- Convenors:
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Andreas Streinzer
(University of Vienna)
Rae Hackler (University of Bristol)
Lilliana Buonasorte (University of Bristol)
Eline de Jong (Utrecht University)
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- Discussant:
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Isabel Bredenbröker
(Universität Bremen)
- Formats:
- Panel
Short Abstract
This panel examines how politics reshape statehood and social reproduction through the selective inclusion of marginalized groups. We explore hierarchies of desirability as differential integration to deepen debates on deservingness, racial capitalism, and yearnings for an inclusive world.
Long Abstract
Recent political shifts, particularly the rise of far-right governments, intensify polarizations for those living in queer, disabled, and racialized modalities. While most face deeper marginalization, some are selectively integrated into exclusionary agendas, gaining conditional access to recognition, redistribution and citizenship. This panel explores these polyvalent reconfigurations of social reproduction in the contemporary moment.
These shifts attempt to stratify populations along hierarchies of desirability. Examples include the homonationalist inclusions of queers—especially from Muslim societies—as evidence of European superiority; the productivist valorization of certain disabilities under late capitalism(s); the moralized incorporation of elite migrants into neoliberal formations; and the selective recognition of deservingness in post-colonial border regimes.
Polyvalent politics of desirability underpin these selective inclusions, as gestures of empowerment or protection can reproduce, rather than disrupt, exclusionary state formations. Examples include Germany’s far-right AfD, led by a lesbian woman married to a post-migrant Woman of Colour; the UK’s preferential visa fast-tracking for Hong Kong migrants while blocking others; and the far-right’s paradoxical embrace of neurodivergence as markers of productivity and leadership, exemplified by figures as Elon Musk.
This panel interrogates the mechanisms of differential integration in contemporary statehood, highlighting how intersectional divisions are forged within marginalized populations. By analyzing these processes, we aim to deepen debates on deservingness, racial capitalism, queer Marxism, and the yearnings for an inclusive world in today’s volatile political landscape. We invite contributions that critically engage with the anthropological concept of desirability and its role in shaping differential integration within increasingly exclusionary states.