The Moral Force of Indigenous Politics: Critical Liberalism and the Zapatistas

Description

Tracing the political origins of the Mexican indigenous rights movement, from the colonial encounter to the Zapatista uprising, and from Chiapas to Geneva, Courtney Jung locates indigenous identity in the history of Mexican state formation. She argues that indigenous identity is not an accident of birth but a political achievement that offers a new voice to many of the world's poorest and most dispossessed. The moral force of indigenous claims rests not on the existence of cultural differences, or identity, but on the history of exclusion and selective inclusion that constitutes indigenous identity. As a result, the book shows that privatizing or protecting such groups is a mistake and develops a theory of critical liberalism that commits democratic government to active engagement with the claims of culture. This book will appeal to scholars and students of political theory, philosophy, sociology, and anthropology studying multiculturalism and the politics of culture.

Courtney Jung is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics at the New School for Social Research. She is the author of Then I Was Black: South African Political Identities in Transition (2000) which was the winner of the Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award 2001.

'This is a smart and provocative book and the most interesting thing I've read on indigenous politics for quite some time. Courtney Jung explains her theory well, making 'critical liberalism' come to life for students and scholars across the disciplines - as well as general readers. Jung's original interpretation of indigenous mobilization in Mexico is relevant to everyone who cares about justice and diversity.' Anna Tsing, University of California, Santa Cruz 'This compelling work of normative political theory is deeply informed by field research on the emergence of the indigenous political movement in Mexico. Jung explores how cultural political identities are grounded in patterns of inclusion and exclusion by the state. In developing this radically constructivist theory of identity formation, she argues that democracies should neither 'privatize' culturally-based claims for fear that their incommensurability will threaten procedural processes, nor 'protect' cultural identities from democratic debate.' Elisabeth Jean Wood, Yale University and the Santa Fe Institute