La representación política de las identidades culturalesAlgunos problemas de indefinición

Abstract

The emergence of cultural identities involves some challenges for political representation. One of them is the claim to collective representation reflecting cultural identities as collective political subjects. They hold collective interests and rights and better representation of specific under-represented and marginalized groups. As long as this claim contributes to making a more representative and proportional political representation in Democracy, collective representation may reduce the deficit of legitimacy that currently affects Western Democracies. But some problems may emerge in the collective representation of cultural identities that could pervert the extension of political representation. The first problem is the consequence of considering collective identity as a substance. The second problem is related to the non-definition of the concept of culture. The third problem is, paradoxically, the antipolitical perspective involved in cultural representation and citizenship. Making an analysis of these issues is the objective of this article, whose main premises are both the primacy of the political democratic sphere and an instrumental concept of groups and culture, as being useful to political inclusion and to the self-determination of marginalized individuals.