Passage Two

Globalization and the Politics of Identity

For a variety of reasons，globalization creates the conditions for localization，that is various kinds of attempts at creating bounded entities—countries(nationalism or separatism)，faith systems(religious revitalization)，cultures(linguistic or cultural movements)or interest groups(ethnicity)．For this reason，a more apt term，coined by sociologist Roland Robertson，might be glocalization^[15]．I shall now present some features that the“glocal”identity movements of the turn of the millennium seem to have in common．

First，identity politics always entails competition over scarce resources．Successful mobilisation on the basis of collective identities presupposes a widespread belief that resources are unequally distributed along group lines．“Resources”should be interpreted in the widest sense possible，and could in principle be taken to mean economic wealth or political power，recognition or symbolic power—although what is usually primarily at stake are either economic or political resources．

Secondly，modernisation and globalization actualize differences and trigger conflict．When formerly discrete groups are integrated into shared economic and political systems，inequalities are made visible，since direct comparison between the groups becomes possible．In a certain sense，ethnicity can be described as the process of making cultural differences comparable，and to that extent，it is a modern phenomenon boosted by the intensified contact entailed by globalization．You do not envy your neighbour if you are unaware of his existence．

Thirdly，similarityoverrulesequalityideologically．Ethnic nationalism，politicized religion and indigenous movements all depict the in-group as homogeneous，as people“of the same kind”．Internal differences are glossed over，and for this reason，it can often be argued that identity politics serves the interests of the privileged segments of the group，even if the group as a whole is underprivileged，since it conceals internal class differences．

Fourthly，images of past suffering and injustice are invoked．To mention a few examples:Serbs bemoan the defeat at the hands of the Turks in Kosovo in 1389;leaders of the Hindu BJP have taken great pains to depict Mughal(Muslim)rule in India from the 1500s as bloody and authoritarian;and the African American movement draws extensively on the history of slavery．Even spokesmen for clearly privileged groups，such as anti-immigrant politicians in Western Europe，may argue along these lines．

Fifthly，the political symbolism and rhetoric evokes personal experiences．This is perhaps the most important ideological feature of identity politics in general．Using myths，cultural symbols and kinship terminology in addressing their supporters，promoters of identity politics try to downplay the difference between personal experiences and group history．In this way，it becomes perfectly sensible for a Serb to talk about the legendary battle of Kosovo in the first person(“We lost in 1389”)，and the logic of revenge is extended to include metaphorical kin，in many cases millions of people．The intimate experiences associated with locality and family are thereby projected onto a national screen．

Sixthly，first-comers are contrasted with invaders．Although this ideological feature is by no means universal in identity politics，it tends to be invoked whenever possible，and in the process，historical facts are frequently stretched．

Finally，the actual social complexity in society is reduced to a set of simple contrasts．As Adolf Hitler already wrote in Mein Kampf^[16]，the truly national leader concentrates the attention of his people on one enemy at the time．Since cross-cutting ties reduce the chances of violent conflict，the collective identity must be based on relatively unambiguous criteria(such as place，religion，mother-tongue，kinship)．Again，internal differences are undercommunicated in the act of delineating boundaries towards the frequently demonised Other．

True or False Statements

1．Globalization causes people to be more aware of their global identity．

2．Materials(natural resources)can extend identity．

3．Globalization exacerbates conflict because it makes known differences between cultures．

4．In this analysis the author manifests that globalization does more harm than good to people．

5．Hitler is quoted to show that the public may be manipulated by the power stratum with their attention diverted to less wanted things．