R. Scott Appleby and the Power of Framing

Abstract

What makes R. Scott Appleby’s work so powerful is its ability to frame ideas and issues in simple, but compelling, ways. As a scholar and aspiring theorist of ethnicity and nationalism, I found there was little differentiation in the literature of the varied ties that bind individuals to identity groups. Language, race, and religion were treated as undifferentiated motivators under the rubric of “ethnicity.” Different aspects of identity were not parsed and therefore were not considered as critical in explaining political, violent behavior. Appleby’s understanding of religion was crucial to me as I tried to understand and unpack powerful political events around the world. It led me to understand that religious actors think and behave differently than nationalist actors, with real-world consequences, sometimes bad, sometimes good. Armed with this understanding, I was able to better research different identities to find out when they might contribute to peace or violence.

Keywords:

• religion
• ethnicity
• nationalism
• Chechnya

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Monica Duffy Toft

Monica Duffy Toft is Professor of International Politics and founding Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Toft is a Global Scholar of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, a faculty associate of Oxford’s Blavatnik School, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the Political Instability Task Force. Toft graduated from the University of Chicago (MA, PhD) and UC Santa Barbara (BA, summa cum laude).