| dc.description.abstract | "The question how diversity and equality can coexist in a multicultural or multiethnic society has become an increasingly salient question due to processes of modernization and an increase in migration (Purvis and Hunt 1999, 457). Ethnic and cultural diversity is, however, no new phenomenon for countries such as Guatemala en South Africa; yet they continue to struggle with vast inequalities between and within ethnic and racial groups (Hooker 2010, Seeking 2008). Even after more than two decades of democracy the countries are still characterized by the irrational logic that some are more equal than others. In both counties, for example, citizens are all formally acknowledged to be equal before the law, and yet a large number of the population finds themselves to be excluded from their rights. To understand this irrational logic, we have conceptualized citizenship as a socially constructed identity, rather than just a collection of rights and duties assigned to the individual. In much the same way that other social identities - such as ethnicity - are defined by a process of othering and in- and exclusion, we have found citizenship to be both in- and exclusive(van Brussel 2009, 13-14). Based on the definition that Isin and Wood (1999, 4) give of citizenship as an identity that must be enacted, we have formulated the following research question:
How and with what objective do indigenous Guatemalan and South Africans fight for the rights they associate with citizenship.
To answer this question we studied indigenous groups and their subjective experience and notions of citizenship. Focussing on a variety of organizations, we have studied how and with what purpose these groups come in action to fight for their citizenship.
In Guatemala Hidde found that a distinction is made between indigena´s as indigenous and other racial groups such as the ladinos and the Garifuna´s. The indigenous identity is closely associated with ethnic groups such as the Kaqchikel, Kiche, en Tz utujil. These indigenous groups derive a strong sense of belonging - a concept we have defined as an emotion associated with safety and being home (Delanty 2002, 61) - from their ethnic identity. In contrast, Hidde found that for most indigenas the national identity has a negative connotation and is often perceived as being imposed by the government.
In South Africa David found a similar racial divide between blacks, coloureds and whites. However, ras was not closely to an indigenous identity. Many coloureds, for example, strongly associated ras the racial discrimination that took place under the Apartheid regime (1948 - 1994). Most black derived a sense of belonging from their ethnic identity. Coloureds, who in some case were of mixed descent, derived a sense of belonging from their African identity, an identity that transcends ethnic, racial and even national identities. Despite the diversity of identities, all respondents positively identified themselves as South Africans and seemed to derive a strong sense of identity from their national identity.
In both countries we found that our research population had comprehensive notions of their rights as citizenships. They not only associate political rights, such as suffrage, with their citizenship but also socio-economic and cultural rights. These rights include equal access to education, health care, safety, accommodation and sufficient income. Their notion of citizenship corresponds well with what Holston and Appadurai (1996, 190) call substantial citizenship. However, we found that our respondents were excluded precisely from the above mentioned rights. Despite the fact that all Guatemalans and South Africans are formally equally recognized as citizens, many don t have access to good healthcare or education; are unemployed; lack proper sanitary facilities; and live in neighborhoods plagued by violence and crime.
Notably, we found that whereas previously exclusion from equal citizen rights was determined by race, increasingly Guatemalans and South Africans are excluded based on their socioeconomic status. This shift is evident from the inequality experienced within racial and ethnic groups and the growing number of affluent indigena s in Guatemala and blacks and coloureds in South Africa. This development in South Africa has led to a more inclusive notion of citizenship that emphasizes equal access for all citizens to substantive citizenship in the struggle for equality. Thus, the NGO s and grassroots organizations David studied supported all South Africans in gaining access to their rights, disregarding race or ethnicity. In Guatemala, on the other hand, Hidde found that the struggle for equality reflects a more differentiated notion of citizenship. Organizations such as the Municipalidad Indigina, for example, strongly support the recognition of indigenous groups and special rights.
Despite these different notions of citizenship, we found that organizations involved in the struggle for equality reflected the rights-based approach to development. (The United Nations 2017, Uvin 2010) In both countries the organizations we included in our research emphasized access equal rights over the principles of democracy and the free market. According to these organizations, development is not achieved by providing in the needs of the poor but guaranteeing their rights. Furthermore, these organisations pressure the government as duty bearers to protect the rights of its citizens through, for example, peacefull demonstration. Citizens, as right holders, are supported in laying claim to their rights through cooperation with the government or through alternative ways of guaranteeing rights. In South-Africa, for example, David found that grassroots organizations provided safety through both cooperating with local police and organizing their own neighborhood watch." | |
