Instrumental and constructivist conceptualizations of ethnicity: implications for Latin American social movements research

Abstract: Within the realm of comparative politics, ethnicity has been conceptualized as both a fixed category in which individuals are born, as well as one of multiple identities that can be made politically salient by different actors. The latter perspective corresponds to instrumental and constru...

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Autor principal: Thomson,Catarina P.
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Instituto de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad de Chile 2018
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Acceso en línea:http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0719-37692018000100063
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Sumario:Abstract: Within the realm of comparative politics, ethnicity has been conceptualized as both a fixed category in which individuals are born, as well as one of multiple identities that can be made politically salient by different actors. The latter perspective corresponds to instrumental and constructivist conceptualizations of ethnicity that seeks first and fore most to answer the question: ‘Under which circumstances will ethnicity activate and affect citizens’ political behavior?’ Since the 1990s, Latin American social movements began to ‘play the ethnic card’, which culminated with the first indigenous candidate ever, to win a presidential election in the region in 2005. Applying research designs based on instrumental and constructivist conceptualizations of ethnicity could significantly advance the study of Latin American social movements.