In the lay man’s world, there are some universally held beliefs that permeate almost every level of society: Africa is poor and its residents desperate for help, the Middle East is unstable and many of its regional actors are religious fanatics, and so on. However, to say that these are universally held beliefs does not necessarily mean that they are true. These beliefs are sometimes grounded upon a certain understanding of culture and identity of those being portrayed. Some of these portrayals are not based on fact, but merely representations created through discourse to advance state and actor interests in regions of activity. This paper seeks to identity the role identity and culture play in international relations (IR) and world …show more content…
This definition highlights the essence of what identity is, from its conception to its practice, and is a solid foundation on which to begin an analysis. As part of this paper’s inquiry, insight will be drawn into the inner workings and uses of culture, and so it is necessary to provide a clear definition for the term as well. William H. Sewell Jr. does not constraint culture to a specific kind of practice or an action that takes place within a specific social setting, but defines it as a dialectic of system and practice, as a dimension of social life autonomous from other such dimensions both in its logic and in its spatial configuration, and as a system of symbols possessing a real but thin coherence that is continually put at risk in practice and therefore subject to transformation” (47). Such a definition fits well within the contexts and boundaries that this paper seeks to explore. Having understood what identity and culture mean, it is now much easier to navigate their significance in global politics and IR. I argue that there are two main drivers of these nodal points in the contexts of this paper. The first is at the individual level, where people utilize identity and culture to locate other individuals of similar or identical nature, almost as a kind of social radar as described by Hale when discussing ethnicity (2004). In reality, Hale’s argument fits well within this one due to ethnicity arguably being a subdivision of identity. This conception
Identity is the essential core of who we are as individuals, the conscious experience of the self-inside.
The concept of identity is usually described as self-image the person we thing we are and self-esteem or self worth, which is concerned with the worth we attach to that
Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them
Identity is anything that can provide us with a way of answering what we are. I believe that there is a core basis of
Identity. What is identity? One will say that it is the distinct personality of an individual. Others will say that identity is the behavior of a person in response to their surrounding environment. At certain points of time, some people search for their identity in order to understand their existence in life. In regards, identity is shaped into an individual through the social trials of life that involve family and peers, the religious beliefs by the practice of certain faiths, and cultural awareness through family history and traditions. These are what shape the identity of an individual.
In Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order, Samuel Huntington states “The most important distinctions among peoples are no longer ideological, political, or economic. They are cultural”. This is his main argument throughout this book. New patterns of distinctions and conflict will occur along boundaries of different cultures. However, patterns of cohesion will be found within the cultural boundaries. Huntington analyzes the resurgence of post-cold war cultural identities. He does this in order to explain the prevailing and future world order. From Huntington’s perspective, arguments and world views which claim the existence and proliferation of a universal culture can be disregarded. Hunting argues that great divisions among man and sources of conflict will be cultural.
In politics, there are many ways that people identify themselves in society. These are broken down into two main categories: ethnic and national identity. Ethnic identity is a group’s specific characteristics or societal institutions that make the group culturally different from others. Ethnic identities are often based on customs, language, geographic locations, history, race, religion, and many other factors. People do not choose their ethnicities, they are born into them, and their ethnic identity will remain constant throughout their lives. Within a single ethnic group are characteristics that embody norms and standards for behavior that are specific to that group. Most countries and places in the world are not accustomed to have a single ethnic group, and can vary from a couple to thousands of ethnic groups within a territory.
Before continuing, though, it is important to clarify the definition of “cultural identity,” at least for this paper. One’s cultural identity is the way one sees oneself in terms of the cultures and societies that they have come from. This
Identity refers to the way people see themselves--the groups they feel a part of, the significant aspects of themselves that they use to describe themselves to others. Some theorists distinguish between collective identity, social identity, and personal identity. However, they are
When I think of that term, I picture driving through busy intersections that drivers label as dangerous. They need countless traffic lights, signs, and roundabouts to safely transport people to their destinations, and often make the news for major accidents. That is how I see culture—an intricate path that one must navigate through. It is impossible to traverse through the streets without the structural design of indicators dictating how and when to flow. Similarly, it is impractical to find one’s identity alone, without any external
Identity is a state of mind in which someone recognizes/identifies their character traits that leads to finding out who they are and what they do and not that of someone else. In other words it's basically who you are and what you define yourself as being. The theme of identity is often expressed in books/novels or basically any other piece of literature so that the reader can intrigue themselves and relate to the characters and their emotions. It's useful in helping readers understand that a person's state of mind is full of arduous thoughts about who they are and what they want to be. People can try to modify their identity as much as they want but that can never change. The theme of identity is a very strenuous topic to understand
“In the post-Cold War world,” said Samuel Huntington, “the most important distinctions among peoples are not ideological, political, or economic. They are cultural” (21). Although some of his notions have caused a big controversial debate, his foresight on the importance of culture has been proofed. Homi Bhabha in his The Location of Culture (1994) has paid a special attention to cultural identity, and Stuart Hall in his article, “The Questions of Cultural Identity,” has divided identity into two categories—personal identity and community identity—claiming that the latter one is social or cultural identity. And as far as I am concerned, personal identity in a sense can be counted as cultural identity. Inhabiting in a cultural and social world
Sociologists have theorized culture and its role in the society in various ways. Some conceive culture as a worldview, where culture structurally orients individual actions and the ways in which they make sense of the social worlds. Others have theorized culture based on language and how it contributes to cultural processes of giving meanings to arbitrary signs to allow individuals to make sense of the world they live it. Still others approach culture as a practical toolkit, a cache of ideas, or repertoire, from which individuals draw in their day to day life. Several other conceptions of culture (i.e., culture as values, symbolic boundaries, or capital) are also available. This paper aims to investigate the three main conceptions
Identity is a word that is used very commonly and regularly by people in their daily life. Identity formation is a process of developing distinct, separate identity. “A person’s identity has many attributes. It is a representation of one’s unique personal experience, memory, ethnicity, culture, religious orientation, gender, occupational role, amongst various other factors. Erikson refers to identity as “some belief in the sameness and continuity of some shared world image.”Identity may be defined as one’s consciousness of one self and others’ perception of one’s individuality”, (Yamin, 2008).
Denis Cosgrove and Peter Jackson (1987:99) argue that culture should be understood as “the medium through which people transform the phenomena of material world into a world of significant symbols to which they give meaning and attach value” & hence culture is the very medium through which charge is experienced, contested and constituted on as Jackson (1982:22). Culture is the “level at which social groups develop distinct patterns of life” and hence “maps of meaning through which the world is made intelligible”.