Organizing and the construction of alterities

The aim of the paper is to advance our understanding of how the construction of alterities are intrinsic to organising, and with what implications. Relationships of difference are constructed and maintained over time, attaining an objective quality as social boundaries that separate ‘us’ from ‘them’ and define the Other in relation to ourselves. These social boundaries form the basis for inequalities, discrimination and other harm, but they can also be rich in affordances and opportunities. Some forms of alterity construction elevate certain categories of actors as extraordinary superhumans attributed with special powers, such as charismatic leaders, while at the other end of the spectrum, the production of otherness serve to constitute inferior alterities divested of humanness, such as exploited workers in global supply chains or racialised youth as objects of the brutality of police work. Focusing on the construction of alterities as part of organising contributes to illuminating the implications and negative consequences of organised activity, ranging from rising inequality to violence and other harmful practices.