The geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identity

In a large number of countries, fundamental shifts are taking place in the balance of power between political parties or movements. In nearly all cases, the nature of political discourse underlying national politics has changed radically, the politics of identity having now become prominent. We argu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pieter Saey, Marleen Renders, Siegfried Thijs
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société Royale Belge de Géographie and the Belgian National Committee of Geography 2001-12-01
Series:Belgeo
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/15642
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850202282178641920
author Pieter Saey
Marleen Renders
Siegfried Thijs
author_facet Pieter Saey
Marleen Renders
Siegfried Thijs
author_sort Pieter Saey
collection DOAJ
description In a large number of countries, fundamental shifts are taking place in the balance of power between political parties or movements. In nearly all cases, the nature of political discourse underlying national politics has changed radically, the politics of identity having now become prominent. We argue that the failure of capitalism to bring about universal prosperity is at the origin of the rise of this type of politics. It fails to secure decent living conditions for unskilled workers in the core states of Western Europe, and it fails to secure opportunities for social mobility for the equivalent of the European middle-class in the (semi)peripheral states. An analysis of three cases of politics of identity that have the connotation of civilization – Islamism, Hindu nationalism and extreme right-wing nationalism in Europe – corroborates this view. These three cases of politics of identity appear to be related to a crisis of legitimacy. However, this does not imply that Islamism and Hindu nationalism are the non-Western equivalents of extreme right-wing nationalism in Europe. The former are phenomena of the periphery, the latter is a phenomenon of the core.
format Article
id doaj-art-1ca290a429cc4817ae38c4aa784a67a1
institution OA Journals
issn 1377-2368
2294-9135
language English
publishDate 2001-12-01
publisher Société Royale Belge de Géographie and the Belgian National Committee of Geography
record_format Article
series Belgeo
spelling doaj-art-1ca290a429cc4817ae38c4aa784a67a12025-08-20T02:11:49ZengSociété Royale Belge de Géographie and the Belgian National Committee of GeographyBelgeo1377-23682294-91352001-12-01429731410.4000/belgeo.15642The geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identityPieter SaeyMarleen RendersSiegfried ThijsIn a large number of countries, fundamental shifts are taking place in the balance of power between political parties or movements. In nearly all cases, the nature of political discourse underlying national politics has changed radically, the politics of identity having now become prominent. We argue that the failure of capitalism to bring about universal prosperity is at the origin of the rise of this type of politics. It fails to secure decent living conditions for unskilled workers in the core states of Western Europe, and it fails to secure opportunities for social mobility for the equivalent of the European middle-class in the (semi)peripheral states. An analysis of three cases of politics of identity that have the connotation of civilization – Islamism, Hindu nationalism and extreme right-wing nationalism in Europe – corroborates this view. These three cases of politics of identity appear to be related to a crisis of legitimacy. However, this does not imply that Islamism and Hindu nationalism are the non-Western equivalents of extreme right-wing nationalism in Europe. The former are phenomena of the periphery, the latter is a phenomenon of the core.https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/15642politics of identitycapitalismworld-systemIslamismHindu nationalismextreme right-wing nationalism in Europe
spellingShingle Pieter Saey
Marleen Renders
Siegfried Thijs
The geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identity
Belgeo
politics of identity
capitalism
world-system
Islamism
Hindu nationalism
extreme right-wing nationalism in Europe
title The geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identity
title_full The geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identity
title_fullStr The geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identity
title_full_unstemmed The geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identity
title_short The geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identity
title_sort geographical structure of capitalism at the origin of cultural protest against globalization as expressed in contemporary politics of identity
topic politics of identity
capitalism
world-system
Islamism
Hindu nationalism
extreme right-wing nationalism in Europe
url https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/15642
work_keys_str_mv AT pietersaey thegeographicalstructureofcapitalismattheoriginofculturalprotestagainstglobalizationasexpressedincontemporarypoliticsofidentity
AT marleenrenders thegeographicalstructureofcapitalismattheoriginofculturalprotestagainstglobalizationasexpressedincontemporarypoliticsofidentity
AT siegfriedthijs thegeographicalstructureofcapitalismattheoriginofculturalprotestagainstglobalizationasexpressedincontemporarypoliticsofidentity
AT pietersaey geographicalstructureofcapitalismattheoriginofculturalprotestagainstglobalizationasexpressedincontemporarypoliticsofidentity
AT marleenrenders geographicalstructureofcapitalismattheoriginofculturalprotestagainstglobalizationasexpressedincontemporarypoliticsofidentity
AT siegfriedthijs geographicalstructureofcapitalismattheoriginofculturalprotestagainstglobalizationasexpressedincontemporarypoliticsofidentity