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The identity politics trap
From race to gender to profession to nationality, we define who we are in a million different ways. Many people feel strongly about those identities; they are a fundamental part of how we see the world, find community, and relate to each other. But despite good intentions on the progressive left, at what point does focusing on what makes us different from each other hurt our society more than it helps? When does a healthy appreciation for culture and heritage stifle discourse and deny mutual understanding?
On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, political scientist and author Yascha Mounk weighs in on identity, politics, and how those two combine to create the complicated, contentious idea of “identity politics.” Mounk’s latest book, “The Identity Trap,” explores the origins and consequences of so-called “wokeness” and argues that a counter-productive obsession with group identity has gained outsize influence over mainstream institutions.
"I think the important thing is not to build a culture in which we are forced to double down on narrow identities," Mounk tells Bremmer, "in which we cease to build the broader identities, like ones as Americans, but allow us to sustain solidarity with people who are very different from us."
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
Are identity politics a trap? A conversation with author and political scientist Yascha Mounk
Listen: Political scientist and author Yascha Mounk joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss his latest book, “The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time.” Mounk delves into the complicated dynamics of identity politics and challenges the conventional wisdom from the progressive left that focusing on identity and what makes us different from each other leads to a more equitable society. By highlighting our differences rather than shared values, Mounk argues, well-meaning liberals are exacerbating societal division and hindering progress toward greater equality. While acknowledging that our society is deeply imperfect and genuine injustices remain, Mounk unpacks the implications of identity politics and questions whether the current focus on identity truly serves the cause of inclusivity or social harmony.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.
We're in a new era of naked power politics, says Yascha Mounk, author of The Great Experiment
Confidence in democracy is declining in the West at the same time authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have become more transparent about their demands and lack of respect for democracy, Johns Hopkins University professor Yascha Mounk tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Mounk, author of a new book, "The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure," explains why authoritarians are on the rise. The new era of naked power politics is illustrated by the way Putin is transforming Russia into a repressive regime, no longer caring what people think about his ambitions. Putin believes the West is decadent while he views himself as a strong leader with traditional values.
Mounk cites tribalism and extreme partisanship as the biggest threats for democracy in the 21st century. In his view, democracy in diverse nations has particular challenges – for example, racism and disparities in wealth in the US -- but Mounk does offer some reasons for hope for the future.
No second-class citizens: the challenge of diversity in democracy
In his new book The Great Experiment, political scientist Yascha Mounk digs into how tough it is for very diverse democracies to treat all their citizens equally. The price to pay if it goes wrong is high: society falls apart.
The US faces many ongoing challenges, especially on race relations, but has done much better in some areas than was predicted decades ago – for example, the increasing frequency of interracial marriages, Mounk tells Ian Bremmer.
Where America has made much less progress, Mounk admits, is on racial disparities in wealth — which he says is the deepest problem we have in the US today. Still, "it's important to see the nuances": accumulating wealth takes long, and the income gap between Black and white Americans has been reduced in recent decades.
"There is a real pocket of poverty because of [the] long-term structural impacts of all the injustice in American history ... but the modal experience of African Americans today is hopeful," Mounk says. "And actually, when you ask African Americans how they feel about the American Dream, how they feel about the future of America, they are more optimistic than white Americans."
Watch the GZERO World episode: Authoritarians gone wild
The two biggest threats for democracy in the 21st century
For political scientist Yascha Mounk, the pandemic unleashed an ideological competition between democracies and autocracies, giving people some options.
But for democracy to remain strong in the 21st century, Mounk tells Ian Bremmer that "it's not enough to wax poetic about our beautiful values or to rely on the idea that somehow, our system has always proven strong in the past, so it's going to do so again." We need to double down on ensuring that the system delivers so citizens can keep saying that they'd rather be like the US or Germany than like Russia or China.
Still, democracy faces two big threats right now.
First, tribalism, or what Mounk calls "groupishness" — a major problem in diverse democracies. Societies fall apart when a majority of citizens prioritize the interests of their group over common national interests.
Second, extreme partisanship without strong institutions to manage it. The system, he says, must be resilient enough to stop factions from becoming so entrenched that they'd rather "blow up the system to gain power or to remain in power."
Watch the GZERO World episode: Authoritarians gone wild
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Authoritarians gone wild
Political scientist Yascha Mounk says we're in a new era of naked power politics.
That means Vladimir Putin doesn’t care what you think anymore about his blind ambition. And he really doesn’t have to because authoritarians like him are on the rise.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer talks to Mounk, who explains why confidence in democracy is declining in the West at the same time authoritarian leaders like Putin and Xi Jinping have become more honest about their demands and lack of respect for democracy.
Mounk also offers some reasons for hope in America's experiment with democracy in a diverse nation. He identifies tribalism and extreme partisanship as the biggest threats for democracy in the 21st century.
Also: a look at Ukrainians in the tech industry, who are still coding away even as Russian bombs fall on their cities.
Click here to watch the video.
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Podcast: Naked power politics challenge global democracy, says author Yascha Mounk
Listen: Confidence in democracy is declining in the West at the same time authoritarian leaders like Putin and Xi Jinping have become more transparent about their demands and lack of respect for democracy, says Johns Hopkins University professor YaschaMounk, author of a new book, "The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure."
On the GZERO World podcast, Mounk tells Ian Bremmer we're in a new era of naked power politics, illustrated by the way Putin is transforming Russia into a repressive regime. Putin believes the West is decadent while he views himself as a strong leader with traditional values. Meanwhile, the biggest challenges ahead for democracies like the US are racial disparities in wealth, tribalism, and extreme partisanship.
Listen to Ian Bremmer's interview with political scientist and author, Yascha Mounk.
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Putin, Russia & the allure of autocracy
“Emperor” Putin has no clothes — and he doesn’t care Global attention is now on Ukrainians fighting for democracy.
But over the past 15 years, the global trend has actually gone in the opposite direction — toward more autocracy. For John Hopkins University professor Yascha Mounk, it's all about confidence — lack of it in democracy in the West and more trust in autocracy in places like China or Russia.
He tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World that Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin now know they no longer need to play by the rules of the West. They've become a lot more honest about their demands and lack of respect for democracy domestically.
This mindset, Mounk adds, explains how Putin is transforming Russia into a repressive regime in which naked power is central.
Putin, he says, believes the West is decadent, undermined by its values, while he views himself as a strong leader with traditional values — making him the hero in his own story.
"I'm absolutely sure that Vladimir Putin thinks that he is serving the grandeur of a Russian nation and that while he is allowing himself a little yacht here and a little bit of corruption there, this is ultimately in the interests of his people," says Mounk, author of a new book, "The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure."
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