New Frontiers in Identity Politics

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

This panel presents a comparative discussion of how social identities and institutions intersect to shape political outcomes in varied national settings. Does ethnicity play a similar or different role in political representation in Africa and Asia? Do caste hierarchies affect political competition differently in Africa than in India? Do different identities – ethnicity, gender, or caste – affect outcomes in similar or distinct ways? How do multiple identity dimensions interact to impact political representation or exclusion? Written by scholars studying multiple identities in different parts of the world, the papers collectively provide important answers to these questions. They also challenge, and put to the test, conventional wisdom, such as the existence of social obligations stemming from ethnic ties. Chew and Liu examine patterns of ethnic and gender representation in Asian cabinets, showing how political competition and popular norms affect representation. Brule and Toth study how multi-dimensional (ethnic and gender) quotas in India diminish social exclusion, when compared to single-dimensional quotas. Arriola, Koter and Wilfahrt analyze how caste hierarchies, particularly when conditioned by ethnicity and gender, impact politicians’ viability and effectiveness in West Africa, contributing to our understanding of the effects of caste beyond India. Harris, Kao, Lust and Metheney show the uneven effect of ethnicity on social obligations in Africa, highlighting the need to measure the effects of ethnicity in different settings.

Sub Unit

• Division 12: Comparative Politics of Developing Countries

Individual Presentations

• Gender, Ethnicity, and Double-Minorities in Asian Cabinets - Keith Padraic Chew, Arizona State University; Amy H. Liu, University of Texas at Austin

• Political Effects of Caste in Senegal - Martha Wilfahrt, University of California, Berkeley; Leonardo R. Arriola, University of California, Merced; Dominika Koter, Colgate University

• Ethnicized Social Institutions: Measuring the Political Influence of Ethnicity - Ellen M. Lust, Cornell Univesity and University of Gothenburg; Adam Harris, University College London; Kristen Kao, University of Gothenburg; Erica Ann Metheney, University of Gothenburg

Chair

• Dominika Koter Colgate University

Discussants

• Madhavi Devasher University of New Hampshire

• Donghyun Danny Choi Brown University