Politics Exam 3

Renan’s definition of nation

A nation is “a soul, a spiritual principle” of solidarity based on historical consciousness

• Relevance in politics: Based on the history of a group of people (who have bonded together during times of conflict, for example), a nation is formed.

Renan’s Two Visions of Citizenship

Common descent and common consent

Stalin’s definition of nation

A nation is a “historically constituted community” of people based on modern commonalities such as language, territory, and economic life

• Relevance in politics: Common values and shared experiences form a nation.

Weber’s definition of nation

A nation is a “community of sentiment which could manifest itself in a state of its own.”

• Relevance in politics: Groups of people who share modern beliefs and ideas for the future that are tied to a state.

W.E.B. DuBois’ pragmatism

He argued that we must understand race in terms of its practical consequences by studying lived experiences.

• Relation to politics: Race is not a “stable” category. It has changed throughout history (people in some European countries, such as Italy, were considered non-white) and will continue to change. This is why it’s important to understand race through experiences rather than logic or theory.

Racial constructivism

Argues that race is unstable and can be defined through “racial projects” of interpretation. It has no intrinsic biological meaning.

• Relevance to politics: Argues against racial biologism because race is based on appearance, and not biology.

Tajfel’s social identity theory

States that humans look for similarities within each other as a means of safety.

• Relation to politics: This causes us to have preconceived notions about other people and to develop internal biases. This leads to the potential discrimination of other people with whom one does not share similarities.

1965 Immigration and Nationality Act

Prioritized immigrants with skills, relatives of US citizens, and permanent residents for citizenship. Abolished the quota system that favored Northern Europeans.

• Relevance in politics: Changed the demographic of immigrants in the United States by increasing immigration from Asia and Latin America.

1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act

Requires employer verification and tighter controls on who receives jobs.

• Relevance in politics: The goal of this act was to reduce undocumented immigration by prohibiting those who were not permanent residents of the United States from working in the country.

Racial Biologism

The thought that race has to do with biology, and that different races yield different biological aspects in humans. Genetic variation between people is about 0.1%. Sustained the European project of imposing and justifying hierarchies of control.

• Relevance in Politics: Used in the colonization of countries by Europe. European colonizers viewed themselves as “superior” to the groups of people in the countries they were colonizing, solely based on the fact that they looked different from them.

Racial Phenotype

The physical expression of one’s race (what race someone appears to be based on looking at them. Genetic variation attributable to racial phenotypes is only 8% out of the 0.1% genetic variation between people.

• Relevance in Politics: Argues against racial biologism because of the fact above, and proves why culture is important in the theories of race and nationality. We are all genetically similar, so we turn to culture to categorize ourselves.

Jus sanguinis

Common descent in blood relations

• Relevance in Politics: common descent in blood relations matters in how citizenship is granted in countries such as the United States. If you are born in the nation, you have this relation to it.

Jus soli

Common consent in shared experiences. Citizenship is made out of language, culture, and physiology

• Relevance in Politics: One chooses the nation they “belong to” based on experiences. The person claims the country as their home. In countries such as Japan, you have to “claim” the country as your own to have citizenship.

Intersectionality

Challenges binary assumptions related to gender, such as dominant vs. subordinate, good vs. bad, and superior vs. inferior, which were put in place to divide people. Goes against the thought that the world is made up of dualities.

• Relevance in Politics: These binaries (especially ones related to gender) in politics are harmful because it spreads incorrect rhetoric that may convince one political party to vote for/against a particular candidate. Intersectionality allows for more nuanced takes that go beyond the binary, encouraging conversations and debates that carry more depth than superficial statements.

Rouge state

A kind of state identity in the security dimension that describes a nation that is considered a threat by another country, and a “target of opportunity” to become an enemy state.

• Relevance in politics: This is a judgment of a nation that is used to classify its relation to other nations in an effort to keep one’s own nation safe from harm.

Bush Doctrine

Foreign policy principles created by George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks to improve national security. Military force was used to prevent potential acts of terrorism.

“Clash of civilizations”

A 1996 book by the political scientist Samuel P. Huntington that predicts that global conflicts in the future will be shaped by differences in culture and religion rather than ideology or economics

• Relevance in politics: Uses past historical events, such as the Cold War and disputes between different countries, to make predictions about future conflicts. Understanding the past helps us shape our future.

Bracero program

Program for temporary working immigrants from Mexico. Worked primarily in agriculture.

• Relevance in politics: Eased labor shortages during WWII for the United States while paying Mexican workers low wages.

Eugenics

Trying to control which babies are born by allowing certain people to reproduce and preventing other groups of people from having children. Nazi Germany wanted white people with blue eyes and blond hair to have children to preserve the “aryan race”. (Forced sterilization, long-acting contraceptives such as Depo Provera as sentencing condition)