The Concept of Political Identity: Dimensions of Political Identity in Democratic Citizenship

At the fore of political struggles stands the notion of “political identity”. Identity is a key asset in citizens’ orientations toward political issues, their selection of information, and not least their political participation at large. The character of current political challenges and struggles suggests that we need a comprehensive conceptual framework and operationalization of political identity in order to comprehend the dimensions of political engagement and democratic citizenship. Political identity plays a central role in most political activity, and we should engage in elaborating the concept. The research question asks: why, in a theoretical construction, are identities adopted? The following discussion presents the notion of political identity in order to bridge the complex and vigorous relations between on the one side political orientations and awareness and on the other side current clashes between political structures, subjectivity and identities. The argument could be summed up in the following way: Identity originates from processes of identification. It is formed in the light of specific circumstances surrounding the individual, and therefore it is not axiomatic in its character, but rather pragmatically constructed. Political identity related to e.g. class or group belonging can only be a partial point of departure. People often take on new identities when participating in social and political processes, which makes the question of the role and status of political identity and participation highly relevant, but also rather complex. The present paper seeks to explore approaches to political identity in order to discuss an understanding of the term, particularly in relation to democratic citizenship. There are several reasons for such a focus related to the salience of political identities in political affairs, as well as how identities function in people’s lives.