BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

IDENTITY COMPETITION IN NEW DEMOCRACIES: WHICH IDENTITY WINS IN WHAT CONDITIONS?

Author: Zahid ul Arefin Choudhury

DOI Link: DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2015v36n1a5

ABSTRACT

Literature on the role of social cleavages in stabilising democratic politics shows that during the initial period of democratisation voters tend to get cues from their core identities, and thus vote along identity lines. As a result, in multicultural societies ethnic parties emerge to take part in elections. But the literature does not indicate how identities compete with each other. Particularly, which (source of ) identity – among a possible range of identities such as ethnicity, language, race and religion – does a better job in stabilising democracies? This comparative study combines analyses of cross-country fractionalisation, political volatility and World Value Surveys data with case studies of four Muslim majority countries – Turkey, Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh – to demonstrate that non-religious identities stabilise democracies during the initial period of democratisation, while the religious identity (Islam) gradually trumps others as the political system stabilises over time.