The second question addressed in this chapter concerns the study
of politics, both domestic and international. Indeed, if the left–right
divide is so fundamental, it may seem surprising that scholars inter-
ested in global affairs have paid so little attention to it. In the field of
international relations, in particular, one hardly ever hears of the left
and the right. In the last section of this chapter, we trace this pecu-
liarity to the fact that political scientists themselves remain divided
along a left–right axis, a reality they usually prefer not to see, to
maintain their claim to scientific objectivity. Ideological divisions
within political science are, however, unavoidable, and they are there
to stay. Understanding them better is enlightening, and it could help
build the study of global politics on more solid and integrated ground.
Emerging global issues
The politics of identity
The collapse of the Soviet bloc at the end of the 1980s brought to the
fore a dimension of social life long hidden by an East–West confron-
tation focused on socialism and capitalism: the politics of identity.
Against the optimistic predictions of those who had started celebrat-
ing the unmitigated triumph of liberalism, or even the end of history,
the peoples of Eastern Europe reaffirmed their long-repressed claims to
nationhood. Some did so pacifically and democratically, others in violent
and exclusionary ways. The national flag sometimes served as an
emblem of democracy, but it was also used to justify aggression and
“ethnic cleansing,” reminding the world of the dark side of nationalism.
In older democracies, the dominant neoliberal agenda also left a
space open for a distinct politics of identity, promoted by social
movements seeking new collective rights. Women, national minor-
ities, indigenous peoples, ethnic communities, and various social and
cultural groups took the political stage to demand recognition, respect,
and equality. The conventional politics of income distribution and
universal social rights that had been the hallmark of the left–right
debate seemed fated, if not to vanish, at least to become less central
in the life of established democracies.^2
(^2) Rogers M. Smith,Stories of Peoplehood: The Politics and Morals of Political
Membership, Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 10–11; Samuel
The core currency of political exchange 199