Synopses & Reviews
What is the 'state' and how can we best study it? This book investigates new ways of analysing the state.The contributors argue that the state is not a fixed and definite object. Our perceptions of it are constantly changing, and differ from person to person. What is your idea of the state if you are a refugee? Or if you are living in post-aparteid South Africa? Our perceptions are formed and sustained by evolving discourses and techniques -- these come from institutions such as government, but are also made by communities and individuals. The contributors examine how state structures are viewed from the inside, by official state bodies, composed of bureaucrats and politicians; and how these state manifestations are supported, reproduced or transformed at a local level. An outline of theoretical approaches is followed by nine case studies ranging from South Africa to Peru to Norway. With a good range of contributors including Cris Shore, Clifton Crais, Ana Alonso and Bruce Kapferer, this is a comprehensive critical analysis of anthropological approaches to the study of state formation.
Synopsis
What is the state and how can we best study it?
Synopsis
A refreshing look at the meaning of socialism in Venezuela from the point of view of the country's ordinary citizens.
About the Author
Christian Krohn-Hansen is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oslo. He is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters.Knut Gunnar Nustad is Associate Professor in the Department of International Environment and Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He is the author of numerous book chapters and journal articles.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Bruce Kapferer
Preface
PART I. THEORETICAL APPROACHES
1. Introduction by Christian Krohn-Hansen and Knut G. Nustad
2. Sovereignty, the Spatial Politics of Security, and Gender: Looking North and South from the US-Mexico Border, by Ana M. Alonso
PART II. A VIEW FROM COMMUNITIES
3. Chiefs and Bureaucrats in the Making of Empire: A Drama from the Transkei, South Africa, October 1880, by Clifton Crais
4. State Formation through Development in Post-apartheid South Africa, by Knut G. Nustad
5. Neg