The Perils of Identity Politics

Issue Date July 2004
Volume 15
Issue 3
Page Numbers 152-65
file Print
arrow-down-thin Download from Project MUSE
external View Citation

Read the full essay here.

Three leading French political thinkers reflect on why modern democracies tend to forget their own natures, even to the point of encouraging an assertive “identitarianism” that could undermine liberal democracy itself.

About the Authors

Marcel Gauchet

Marcel Gauchet is director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, editor of Le Débat, and author of La Démocratie contre elle-même (2002).

View all work by Marcel Gauchet

Pierre Manent

Pierre Manent is director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

View all work by Pierre Manent

Alain Finkielkraut

Alain Finkielkraut, the author of numerous books, hosts the discussion program on the France-Culture radio station.

View all work by Alain Finkielkraut

Further Reading

Volume 17, Issue 2

Identity, Immigration, and Liberal Democracy

Contemporary liberal democracies, especially in Western Europe, face a major challenge in integrating Muslim immigrants as citizens of pluralistic societies.

Volume 15, Issue 1

Research Report: Does Diversity Hurt Democracy?

It has been claimed in the pages of this journal that a homogeneous society is an advantage when it comes to democratization. How might this suggestion be empirically tested, and…

Volume 15, Issue 4

The Quality of Democracy: An Overview

Since most of the world’s sovereign states are now democracies, there is a growing scholarly focus on “good” or “better” democracy, and on how improvements can not only be measured,…