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Essentialising Territory: Identity Politics Dynamics in Flanders and Andalucía

Explore the evolving identity politics in Flanders and Andalucía through a critical lens. Discover how the concept of "double-track" politics leads to dual sets of rights for indigenous and immigrant groups, centered around an essentialized view of territory. Witness the contrasting approaches in both regions, from the historical Flanders 2002 project to the multicultural initiatives in Flanders. Delve into the construction of Andalucían identity blending key cultural elements. Unpack the complexities of minority rights in Europe and the discrimination faced by immigrant groups. Reflect on the implications of territoriality on identity formation and the challenging discourse on differentiating rights based on historical and migrant backgrounds.

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Essentialising Territory: Identity Politics Dynamics in Flanders and Andalucía

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  1. Essentialising Territory in Identity Politics Dr. Marc Verlot and prof. Gunther Dietz

  2. 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

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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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”

  8. 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 60’s • Ad hoc applied by OSCE to new members, not to existing members • Applies only to historical minorities, leaves out immigrant minorities

  9. 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?

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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

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