The Political Logic of Cultural Revival: Ethnic Visibility, Linked Fate, and Electoral Politics in Africa

Amanda Lea Robinson
Professor of Political Science
Director of Graduate Studies
Ohio State University

Based on an in-depth study of the Lhomwe cultural revival in Malawi – an aggressive effort to restore the group’s lost language, names, foods, and dances – Robinson argues that elites invest in cultural revivals when doing so yields political returns through greater ethnic visibility. Ethnopolitical leaders benefit when group identities are easily recognizable, as such visibility links individuals’ fortunes to the broader group. Elite-led revivals reify distinctive traits and encourage the adoption of ethnic markers by (1) generating demand for cultural distinctiveness through appeals to group pride and (2) supplying the tools to achieve it through explicit cultural instruction. Drawing on extensive original data, the talk will offer both a detailed account of the (re)invention of a lost culture and a general theory of how ethnic visibility shapes ethnic politics.

Amanda Lea Robinson is professor of political science and director of graduate studies at Ohio State University. She holds a PhD from Stanford University and specializes in how identity and culture – defined by nationality, ethnicity, race, and gender – influence political behavior, with a primary regional focus on Africa and the African diaspora.