Politics of Belonging in Social Contexts

The politics of belonging examines how individuals and groups negotiate inclusion, exclusion and identity within social, cultural and institutional frameworks. At its core lies an inquiry into the mechanisms by which social boundaries are drawn and contested, whether through legal definitions, cultural narratives or embodied practices. Belonging is both an affective condition — encompassing emotional attachments to places, communities and symbols — and a structured process shaped by power relations, policy regimes and collective memory. Contemporary research highlights the fluidity of belonging in an era of accelerated migration, digital connectivity and transnational flows, emphasising that attachments are continually re-negotiated across scales from the neighbourhood to the nation. The field addresses questions of civic membership, social cohesion and the right to reside, often foregrounding the dynamic interplay between individual agency and structural constraints. Practical applications range from informing integration policies to designing inclusive public spaces and supporting community resilience in contexts of displacement, urban redevelopment and cultural transformation.

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Politics of Belonging in Social Contexts publication trend

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Technical terms

Politics of belonging: The processes and power structures that determine who is included or excluded in a social, cultural or political community.

Place attachment: The emotional bond between people and specific locations, reflecting memories, identity and social relations.

Active immobility: A deliberate choice to remain in or return to a place as a means of asserting belonging and shaping political or social outcomes.

References

1. Socialising place attachment: place, social memory and embodied affordances. Ageing and Society (2015).
2. A Conceptual Shift in Studies of Belonging and the Politics of Belonging. Social Inclusion (2015).
3. (Re-)Construction of Identity and Belonging after Forced Migration: A Sociology of Knowledge Approach. Journal of Refugee Studies (2022).
4. Re‐imagining belonging to Brazil: Active immobility in times of crisis. Population Space and Place (2022).
5. From being othered to promoting the value of otherness: pride and price of intercultural dialogue among migrant immediate descendants in Italy. Identities (2023).