Global Politics at the Turn of the Millennium: Changing Bases of "Us" and "Them"

• Published in: International Studies Review Vol. 1; no. 2; pp. 77 - 107
• Main Authors: Ferguson, Yale H., Mansbach, Richard W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, USA and Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishers, Inc 1999; Blackwell Publishers
• Subjects: Citizenship; Ethnic identity; Globalism; Globalization; GLOBALIZATION, ON A GLOBAL SCALE; Group identity; IDENTITY; Identity politics; International politics; International relations; Nationality; Political identity; POLITICAL SCIENCE; Politics; Polities; Sovereign states; Territories; Theory; War
• ISSN: 1521-9488; 1468-2486
• DOI: 10.1111/1521-9488.00156

Identity politics is increasingly a target of research and a subject of theory in global politics. Identity is as much a structural condition as power and, like power, is conditioned by historical forces. The territorial state was the product of a unique configuration of historical conditions. Contemporary trends are eroding the state and the state system and ushering in significant shifts in human identities and loyalties. Citizenship and nationality no longer suffice to define who "we" are or where "our" loyalties lie, and "sovereign" borders no longer constitute the sole, or even the main, indication of who is "inside" or "outside" the boundaries of civic and moral obligation.