| Description |
Identities come in various forms including ethnicity, immigrant background, religion, gender, sexuality, or income. They shape the political interests and behavior of citizens and voters, as well as of politicians such as representatives, ministers and heads of government. In a globalized world, two types of identity claims emerge: On the one hand, liberal claims for ethnic, gender and sexual equality are on the forefront. On the other hand, conservative claims for the protection traditional values and nationhood increase in popularity. This leads to a high potential for conflicts both within and between countries. In this seminar, we jointly engage with the literature concerned with the role of identities in comparative politics and international relations. At the end of the semester, students will have a complete picture of the impact of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and income on politics and policies.
At the beginning of the semester, several sessions will be dedicated to theory. We will define the meaning of “identity” and differentiate the concept from related ones such as party affiliation or individual characteristics. Furthermore, we discuss the theories that relate identities to the behavior of political actors such as voters or states.
Building on these foundations, the remainder of the seminar is organized along four sets of political actors who might be driven by identities: Voters, representatives in parliaments, governments, and states. In the first block focusing on voters, we will, among other things, discuss the increasing support for right-wing populist parties in the electorate and how this development relates to globalization. When talking about representatives, students will, for instance, discuss the role of LGBTQ legislators in parliament and to what extent their legislative activities are driven by their sexual identities. One of the topics covered in the sessions on governments will be the impact of female ministers and heads of government on inter- and intra-state violence. During the final sessions dedicated to the international level, we will, inter alia, discuss to what extent strengthening national identities create pressure on the European Union. |
