On the one hand, inclusion constitutes a powerful framework of political agency, as people can gain access to forms of recognition granting legal protection and social visibility. On the other hand, inclusion requires their adherence to fixed matrices incorporating specific and limited forms of life. This opposition reflects a similar division within the academic field: between liberal advocates of inclusion and those who regard it as a form of assimilation, where differences are absorbed and tempered. Uncovering the deficiencies in both viewpoints, this book analyzes inclusion by attending to the active role of subjects looking for inclusion, and mobilizing inclusive processes. Inclusion is thus reconceived as an ongoing, engaging movement of category-production, according to which there is no straightforward opposition between effective inclusion and assimilation. The book thus draws the idea of inclusion out of this opposition in order to delineate a form of political connectedness based on smaller social networks of solidarity that, although entailing some sort of normativity, are nevertheless characterized by fluidity and proximity. In this way, inclusion comes to be more productively, and more plausibly, reframed: as a web in which inclusive processes appear as moments of the renegotiation and rearticulation of a subjectivity in constant flux.

On the one hand, inclusion constitutes a powerful framework of political agency, as people can gain access to forms of recognition granting legal protection and social visibility. On the other hand, inclusion requires their adherence to fixed matrices incorporating specific and limited forms of life. This opposition reflects a similar division within the academic field: between liberal advocates of inclusion and those who regard it as a form of assimilation, where differences are absorbed and tempered. Uncovering the deficiencies in both viewpoints, this book analyzes inclusion by attending to the active role of subjects looking for inclusion, and mobilizing inclusive processes. Inclusion is thus reconceived as an ongoing, engaging movement of category-production, according to which there is no straightforward opposition between effective inclusion and assimilation. The book thus draws the idea of inclusion out of this opposition in order to delineate a form of political connectedness based on smaller social networks of solidarity that, although entailing some sort of normativity, are nevertheless characterized by fluidity and proximity. In this way, inclusion comes to be more productively, and more plausibly, reframed: as a web in which inclusive processes appear as moments of the renegotiation and rearticulation of a subjectivity in constant flux.

Assessing the limits of pluralism, this book examines different types of political inclusion and exclusion and their distinctive dimensions and dynamics. Why are particular social groups excluded from equal participation in political processes? How do these groups become more fully included as equal participants? Often, the critical issue is not whether a group is included but how it is included. Collectively, these essays elucidate a wide range of inclusion or exclusion: voting participation, representation in legislative assemblies, representation of group interests in processes of policy formation and implementation, and participation in discursive processes of policy framing. Covering broad territory—from African Americans to Asian Americans, the transgendered to the disabled, and Latinos to Native Americans—this volume examines in depth the give and take between how policies shape political configuration and how politics shape policy. At a more fundamental level, Ericson and his contributors raise some traditional and some not-so-traditional issues about the nature of democratic politics in settings with a multitude of group identities.

Post-Mandal, the demand for reservations by various groups has become a consistent feature of Indian politics. Yet, the focus remains on caste, with little attention paid to the under-representation of religious minorities in India. The book takes up the case of relative disadvantage and interogates the multiple and overlapping dimensions of deprivation. Hasan argues that, in view of the comparative evidence avaiable, presently excluded and disadvantaged groups should also qualify for affirmative action. This book will interest students and scholars of Indian politics, sociology, and history.

On the one hand, inclusion constitutes a powerful framework of political agency, as people can gain access to forms of recognition granting legal protection and social visibility. On the other hand, inclusion requires their adherence to fixed matrices incorporating specific and limited forms of life. This opposition reflects a similar division within the academic field: between liberal advocates of inclusion and those who regard it as a form of assimilation, where differences are absorbed and tempered. Uncovering the deficiencies in both viewpoints, this book analyzes inclusion by attending to the active role of subjects looking for inclusion, and mobilizing inclusive processes. Inclusion is thus reconceived as an ongoing, engaging movement of category-production, according to which there is no straightforward opposition between effective inclusion and assimilation. The book thus draws the idea of inclusion out of this opposition in order to delineate a form of political connectedness based on smaller social networks of solidarity that, although entailing some sort of normativity, are nevertheless characterized by fluidity and proximity. In this way, inclusion comes to be more productively, and more plausibly, reframed: as a web in which inclusive processes appear as moments of the renegotiation and rearticulation of a subjectivity in constant flux.

This controversial new look at democracy in a multicultural society considers the ideals of political inclusion and exclusion, and recommends ways to engage in democratic politics in a more inclusive way. Processes of debate and decision making often marginalize individuals and groups because the norms of political discussion are biased against some forms of expression. Inclusion and Democracy broadens our understanding of democratic communication by reflecting on the positive political functions of narrative, rhetorically situated appeals, and public protest. It reconstructs concepts of civil society and public sphere as enacting such plural forms of communication among debating citizens in large-scale societies. Iris Marion Young thoroughly discusses class, race, and gender bias in democratic processes, and argues that the scope of a polity should extend as wide as the scope of social and economic interactions that raise issues of justice. Today this implies the need for global democratic institutions. Young also contends that due to processes of residential segregation and the design of municipal jurisdictions, metropolitan governments which preserve significant local autonomy may be necessary to promote political equality. This latest work from one of the world's leading political philosophers will appeal to audiences from a variety of fields, including philosophy, political science, women's studies, ethnic studies, sociology, and communications studies.

Assessing the limits of pluralism, this book examines different types of political inclusion and exclusion and their distinctive dimensions and dynamics. Why are particular social groups excluded from equal participation in political processes? How do these groups become more fully included as equal participants? Often, the critical issue is not whether a group is included but how it is included. Collectively, these essays elucidate a wide range of inclusion or exclusion: voting participation, representation in legislative assemblies, representation of group interests in processes of policy formation and implementation, and participation in discursive processes of policy framing. Covering broad territory—from African Americans to Asian Americans, the transgendered to the disabled, and Latinos to Native Americans—this volume examines in depth the give and take between how policies shape political configuration and how politics shape policy. At a more fundamental level, Ericson and his contributors raise some traditional and some not-so-traditional issues about the nature of democratic politics in settings with a multitude of group identities.