Global Politics at the Turn of the Millennium: Changing Bases of "Us" and "Them"

Identity politics is increasingly a target of research and a subject of theory in global politics. Identity is as much a structural condition as power and, like power, is conditioned by historical forces. The territorial state was the product of a unique configuration of historical conditions. Contemporary trends are eroding the state and the state system and ushering in significant shifts in human identities and loyalties. Citizenship and nationality no longer suffice to define who "we" are or where "our" loyalties lie, and "sovereign" borders no longer constitute the sole, or even the main, indication of who is "inside" or "outside" the boundaries of civic and moral obligation.