Thomas Hylland Eriksen 1962 Topic 7 Globalisation and

Thomas Hylland Eriksen 1962 - Topic 7+ Globalisation and Identity

Revising what we know (see bio notes on thinker + PP notes on Globalisation) • What is globalisation? • What are the effects of globalisation? • Are they positive or negative? • How does globalisation affect/does it cause/increase/decrease migration, poverty, nationalism and the environment? • Do you agree that growth reduces poverty? • What are the costs of economic integration/convergence? • What evidence is there of a backlash to globalisation? See ‘threats to globalisation’ slide

Definition • Globalization implies the opening of local and nationalistic perspectives to a broader outlook of an interconnected and interdependent world with free transfer of capital, goods, and services across national frontiers.

MIGRATION IDENTITY Globalisation Can you link this to these? WORK POVERTY TERRORISM

What are Identity Politics? • Politics based on your identity right? • Culture • Nationhood • Patriotism • Where you’re from • Who you belong to • Who you don’t belong to • What you’re NOT

http: //hyllanderiksen. net/Glob 2. html visit his site for Key Concepts of what Globalisation IS and IS NOT

In his famous book Overheating An Anthology of Accelerated Change ……. Eriksen argues that the accelerating pace of globalisation has caused 3 main problems 1. Cultural Identity 2. The Economy 3. The Physical Environment Can you explain these challenges?

According to Eriksen………………… • So rapid GLOBAL change is causing feelings of crisis in LOCAL areas • Globalisation is about “the annihilation of distance” OR “all the sociocultural processes that contribute to making distance irrelevant”! • In today’s world risks are shared globally, such as terrorism, potential ecological disasters…can you think of others? • This happens economically too, e. g oil prices, banking crisis etc • So for Eriksen “the ever-increasing transnational flow of commodities (Harry Potter, Coca Cola…. ) creates a set of common cultural denominators that eradicates local distinctions”

But Its not all bad……………… • Even though this trend is largely driven by economic forces and technology, for Eriksen, there have been other more positive results: • Human Rights and their ideas have spread, since the latter half of the 20 th century, from international (mostly Western) elites to villagers and farmers in all parts of the globe • “the rapid dissemination of human rights ideas is, in fact, probably one of the most spectacular successes of globalisation” (Eriksen 2005)*

Globalisation and Cultural Identity …………. . or Identity Politics • Remember in the Bio notes how Eriksen said the world’s population grew rapidly in a short time (I to 2 billion from 1800 to 1920!!) • Since then its exploded to 7 billion • Communication and transportation have grown rapidly also in this time • This is “weaving the growing global population ever closer together, without erasing cultural differences, local identities and power disparities (inequalities)”…. . • Different groups can feel alienated or threatened, and are likely to want to assert their differences in various ways • Can you think of all the ways groups do this?

Globalisation and crises of Cultural Identity or Identity Politics continued And so we see for example • In the 1980 s, the rise in separatist movements (Croatia + Serbia) • 1990 s in the EU: Scottish separatism, France and Le Front National (Le Pen’s party), the rise in nationalist far-right parties in Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands (see your newspaper article • In Asia, the rise to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan + • In India, the rise of the nationalist party, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) • In the US, President Trump repeats “Americanism, not globalism, shall be our creed”. Recall his nationalist policies in article The Nationalist Delusion

So identity politics can take many forms • Separatist movements trying to assert and gain recognition for an identity • Historically oppressed minorities trying to gain rights • Dominant groups trying to prevent minorities from accessing resources • Religious groups seeking rights of expression • Regional groups trying to claim a ‘homeland’ • Ethnic groups looking for recognition in the state’s laws, policies • Can you think of examples of these groups?

Manuel Castells 1997, another Professor of Sociology and City and Regional Planning, . University of California, Berkeley Castells does not reference globalisation but has considered the question of a the (re)construction of national identity being challenged by the pluralisation of identities that occur nowadays in the nationstate (Castells 2004) .

1. The Legitimising Identity This is introduced by the dominant institutions of society Eg, The Catholic Church in Ireland + its influence on many aspects of Irish life in the 20 th century, education etc Castells 3 Identity Groups 2. The Resistance Identity This is generated by actors in positions that are devalued by the dominant identity in a society, eg Basque separatists IRA republicanism Scottish separatists Catalonia 3. Project identities These identities are asserted by groups who wish to transform the social structure through political action, eg. Travellers Minority language speakers LGBT rights

The Growing Secessionist Movement across the Continent. http: //www. independent. co. uk/news/world/politics/map-european-regions-fighting-for-independencevote-europe-countries-state-a 7979051. html While Britain leaving the EU is undoubtedly the biggest split we're likely to witness in Europe in the coming, there are movements across Europe that could end up physically separating entire nations. Notably in Scotland, where independence campaigners are vociferously calling for a second referendum on splitting from the rest of the UK after seeing the initial vote rejected by the population in 2014. In the 2017 edition of its annual Transforming World Atlas -- which uses maps and other data visualisations to illustrate major global issues -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch focuses one map on the growing secessionist movement across the continent. "Many areas in Europe have strong secessionist movements (e. g. Scotland, Catalonia, Basque, Flanders, Veneto) or have political parties agitating for greater ruling autonomy, " the report's authors write.

Back to Eriksen: Globalisation as ‘glocalisation’! Eriksen sees globalisation as creating the conditions for localisation: • a refocus on the local, or processes that create or redefine boundaries, whether these are cultures/nations, religions, or language movements He thus adopts the useful term GLOCALISATION created by Roland Robertson in 1992

1. Identity Politics always entails competition over scarce resources 6. Firstcomers are contrasted with invaders 2. Globalisation and modernisation actualise differences and triggers conflict Eriksen’s 6 features of GLOCAL identity 5. The political symbolism and rhetoric evokes personal experience 3. Similarity overrules equality ideologically 4. Images of past suffering are always invoked

Match the description to one of Eriksen’s 6 features of Identity Politics Intensified contact with differing ethnicities enhances difference, and so inequalities in resources become apparent and friction or tension ensues Ethnic nationalism sees the ‘in-group’ as homogenous, or the same, despite inequalities of class or wealth etc. So in a way identity politics serves the more privileged of a dominant group Economic wealth or political power is not equally accessible for all members of a society, AND/OR the recognition of their right to these Those who arrive first in a territory are often perceived as entitled to their identity , as opposed to other groups who arrive, displace the original settlers, and despite any beneficial evolution of that society, are seen as usurpers Serbs bemoaned their defeat by the Turks in 1389, to assert their identity; the African-American movement recall slavery as a source of their inequalities; ‘ 800 years of British brutality’ was a common refrain in Irish republicanism Intimate and local experiences are projected onto a national image; cultural symbols and myths are adopted and used by a groups to emphasise sameness and belonging, e’g we lost the battle in 1692. . NNNumber

So, according to Eriksen, “Identity Politics is the true born child of globalisation. The more similar we become, the more different we try to be ; the more different we try to be, the more similar we become- since most of us try to be different in roughly the same ways worldwide……………. . the collective emotions that identity politics depend on reveal themselves to be deeply modern emotions, associated with the sense of loss experienced in situations of rapid change. The need for security, belonging and enduring social ties based on trust is universal and cannot be washed away. Ethnic nationalism, minority movements and politicised religions offer a larger share of the cake as well as a positive sense of self, and like it or not these movements will remain influential in most parts of the world until something better comes along

Identity Politics refer to political positions based on interests and perspectives of social groups with which people identify Ethnocentrism describes the attitude that ones own culture is superior to all others. It means judging another culture by your own cultural values and standards Key Terms Cultural relativism is the belief that all customs, values and practices of a culture are relative to that particular culture. So all cultures are worthy in their own right and a persons practices, beliefs etc should be understood based on their own culture

Ethnocentric or culturally relativist? • https: //www. theguardian. com/us-news/2018/jan/12/unkind-divisiveelitist-international-outcry-over-trumps-shithole-countries-remark • http: //www. independent. co. uk/news/world/americas/uspolitics/donald-trump-suggested-haitian-immigrants-have-aids-officialsclaim-a 8126861. html • RTE Prime Time ‘Lives in Limbo’ • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ygg. Gg 7 H 0 EFE&feature=youtu. be

Next: The case of “the West” and “Islam” • This is perhaps the single relationship in current times that causes the most tension, conflict and concern. • The 2 most influential intellectuals in Washington, currently writing many books about “the new world order” are Francis Fukuyama and Samuel Huntingdon

Tasks for homework 1. Can you define globalisation? 2. What are the advantages? And disadvantages? 3. What 3 elements does Eriksen say are the main problems associated with globalisation? 4. Why does Eriksen consider Identity politics so prevalent in today’s globalised world? 5. What types of groups participate/engage in or use identity politics to meet their needs? Give examples 6. Write about Eriksen’s 6 features of identity politics. Give examples from your own knowledge/experience.