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Michael Dusche, Identity Politics in India and Europe, New Delhi, SAGE, 2010, 375 pp, ISBN: 978-81-321-0304-2.
Reviewed by Mihaela GLIGOR
The interdisciplinary and rapidly growing body of literature on recognition and identity politics deals with the question of how different cultures can manage to live together and how it is possible to reconcile a multitude of different identity-based claims for difference with a common sense of community and identity.
Identity politics usually refers to political arguments that focus on the self-interest and perspectives of social minorities, or self-identified social interest groups. Not all members of any given group are necessarily involved in identity politics.
On the other hand, the politics of recognition - in particular the politics of difference - holds a potential for political conflicts because it revolves less around preferences and more around matters of identity, in particular how identities are shaped, who contributes to the shaping, and how a person's and group's sense of identity can be violated or harmed. The politics of difference highlights the role and salience of groups in the shaping of political identities.
Many books on these themes have appeared in the last decade and most of them consider identity politics "in the name of the emancipation of disadvantaged groups with respect to gender, race, class, ethnicity or religion", as Michael Dusche' s book also does.
Identity Politics in India and Europe examines present perceptions of East and West seen through the eyes of eminent scholars from India. It is a very important book on this subject, especially because it analyses both worlds, East and West, and it tries to offer not only a comparison between what identity politics means for each, but also extends the analysis to different areas, from culture to language, as ways for a better understanding of identity and differences. Moreover Michael Dusche has the necessary background to do this comparison, holding a PhD in Philosophy and International Relations from the University of Frankfurt and currently being a fellow at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Study, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi. Beyond this, Michael Dusche is the author of many articles on this topic, which were presented at international conferences or included in edited books published in India and Europe.
National identity...