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Identity is probably too complicated to serve as a useful criterion for defining society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2025

Hector Qirko*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA [email protected] https://socanth.cofc.edu/
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Identity formation and maintenance is a complex process operating at many levels, with identity markers and affiliations often contested, negotiated, rejected, revised, and replaced, both within and between groups, by parties with competing interests. This needs to be considered if identity is to serve as a useful criterion for defining society.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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