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In many democracies people are demanding attention based on their identity, on their race, sex, or sexual orientation. We see groups such as Black Lives Matter, or movements for white power or LGBT rights. Are these demands for redress legitimate — assuming their claims are credible — or do they undermine social cohesion by attacking a sense of shared belonging? Is the increase in identity politics a danger for democracy? Or is ‘identity politics’ a new name for an old fact, a name given by the powerful to belittle the struggles of the powerless? As the US mid-term elections approach, Ritula Shah and a panel of experts examine identity politics, left and right, and ask whether identity politics corrodes or empowers democracy.

(Photo: Counter-protesters march at the University of Virginia, ahead of the one year anniversary of the 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right protests, in Charlottesville, Virginia, US. Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters)