Where do political identities come from, how do they change over time, and what is their impact on political life? Leading political and social theorists explore these and related questions, addressing the changing character of political identity, membership, and attachment in the contemporary world. The authors treat the most fundamental philosophical aspects of these questions in a variety of applied contexts, such as the evolving European Union and new democracies, making the theoretical discussion accessible to an unusually wide audience.

Introduction Seyla Benhabib, Ian Shapiro and Danilo Petranovich; Part I. Emergence and Limits of National Political Identities: 1. From affiliation to affinity: citizenship in the transition from empire to the nation-state Faruk Birtek; 2. Transnationalizing the public sphere: on the legitimacy and efficacy of public opinion in a postwestphalian world Nancy Fraser; 3. 'Being there': place, territory, and identity Charles Maier; 4. Political boundaries in a multilevel democracy Rainer Bauböck; Part II. Multiple Identities in Practice: The European Example: 5. Building European institutions: beyond strong ties and weak commitments Veit Bader; 6. Soft borders and transnational citizens Julie Mostov; 7. Transnational nationalism: redefining nation and territory Riva Kastoryano; Part III. Decoupling Citizenship from Identity: 8. Binding problems, boundary problems: the trouble with 'democratic citizenship' Clarissa Hayward; 9. Immigrant political integration and ethnic civic communities in Amsterdam Jean Tillie and Boris Slijper; 10. Nonterritorial boundaries of citizenship Melissa Williams, 11. Against birthright privilege: re-defining citizenship as property Ayelet Shachar; Part IV. Identity and Historical Injustice: 12. Social solidarity as a problem for cosmopolitan democracy Craig Calhoun; 13. The continuing significance of ethnocultural identity Jorge Valadez; 14. Amnesty or impunity? A preliminary critique of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Mahmood Mamdani; 15. Law's races Rogers Smith.