SOF Symposium: Identity Politics and the Threat of Tribalism
Join us for a multi-day symposium featuring Dr. Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI); Mosbacher Director, FSI’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law; and professor of political science and Dr. Dominic Packer, Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences at Lehigh University . The Symposium will consist of an evening opening session and reception followed by one full day session and one half-day session that will include a working lunch.
Amidst growing social fragmentation, this timely seminar will examine the rise of global populism and national identity issues in modern democracies. Moderators, Dr. Francis Fukuyama and Dr. Dominic Packer will explore how the emergence of white nationalism, politicized Islam, “identity liberalism” on college campuses, and anti-immigrant populism are inherently connected to demands for recognition and affirmation of identity. We will dive deeply into the psychology of identity and group dynamics. What forces have facilitated the recent rise of nationalist factions and anti-elite rhetoric around the world? How have opportunistic politicians stoked identity-based resentments and utilized frustrations as vehicles for their own ambitions? How can identity politics undermine democracy? What is the path forward?
Co-Moderators
Dr. Francis Fukuyama is a Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and the Mosbacher Director of FSI’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. He is a professor (by courtesy) of political science.
Dr. Fukuyama has written widely on issues in development and international politics. His book, The End of History and the Last Man, was published by Free Press in 1992 and has appeared in over twenty foreign editions. Other books include America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy, Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution, Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, and Political Order and Political Decay. He published a new book, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment in Sept. 2018.
Dr. Fukuyama received his B.A. from Cornell University in classics, and his Ph.D. from Harvard in Political Science. He was a member of the Political Science Department of the RAND Corporation, and of the Policy Planning Staff of the US Department of State. He previously taught at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University and at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy. He served as a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics from 2001-2004.
Dr. Fukuyama is chairman of the editorial board of The American Interest, which he helped to found in 2005. He is a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins SAIS Foreign Policy Institute, and a non-resident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Center for Global Development. He holds honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, Doane College, Doshisha University (Japan), Kansai University (Japan), Aarhus University (Denmark), and the Pardee Rand Graduate School. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Pardee RAND Graduate School, the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy, and a member of the advisory board for the Journal of Democracy. He is also a member of the American Political Science Association, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Pacific Council for International Affairs. He is married to Laura Holmgren and has three children.
Dr. Dominic Packer is a Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences at Lehigh University. Dominic received his PhD in 2007 from the University of Toronto and was a post-doctoral fellow at The Ohio State University. A social psychologist, Dominic is an expert on group processes and intergroup relations. His research addresses the dualities of group life: conformity, as well as dissent, prejudice, as well as cooperation across group boundaries. His lab has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Templeton Foundation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and Defense Research and Development Canada. Dominic has served as associate editor at the British Journal of Social Psychology and Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.