Revisiting Iris Marion Young on Normalisation, Inclusion and Democracy

Vieten's edited collection brings together papers that were given at the I M Young Memorial Symposium 'Inclusion and Democracy Revisited', held in Amsterdam in 2012. The different chapters presented here explore in-depth, Young's models of a 'politics of cultural difference', and a 'politics of positional difference' read in combination with her critique of normalisation. Young regards the latter as decisive to any change for the better when reaching out politically to a fairer and more just democratic society.

With the current political, economic and socio-cultural crisis in mind, the contemporary world of global speed and transformed societies in and beyond Europe needs a refinement of what we understand 'normalisation' and 'difference' to be. How can we connect to each other, and in what ways can Young's 'structural inequality model' be applied to develop alternative outlooks on how to enhance inclusion and democracy in different nation states?

Ulrike M. Vieten is a Senior Researcher at the University of Luxembourg. Her research focuses on Feminist Theory, normalization and difference; critical cosmopolitanism and nationalism, citizenship, mobility and migration. Vieten is the author of Gender and Cosmopolitanism in Europe: A Feminist Perspective (2012), and co-editor of Situated Politics of Belonging (2006).

Notes On Contributors
Preface
Introduction
Keeping Young's Legacy Alive: Why Do Normalisation And Difference Matter To Our Understanding Of 21st Century Notions Of Democracy And Inclusion?; Ulrike M. Vieten
Contextualizing I. M. Young's Legacy
Theorizing The Matter Of Societal Crisis: The De-Normalisation Of The Normative
Sketch Of The Following Five Chapters
1. Why Should We Think Of Structural Injustice, When Speaking About Culture?; Máriam Martínez Bascuñán
Revisiting Iris Marion Young's Political Theory Of Difference
Imagination As Emancipation
Puzzling Liberal Assumptions: Is The Common Good 'The Good' Or Perhaps, The 'Go(o)d' Of A Few?
Why Social Groups Instead Of Ethnic Minorities? Culture Or Structure?
Thinking Difference Differently: Naming Structural Differentiations First
Why Inclusion Rather Than Integration: The Struggle For Structural Transformation And Self Development
Why Normalisation Rather Than Toleration: Deconstructing The Logic Of Tolerance, And Its Limits
Toward A Heterogeneous Model Of Democracy
Outlook
2. Communicative Democracy And Solidarity Across Racial And Sexual Differences; José Medina
Introduction
Communicative Democracy And Pluralistic Sensibilities
Shared Responsibility And The Social Connection Model
Solidarity, Disidentification, And Queer Activism
Conclusion
3. Routed Connections In Late Modern Times; Halleh Ghorashi
Introduction
Late Modernity And Super Diversity
Longing For The Roots Of The Past
Deep Democracy
Reviving The Connection To The City
From Comfort Zones To Safe Spaces
Delayed Interspaces For Connection
Connectedness Without Nationalism
Concluding Remarks
4. Just Causes, Unruly Social Relations. Some Tensions Between Universalist Inclusive Ideals And Dutch Political Realities; Guno Jones
Introduction
Repressed Hierarchies: Colonial Analogies
Present Day Symbolic Hierarchies Between Citizens
Obscuring Structural Injustices
Symbolic Hierarchies And Formal In-Equalities
Concluding Remarks
5. Diversity Politics And The Politics Of Difference; Sara De Jong
The Politics Of Difference
Diversity Politics
Diversity Politics And 'Difference'
Diversity Politics And Intersectional 'Difference'
Justice Vs. Utility
The 'Value Of Difference' And Normalisation
Conclusion