The research and teaching interests of MIT political scientists are at the cutting edge of the study of ethnic politics and violence. There is a great deal at stake, both scholarly and practically, in the subject matter. National and international political contestation and violence frequently bear the stamp of ethnic identification. Yet, even with the widely held scholarly and popular interest in the ethnic dimensions of politics, there are still many questions that require answers and conventional ideas in need of re-evaluation and rethinking. Our research undertakes these tasks.
Faculty research is largely organized around three fundamental issues. The first is the nature of ethnic and racial identity. Although scholars largely agree that ethnic identities are constructed (although not infinitely malleable), this insight has yet to be fully incorporated into scholarly models and explanations of ethnic mobilization. Melissa Nobles’ study of racial categorization in Brazil and the United States challenges the assumption that identities exist out in the world, waiting to be counted.
The second issue is the role of institutions, and especially the interactive effects between institutions and the forms and outcomes of ethnic mobilization. Nobles’ work argues that state institutions, specifically census bureaus, are far from being the politically disinterested institutions they claim to be. Sarah Song’s work examines ethnic minorities’ claims for special accommodations in the United States and shows how illiberal practices within minority cultures have found support in U.S. legal and political institutions.
Finally, our research interests center on the affective dimensions of ethnic politics. The deep scholarly and popular distrust of ethnic mobilization is often rooted in the assumption that such mobilization is characterized by excessive emotionalism, which resists rational understanding or practical remedy. Roger Petersen’s studies dispute such reductionist accounts by identifying the emotional mechanisms that underlie shifts to act violently or non-violently. Drawing from East European experiences, Petersen unlocks the “black box” of emotions to deepen our understanding of the complex relationship between emotions and instrumental violent action. Nobles’ current research examines the ways in which official government apologies to minority groups are not empty gestures, but are efforts that can affect politics in significant ways.
Our courses offer students a thorough introduction to the scholarly literature and methods of ethnic politics (Ethnic Politics I and II). We also offer specialized seminars, such as Transitional Justice, Civil War, and Citizenship and Pluralism. Finally, our faculty are involved in a number of ongoing collaborative efforts. Melissa Nobles is a steering committee member of the Inter-University Committee on International Migration that explores, among other topics, the ethnic dimensions of international migration. Several of our faculty are also affiliated with MIT’s Center for International Studies.
The Identity Politics Working Group brings together graduate students from various epistemological, methodological, and disciplinary approaches who all share a common interest in identity politics broadly defined. The goal is to develop cooperative relationships among the relatively large number of students who study this topic and related topics (potentially ranging from citizenship to ethnic violence to party politics) from different approaches. Presenters are drawn from students and faculty at both MIT and other institutions, and membership is open to students from the Departments of Political Science, Economics, and Urban Studies and Planning. The working group is advised by faculty members Roger Petersen and Melissa Nobles.
This Committee has served as a focal point for migration and refugee studies at member institutions, which include Boston University, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Harvard University, Tufts University, and Wellesley College. IUCIM website