Urban politics and Nationalism

Abstract

Contemporary cities are perceived as culturally diverse, politically vibrant, promoting universal citizenship principles and a democratic arena. Critical scholars, however, suggest that exploitation and structural stratification characterize contemporary cities and that ethno-nationalism delineates power relations and boundaries. This panel will address the relations between the urban and national logic and politics, expressed in the possible tension between ‘seeing like a city’ and ‘seeing like a state/ nation’. We will seek to discuss to what extent cities and urban politics construct an alternative position that challenges vs. reproduces nationalism. Potential Discussants could refer to the following questions but not limited to them: - Do urban processes, such as urban redevelopment or local economic interests, overcome ethno-national hierarchies? - To what extent does the everyday life and encounter between different groups and individuals in the urban space promote integration and challenges the hierarchy between majority and minority? - How do urban movements and communities resist nationalism and claim their ‘right to the city’? - To what extent are the voting patterns in local elections different from patterns in national elections and what lesson provide us regarding loyalty to the national idea vs. local or class belongings? - Finally, we seek to understand the relationship between politicians and policymakers at the city and at the state level, and what could we learn from it regarding nationalist dynamics and related issues.

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