IDENTITY

As societies are subjected to the churn and creative destruction associated with globalization, neo-liberalism and technological change, stable social relations come under pressure, habitual practices and well-established hierarchies are disrupted, and identities are challenged and changed. Some societies and groups and their members are able to adapt while others, seeing threats to their privileges and well-being, become embroiled in conflict and resort to violence. Moreover, the absence of democratic national and global political processes and weak or non-existent regulatory arrangements can undermine the legitimacy of globalization, generating resistance and opposition, often peaceful, sometimes violent. Yet, it is clear that the internal and external processes and dynamics that disrupt social relations and societal organization are poorly understood. Moreover, as demonstrated by the attacks of September 11, 2001 on New York and Washington, DC, the consequences of social disruption may reach far beyond the societies in which it occurs.

Projects within this focus include:

  • Global Islam: The Intersection of Networks, Justice and Statesis a project that was funded from 2000-2007 by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Researchers seek to understand how two radically distinct global processes—economic globalization and Muslim globality—have redefined the increasingly integrated world of the 21st century. The project focuses, in particular, on Sunni Muslim majority states during the period between 1971 and 2001, critically evaluating the significance of these two intertwined global processes with regard to how they (1) impact the politics and governance of Muslim-majority states; (2) transform social movements, institutions and discursive practices within Muslim communities; and (3) articulate with existing Muslim transnational/global networks, institutions and identities such as the global ummah. In March 2007, a conference on these matters was held in Washington, DC; a edited volume is being prepared from papers presented at the conference.
  • The Empire of Faith: Problematizing Social Movements and Religious Revivals in Historical and Contemporary Perspective. Religious revivals are hardly unprecedented in world history, yet their origins and logic are only poorly understood. This project focuses on religious revivals in four parts of the world—England, the United States, the Muslim sphere, and South Asia—seeking links between them and recurrent periods of capitalist globalization and transformation.
    Publications include:
  • The Myth of 'Ethnic Conflict,' Beverly Crawford and Ronnie D. Lipschutz (eds), UC-Berkeley International and Area Studies Press, 1998.
  • "The Globality of Islam: Sharia as a Nigerian 'Self-Determination” Movement'," Paul Lubeck, Ronnie Lipschutz and Erik Weeks,Working paper Number 106, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University, April 4, 2003..
  • WP #2001-6 Muslim Civil Society in Urban Public Spaces: Globalization, Discursive Shifts, and Social Movements; Paul Lubeck & Bryana Britts