ABSTRACT Ladakh, with a population of around 3 lakhs, is known for its significant socio-religious diversity, with nearly equal proportions of Buddhists and Muslims. In Ladakh, the primary determinants of identity, namely, region, language, and tribality, are overtly divided along religious lines despite their overlap. This paper reviews the politics of identity and outcomes in Ladakh from the late first half of the twentieth century to the second decade of the twenty-first century to understand how external forces and internal shifting ties and needs within and between Buddhists and Muslims have shaped Ladakhi identity. Furthermore, the article analyses the evolution of Ladakhi identity throughout history, its current state, and its potential future trajectory, particularly in light of the socio-political changes that have occurred in the region since 2019. I conducted this analysis using interviews as a research method, seeking to address gaps in existing literature specific to this period in the region. This paper is part of my doctoral research, in which I analysed and demonstrated the ongoing evolution and transformation of factors that influence collective Ladakhi identity. The interviews were conducted with 20 community activists in 2023, taking into account the religious, cultural, and spatial plurality of the region.

ABSTRACT A neuroanthropological approach is essential for comprehending Indigenous leadership’s cognitive and communal decision-making. The study employs a descriptive qualitative approach with an in-depth interview and meta-analysis using NeuroVault and Neurosynth to investigate the role of social leaders and fMRI underlying the Indigenous leader’s roles in communal decision-making. This study indicates that social leaders utilise to manage conflict and prioritise deliberation-based, religious leaders integrate moral and religious values into their decision-making processes, scholar leaders rely on cognitive flexibility, and female leaders demonstrate resilient decision-making by balancing emotional strength and cultural wisdom.

ABSTRACT Can a text build a social movement and can this text provide continuity to the movement it has built? Or can a text finance a social movement? So, again, can a text give identity to a social movement? We will discuss the answers to all these questions in the context of the Risale-i Nur Collection (the text) and the Nur movement, written by the Islamic scholar and Quran commentator Said Nursi. The main argument of our study is that the socialisation potential of the text exists and the relationship between the Risale-i Nur Collection and the Nur movement constitutes an example confirming this potential. We hope that our study, as one of the few studies examining the Nur movement from a sociological perspective, will make an original contribution to more comprehensive research in this field.

ABSTRACT The discourse of Iranian nationalism exhibits distinct attributes, including Aryanism, anti-Arabism, and a yearning to restore ancient Iran. Originating during the Qajar period and prevailing throughout the Pahlavi era, this discourse faced marginalization following the Islamic Revolution, remaining dormant for three decades. However, in the past decade, it has experienced a gradual resurgence and gained media representation, termed ‘Iranian neo-nationalism’ for reasons elucidated in the introduction. This study aims to investigate the factors underlying this resurgence. Utilizing the qualitative content analysis method and the theory of politicized group identity from a social psychology perspective, the paper contends that this re-emergence is grounded in enduring political, cultural, and global processes, as well as immediate cognitive and psychological processes. These intertwined processes reveal an ‘identity security dilemma’ in Iran.

ABSTRACT This article explores South Asian diasporic fashion retail spaces and sartorial practices in Glasgow. Drawing on ten months of ethnographic research, it investigates how fashion and clothing contribute to identity construction, community building, and cultural blending among British South Asians. Utilising patchwork ethnography and city walking, the article presents the lived experiences of shopkeepers and consumers, demonstrating the interplay of gender, migration, spaces, and religion in sartorial practices. The findings reveal that fashion and sartorial practices are not merely about personal expression but also about negotiating hybrid and multiple identities and fostering community solidarity amidst the challenges of migration and cultural preservation. The article also contributes to the broader discourse on transnational fashion, advocating for a decolonial perspective that addresses ethical, moral, and environmental sustainability within diverse fashion systems.

ABSTRACT Mixed marriages challenge ethnic, racial and religious belonging. However, over the past few decades, there has been an increase in the number of mixed marriages in the Western world, as well as in Israel. The present study focuses on women living in mixed families in Israel – Jewish women who are married to Muslim Arab-Palestinian men. The study examines the negotiation patterns that these women use in order to shape their identities as women, partners and mothers during their daily family life. To examine how these women negotiate their multiple intersectional identity, in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 Jewish women married or previously married to Muslim Arab-Palestinian men, and who raised children with them. Using a multilayered theoretical perspective, we analyze how these women negotiate with themselves and others in their circles of belonging regarding issues related to couplehood and child rearing. The negotiations conducted by these women take place on two levels (the personal level and the level of external-social relations), where different women are placed on the range between a Jewish-national identity, a hybrid identity, and a Muslim-Arab-Palestinian identity, depending on their intersectional locations and resources, including education, employment and place of residence. The intersectional locations of the women may leverage or limit their negotiation. The identification of these multilayered negotiation patterns contributes to the literature regarding the daily experience of women living in mixed families, particularly in deeply divided societies.

ABSTRACT While most research on stigmatization in migration deals with the prejudice of locals toward immigrants, this article analyzes the symbolic rivalry and contest vividly present in the intra-group Russian-language immigrant discourse in Israel. Drawing on our recent digital ethnography, we focus on the heated discussion between the two social class-based groups – the Soviet-Jewish ‘Intelligentsia’, oldcomers from the Soviet Union to Israel, and the recent migration from Putin’s Russia. If the first is a remnant of the Soviet social structure, the latter is the symbolic successor of the former and is part of the post-Soviet transition. In our interpretation of the harsh digital exchange, we build on the conceptualization of educated middle-class migration and then employ the theoretical lenses of scapegoating and Orientalization – mechanisms of inter-group stigmatization that are both universal and driven by particular scripts of social relations. Our analysis contributes to understanding the broader context of contemporary migration by demonstrating the role played by significant social categories borrowed from home in post-migration processes and group relations. In addition, the article offers a pioneering sociological portrait of the new post-Soviet immigrant group leaving Russia under Putin’s regime.

ABSTRACT The theoretical interest in identity is long-standing and has witnessed many shifts, from the perception of identity as essential to its perception as the individual's ever-changing personal choice. In the current article, I argue that identity is dynamic and changes not only through different periods but also at any given moment as part of the negotiation the individual has with their environment. This argument will be established with a case study of the Palestinian citizens in Israel through in-depth interviews relating to the collective identity of a group of minority citizens. The main findings suggest that the identity of certain individuals is dynamic at any given moment. This dynamism is largely influenced by a liminal citizenship, giving rise to a discourse of stipulation. The Israeli-Palestinians’ Israeli identity is contingent upon the exercise of their civil rights, the promotion of tolerance within the Jewish majority group, and the prevailing condition of the Palestinian people.