseminación “posmoderna” del sentido; 2) volver a esencializar de manera paradójica las identidades después de haber deconstruido el esencialismo colonial, contribuyendo así a alimentar la importancia actual de los identitarismos en la escena internacional, entendidos como las tendencias a privilegiar una identidad principal cerrada en su aproximación de las personas y los grupos.
Frente a tal perspectiva, este texto propondrá tres esclarecimientos complementarios: 1) un interrogante acerca de los usos de la referencia decolonial en el contexto francés por parte del Partido de los Indígenas de la República (PIR); 2) una puesta en evidencia de los límites del tópico poscolonial del “esencialismo estratégico” en la obra de Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, gracias al análisis de una serie televisiva: American Crime; y, 3) una crítica ampliada de los identitarismos en el actual contexto político internacional.