Essentialising Territory in Identity Politics

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Essentialising Territory in Identity Politics

• Dr. Marc Verlot and prof. Gunther Dietz

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Creating a double track in identity politics

• Growing critique on corporate multiculturalism
  leading to parallel lives
• is sustained by double track in identity
  politics, i.e. differentiating between
  indigenous or historical groups and immigrant
  groups
• Creates two different sets of rights
• Rests on essentialised meaning of territory

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Overview

• Identity politics in Flanders and Andalucía
• Looking at European initiatives
• The naturalisation of difference in social
  sciences
• Different processes different rights?

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1. Flanders and Andalucía on a double track

• regional identity has become a domain of
  government policies
• Regions assert their identity in face of
  devolution and recentralisation towards Europe
• Track 1 Based on native history, language and
  culture intended to reflect and support regional
  civil society
• Track 2 multicultural policies towards
  immigrants and their descendants

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Building a Flemish identity

• Directed at native inhabitants, speaking Dutch
• From 1995 set up a huge identity building
  project Flanders 2002 refers to 1302, where
  Flemish citizens defeated French royal army
• glorification of the past, emphasis on
  entrepreneurship of Flemish, reproduction and
  adaptation of symbols (flag, hymn, buildings,
  literature, etc.)
• International renowned Flemish artists were
  subsidised to work as cultural ambassadors for
  Flanders

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Multicultural Flanders

• multicultural programme to promote cultures from
  immigrants in education, welfare and culture
  sector
• Meant to help minorities integrate in Flemish
  society
• Totally separate and not involved in Flanders 2002

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Constructing an Andalucían Identity

• Coalition of Andalucían politicians, academics
  and artists assembled in the Foro Andalucía 2000
• Using key elements such as gypsy flamenco music,
  catholicism, the Moorish heritage of Al-Andalus
  to assert modern tolerant image
• This autonomous community is shaped by the
  heritage of the three cultures, of the
  Christians, the Muslims and the Jews

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2. Europe creating indigenous and immigrant
minority rights

• Charter of Regional or Minority Languages in 1992
• European Commission developed programme for the
  protection of the historical regional or minority
  languages of Europe
• Protects and sustains Sardinian, Frisian,
  Breton,
• However excludes languages of migrants such as
  Turkish or Arabic (which are numerically far more
  important) because of lack of historical link
  with territory
• The development of minority rights by the Council
  of Europe
• Working group since the 60s
• Ad hoc applied by OSCE to new members, not to
  existing members
• Applies only to historical minorities, leaves out
  immigrant minorities

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Discrimination between historical and migrant
minorities

• Belgium grants minority rights ( including own
  parliament and government) to 60.000 Germans
  120.000 Moroccans or 80.000 Turkish have no right
  to vote
• Andalucía deals differently with Gitanos and
  Moroccans
• Based on link with territory, but territoriality
  nowhere defined
• How long before a migrant minority becomes a
  historical minority 327,5 years or 327,6 years?

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3. Essentialising Territory

• Kymlicka (1995) most well known author to argue
  for different rights between native and immigrant
  minorities
• European context very different no natives or
  aboriginals as such
• Some social scientists in Europe make a
  theoretical distinction between processes of
  identity formation based on relationship with
  territory

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Naturalising difference in social sciences

• Temporal continuity (Leman 2000) leads to
  distinctive language and territory ideology
  (Myhill 1999) among historical minorities
• Holton (1998) and Leman (2000) speak of specific
  migrant ethnicity, not rooted in past, but future
  oriented, more focused on substantialisation of
  community in present ignoring territory and
  historical roots

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4. Different processes different rights?

• Processes of identity formation not inherently
  different, but applied differently in context
• Examples of territorialisation between migrant
  communities mosques, headscarves, Moorish legacy
  and new migrants
• No basis for granting different rights
• Theory of different etnogenesis leads to creation
  of separate cultures and legitimises segregation