The Moral Force of Indigenous Politics Critical Liberalism and the Zapatistas [Paperback]

This book traces the transformation of indigenous politics in Mexico, linking indigenous identity directly to state formation.Courtney Jung traces the development of indigenous movements in Mexico, linking indigenous identity directly to the project of Mexican state formation. She argues that the moral force of indigenous claims rests on the history of oppression that has constituted the indigenous as a political group, and not on cultural difference.Courtney Jung traces the development of indigenous movements in Mexico, linking indigenous identity directly to the project of Mexican state formation. She argues that the moral force of indigenous claims rests on the history of oppression that has constituted the indigenous as a political group, and not on cultural difference.Tracing the political origins of the Mexican indigenous rights movement, from the colonial encounter to the Zapatista uprising, and from Chiapas to Geneva, Courtney Jung locates indigenous identity in the history of Mexican state formation. She argues that indigenous identity is not an accident of birth but a political achievement that offers a new voice to many of the world's poorest and most dispossessed. The moral force of indigenous claims rests not on the existence of cultural differences, or identity, but on the history of exclusion and selective inclusion that constitutes indigenous identity. As a result, the book shows that privatizing or protecting such groups is a mistake and develops a theory of critical liberalism that commits democratic government to active engagement with the claims of culture. This book will appeal to scholars and students of political theory, philosophy, sociology, and anthropology studying multiculturalism and the politics of culture.Introduction; 1. Stepping behind the claims of culture: constructing identities, constituting politics; 2. Internal colonialism in Mexican state formation; 3. 'The politics of small things'; 4. From peasant to indigenous: shifting thel(