Kinship, Law and Politics
An Anatomy of Belonging

An introduction to how belonging and identity have been reflected, modified, and rearticulated in crucial moments throughout history.

Joseph E. David (Author)

9781108499682, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 July 2020

264 pages
25 x 17.5 x 1.4 cm, 0.45 kg

'Joseph David's book is an immensely erudite and deep exploration of the meaning of belonging and identity. David's brilliant examination of the belonging and identity in their different layers and in diverse historical settings, is of fundamental importance to the understanding of the complexity of the concept and the vital role it plays in contemporary political and cultural life.' Moshe Halbertal, New York University

Why are we so concerned with belonging? In what ways does our belonging constitute our identity? Is belonging a universal concept or a culturally dependent value? How does belonging situate and motivate us? Joseph E. David grapples with these questions through a genealogical analysis of ideas and concepts of belonging. His book transports readers to crucial historical moments in which perceptions of belonging have been formed, transformed, or dismantled. The cases presented here focus on the pivotal role played by belonging in kinship, law, and political order, stretching across cultural and religious contexts from eleventh-century Mediterranean religious legal debates to twentieth-century statist liberalism in Western societies. With his thorough inquiry into diverse discourses of belonging, David pushes past the politics of belonging and forces us to acknowledge just how wide-ranging and fluid notions of belonging can be.

Part I. Kinship: 1. Corporal union as performance of belonging
2. The making of kin belonging
Part II. Law: 3. Territorial belonging and the law
4. Religious identity and law
Part III. Politics: 5. The familial-political analogy
6. Liberal iconoclasm
7. Beyond the analogy: liberal alternatives
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Regional anatomy [MFCR], Anatomy [MFC], Law & society [LAQ], Systems of law [LAF], Law [L], Management: leadership & motivation [KJMB], Political leaders & leadership [JPHL], Political ideologies [JPF], Politics & government [JP], Religion & politics [HRAM2]