Intersectional politics in times of entangled crises: theory, method and empirical research

Intersectionality is the Black feminist theory that inequalities shape one another and are inseparable: ‘race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, nation, ability, and age operate not as unitary, mutually exclusive entities, but rather as reciprocally constructing phenomena‘ (Collins 2015: 2). It derives from Black women’s theory and activism concerning experiences of gendered racism and racialised sexism, and not only women based in the US where the term emerged in the late 1980s (Crenshaw 1989; 1990) but also the UK (e.g. Amos et al. 1990); and Europe (Emejulu and Sobande 2019). Intersectional epistemologies, ethics, and politics have substantially informed and shaped grassroots movements in Europe and the term is increasingly mobilized by NGOs and policy makers on national and European levels. This theory and activism has substantially expanded our understanding of the intricate workings of interlocking systems of oppression and incentivized some social movements and political institutions to revise their goals and strategies. These shifts towards intersectionality in political discourses and practices have, however, not been easy, complete, or unchallenged. Questions as to how power differentials between and within groups can be fully captured and considered in social movements and politics have not been resolved. Furthermore, the incorporation of intersectionality into institutional politics has often led to a reduction of intersectionality to a compensatory policy tool and the neglect of some social categories in line with neoliberal logics of diversity management. Not least, intersectional politics have been challenged by the intensifying structural (e.g., humanitarian, climate, care, financial, global health) crises and emerging challenges to equality and democracy (e.g., the mainstreaming of far right-wing populism, authoritarianism, anti-feminism, racism, xenophobia, antiBlackness, Islamophobia, transphobia). These developments have asked for even broader cross-movement and cross-sectoral coalitions and alliances which take intersecting structures and relations of domination as a starting point for counterhegemonic politics. Against this backdrop, this section invites panel and paper proposals which address theoretical, methodological, and empirical questions such as: - How can intersectionality be used to conceptualize the intensifying care, climate, Covid-19 etc. crises (e.g., beyond Marxist approaches)? - How can intersectionality be defended against curtailment and cooptation in the course of its societal and institutional diffusion? - How can intersectional coalitions and alliances around burning issues be formed, broadened, and sustained? - What are current promising and/or failed cases of intersectional politics? What lessons can be learnt from them? - Which intersectional methodologies are suitable for studying structurally entangled but also seemingly unrelated crises? - How is intersectionality mobilized by different political actors (e.g. policymakers, practitioners, activists), at national and European levels? - How can intersectional theory and method be brought to bear in and on different fields of political science (e.g. public policy, political representation, social movements, civil society, political theory, IR, political economy)?