The end of identity as a strategy for political mobilisation: Emerging assemblages

Abstract

We introduce this monograph examining the relevance and challenges of identity politics. While acknowledging the profound impact of identity-based social movements in advancing rights, the monograph reflects on the unintended consequences of the appropriation of identity-based logic within the contemporary political landscape. The contributions analyse, on the one hand, how the current institutionalisation of identity politics can hinder emancipatory forms of political aggregation and, on the other, explore emerging assemblages that shift the analytical focus from exclusionary identities towards shared structural conditions. These debates are complemented by contributions that illuminate how contemporary sociotechnical assemblages shape scientific disciplines, subjectivities, and forms of political action. Taken together, the contributions constitute an invitation to challenge identity essentialism and to forge cross-cutting political coalitions oriented towards redistributive justice and collective emancipation.