This summary contains notes from all the lectures the University of Amsterdam gave for its Politics of Difference course. Description given by the University: This is the last compulsory component of the BSc program in Political Science. The course aims to introduce students to concepts and theorie...
“The voter has spoken. The voter has said, we are sick and tired of this and we want de
Nederlander to be back in first place. (...) The hope of the Netherlands is that people will get
their country back. We are going to make sure that the Netherlands is for the Dutch again.
That that asylum tsunami and that migration is cut down.”
Geert Wilders’ victory speech 22 November 2023
“A child as young as 16 could then just say, without a doctor's or a psychiatrist's statement:
I'm going to the town hall and suddenly I'm no longer a boy, but a girl. That's total madness,
isn't it? Tomorrow you're a camel and the day after you're a dromedary. Madam chair. We
must stop all this idiocy and gender terror. Don't force this craziness on us. Leave us alone.
Leave our children alone. Go to hell with your sitting down peeing and cancel yourself!”
Geert Wilders speaking in plenary in the Lower House, 21 September 2021
The politics of difference:
● How power and political institutions categorize people into groups and how this
generates inequality
○ Which differences are political?
○ How should Political Scientists study differences?
Some takeaways:
● The politics of difference refers to: “how power and political institutions categorise
people into groups and how this generates inequality”
● Not all differences are political, so we’re interested in how and why some differences
become and remain political
● Defining what is "normal" and what is "different" is political
● Political scientists study differences between interests AND identities
● Political theorists have often seen differences as best protected by respecting
individual freedom in the private sphere, while in the public sphere differences ought
to be treated as irrelevant
● Critical theorists question the possibility of a "neutral" public sphere and argue that
differences ought to be confronted rather than ignored
● Describing difference – through statistics or otherwise – is political
,Lecture 2:
Is the University of Amsterdam a public sphere?
● What is the public sphere?
○ a communicative ‘realm’
■ to discuss and debate the common interest and government
■ where the ‘force of the better argument wins’ (coercion is absent)
■ and where participants leave their status and identities behind
● What sort of public sphere is the University
● 2 Arguments about the public sphere
○ Bennett & Livingston - Is the public sphere under threat?
○ Young - Can we have a communicative public?
A Veil of Ignorance
A hypothetical state, in which decisions about social justice and the allocation of resources
would be made fairly, as if by a person who must decide on society’s rules and economic
structures without knowing what position they will occupy in that society. - Oxford Reference
Ways of asking questions about war:
● United Nations, Status quo powers
○ How can we create world peace?
● Military industry
○ How can you deter a potential aggressor?
● Soldiers and potential recruits
○ How can we reduce the number of battle deaths in war?
● Civilians in conflict environments
○ How can we reduce the number of civilian deaths in war?
● Women and children in conflict environments
○ How can we reduce conflict-related violence?
Does this mean that all ideas deserve equal respect in the academy?
● Greater objectivity (one scientific truth) versus Greater contingency (all knowledge is
relative)
○ This is a scale
, Bennett & Livingston
● “Is it possible Wayfair is involved in Human trafficking with their WFX Utility
collection? Or are these just extremely overpriced cabinets? (Note the names of the
cabinets) this makes me sick to my stomach if it’s true).”
● The disinformation age
○ The erosion of liberal institutions
○ A threat to the public sphere
○ Explores how technological advancements have facilitated the spread of
misinformation, shaping contemporary communication and challenging
traditional notions of truth and accountability.
● Confirmation bias
○ confirmation bias is the tendency for individuals to selectively seek out and
interpret information that confirms their preexisting beliefs or hypotheses,
thereby reinforcing their perspectives and potentially leading to skewed
decision-making processes.
● Social media
○ Bennett & Livingston define social media as digital platforms that enable
users to create, share, and interact with content, fostering both connectivity
and the dissemination of information in contemporary society.
● State interference
○ state interference is government intervention or manipulation in the
dissemination of information, often through regulatory measures or
propaganda efforts, influencing public opinion and shaping the media
landscape.
Young
The Public Sphere and Difference: What type of speech is valued?
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