Dual loyalty
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In politics, dual loyalty is loyalty to two separate interests that potentially conflict with each other, leading to a conflict of interest.
Inherently controversial
While nearly all examples of alleged "dual loyalty" are considered highly controversial, they point to the inherent difficulty in distinguishing between what constitutes a "danger" of dual loyalty, a pair of misaligned interests, versus what might be more simply a pair of partially-aligned or even, according to the party being accused, a pair of fully-aligned interests. For example, immigrants who still have feelings of loyalty to their country of origin often insist that their two (or more) loyalties do not conflict. As Stanley A. Renshon at the Center for Immigration Studies noted,
Lan Samantha Chang (1999), a novelist writing in response to the Wen Ho Lee case, could say in a New York Times op-ed piece entitled Debunking the Dual Loyalty Myth, "True, many immigrants have strong ties to their countries of birth... But cultural or familial loyalties are on a different level from political allegiances.... I love China, but I am a citizen of the United States." Ms. Chang appears to want to distinguish a love for one's "home" country from being willing to commit treason against one's adopted one. This is obviously a fair, reasonable, and appropriate distinction. Yet, in the process of making such a distinction, she acknowledges the duality of her feelings. The issue is not between love of one's country of origin and treason, but rather the multiple loyalties that appear to be part of many immigrants' psychology.[1]
Transnationalist interpretations
Some scholars refer to a growing trend of
The transnationalist view is that "dual loyalty" is a potentially-positive expression of multi-culturalism and can contribute to the diversity and strength of civil society. That view is popular in many academic circles, but others are skeptical of the idea. As one paper describes it,
On occasion, these imagined communities conform to the root meaning of transnational, extending beyond loyalties that connect to any specific place of origin or ethnic or national group. Yet what immigration scholars describe as transnationalism is usually its opposite... highly particularistic attachments antithetical to those by-products of globalization denoted by the concept of "transnational civil society" and its related manifestations.[2]
Beyond its usage in particular instances, the terms "dual loyalty" and "transnationalism" continue to be the subject of much debate. As one academic wrote:
Although the events of September 11th may have shaken some assumptions – at least in the United States – about the nature of transnational networks and their capacity to facilitate flows of people, goods, and ideas across borders, the terms "globalization" and "transnationalism" remain relatively stable, albeit frustratingly imprecise additions to the language of social sciences, including anthropology.[3]
Historical examples
Separation of church and state in the history of the Catholic Church |
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Other historical examples of actual or perceived "dual loyalty" include the following:
- During ancestry, including some born in the U.S., were confined to internment camps (see Internment of Japanese Americans).[citation needed]
- Roman Catholics are subject to the Pope on religious matters. This has often perceived as dual loyalty by powers opposed to the Holy See.[citation needed]
- During the English Reformation, many important English and Scottish Catholics, such as Thomas More, Mary, Queen of Scots and Edmund Campion, were tried and executed for their alleged double loyalty to the Papacy and infidelity to the Crown.[citation needed]
- During Papacy and Vatican City.[4]
- Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.[citation needed]
- neoconservatives, vocal proponents of war against Iraq who were alleged by some critics of the Iraq War to have sought to undermine Arab nations hostile to Israel (e.g., by the term "Israel-firster").[8] In 2019, Representative Ilhan Omar was bipartisanly accused of suggesting that pro-Israeli American Jews had dual loyalty towards Israel.[9]
- The loyalty of many Americans to the U.S. government was called into question during the Communist sympathies, resulting in "witch-hunts" of various government officials, celebrities and other citizens (see McCarthyism).
- Muslims living in Western countries, especially during periods of heightened tensions between Muslim minorities and non-Muslims, such as after September 11, 2001, or during the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy of 2005–2006, are sometimes accused of being more loyal to the Muslim ummah than to their country.[10]
- "Dual loyalty" continues to be a concern of critics of US immigration policy, particularly in those states which border Mexico.[11]
- The Hindu minority in the majority-Muslim Bangladesh has often been accused of dual loyalty to the neighbour state of India by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party[12] and even by Sheikh Hasina[13][verification needed] who heads the largest political outfit in Bangladesh hailing secularism.[14]
- The Ahmadiyya movement in Islam has been accused by some Muslims of dual loyalty to the state of Israel, or less frequently the Hindu-majority state of India.[15][16]
- The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has accused the Baháʼí Faith minority of having loyalty to foreign powers (see Iranian anti-Baháʼí conspiracy theories).[citation needed]
- During the Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Vindman of dual loyalty towards Ukraine due to his Ukrainian heritage.[17]
See also
- Dual citizenship
- Ethnic interest group
- Fifth column
- Double agent
References
- ^ Stanley A. Renshon. "Dual Citizenship and Conflict: The War of 1812 Redux? Archived April 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine" Center for Immigration Studies.
- ]
- ^ Wagner, Sarah (2002), Putting a Face on Transnationalism: Migration, Identity, and Membership in the Transnational City of Johannesburg (PDF), p. 2, archived from the original (PDF) on April 8, 2005.
- ^ "AmericanPresident.org article on John F. Kennedy". Archived from the original on 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-03-17.
- ^ a b Leonard P. Zakim, Janice Ditchek, Confronting Anti-Semitism: a Practical Guide, KTAV Publishing House, Inc.,
p. 26, 2000 ISBN 0-88125-629-3, 9780881256291
- ISBN 0-7146-5051-X, 9780714650517
- ISBN 0-374-17772-4
- ^ Dore Gold, Blaming Israel for the Iraq War, Institute for Contemporary Affairs, Jerusalem Issue Brief, Vol. 3, No. 25 3 June 2004.
- ^ Emanuel, Rahm (2019-03-07). "I've Faced the Charge of Dual Loyalty". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
- ^ Postscript 9/11 Media Coverage of Terrorism and Immigration Archived February 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Center for Immigration Studies, April 2003.
- ^ Linda Chavez, "Mexican law to challenge loyalties Archived November 13, 2005, at the Wayback Machine," Abilene Texas News, April 8, 1998.
- ^ Bangladesh slammed for persecution of Hindus, Rediff.com
- ^ A Bleak Future for Bangladesh Hindu's Archived February 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, hinduismtoday.com
- ^ The Hindu Minority in Bangladesh: Legally Identified Enemies, Human Rights Documentation Centre
- ^ Breach of Faith. Human Rights Watch. p. 14. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ^ "Ahmadis and the State of Israel". Al Islam. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ^ Relman, Eliza. "Republicans tried to smear Alexander Vindman by implying the US military officer has dual loyalty to Ukraine". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-04.