Boundaries, Membership & Belonging
Is it possible to have a world without “us” and “them”?
All societies distinguish members from non-members. Indeed, evolutionary biology and psychology suggest that humans are predisposed to distinguish “us” from “them,” and the process can lead to increased trust and cooperation towards members. But it can also lead to prejudice, suspicion and injustice towards non-members.
IMPACT CLUSTERS
The Boundaries, Membership & Belonging program is part of the following CIFAR Impact Cluster: Building Thriving Societies. CIFAR’s research programs are organized into 5 distinct Impact Clusters that address significant global issues and are committed to fostering an environment in which breakthroughs emerge.
Applications Now Open: CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program
All societies distinguish members from non-members. Evolutionary psychology suggests that humans are predisposed to distinguishing “us” from “them.” But the contours of these boundaries are not hard-wired: they can and have shifted. Exclusionary definitions of national membership, such as those based on race, religion or caste, are often challenged as illegitimate and in conflict with modern ideals of equal citizenship or common humanity. Global markets, international migration, and transnational cultural flows further erode traditional definitions of “we.” Some observers advance the cosmopolitan ideal that we are all citizens of the world, with no insiders or outsiders. Others, however, argue that in-group identities and a more bounded sense of “we” are essential to solidarity and collective action. The interdisciplinary Boundaries, Membership & Belonging program asks: How do the boundaries that humans draw – distinguishing ‘us’ from ‘them’ – carry both negative and positive consequences for collective action, our ability to produce collective resources, and the safeguarding of rights? Can ideas of national membership be redefined in ways that are both effective and legitimate? How do ‘outsiders’ become ‘insiders’? What alternative memberships – above, below or across the contemporary nation-state – may be more effective and legitimate in the future?
RESEARCH AND SOCIETAL IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS
Policy implications stem from new insights on racial inequality
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Ellora Derenoncourt (Princeton University) and collaborators published a major paper on racial inequality through the National Bureau of Economic Research. Focusing on the wealth gap between white people and Black people, the study examines the trajectory of this racial wealth gap from 1860 to 2020 and models different policy responses to reduce that gap.
Contributing expertise to the World Development Report
Co-Director Irene Bloemraad (University of California, Berkeley), Fellow Victoria Esses (Western University), Co-Director Will Kymlicka (Queen’s University) and CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Yang-Yang Zhou (University of British Columbia) provided advice on a chapter of the 2023 World Development Report, the major annual policy-setting publication by The World Bank, which focuses on migrants, refugees and societies this year. Intrigued by the group’s alternative framing of the issues, The World Bank invited them to draft a complementary background paper to elaborate on their interdisciplinary insights in which they presented an alternative framework for successful global migrant integration.
Founded
2019
Supporters
BMO Financial Group
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Political science
Law
Psychology
Sociology
Economics
History
Philosophy
CIFAR Contact
Fellows & Advisors
Program Directors
Irene Bloemraad
Program Co-Director
Will Kymlicka
Program Co-Director
Fellows
Yasmeen Abu-Laban
Fellow
Chris Andersen
Fellow
Bart Bonikowski
Fellow
Victoria Esses
Fellow
Allison Harell
Fellow
Evan Lieberman
Fellow
Audrey Macklin
Fellow
Aaron Mills
Fellow
Nathan Nunn
Fellow
Stephen David Reicher
Fellow
Ayelet Shachar
Associate Fellow
Prerna Singh
Fellow
Successful Societies
Andreas Wimmer
Fellow
Yang-Yang Zhou
Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Advisors
Keith Banting
Advisor
Catherine Dauvergne
Advisor
Hazel Markus
Advisor
Successful Societies
Vijayendra Rao
Advisory Committee Chair
Advisor
Successful Societies
Leonard Wantchekon
Advisor
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars
Ellora Derenoncourt
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Matt Lowe
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2023-2025
Michael Muthukrishna
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Dalitso Ruwe
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2023-2025
Hajar Yazdiha
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2023-2025
Yang-Yang Zhou
Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
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