Synopses & Reviews
This book explores the balance of power between the state and local communities, with particular reference to societies in the developing world. Nuijten shows how rituals of bureaucratic power and accusations of corruption give flesh to incredible fantasies, and conspiracy theories among officials, peasants and brokers. At the same time she shows that in this labyrinthine world of bureaucratic obstacles and state control, local agrarian communities manage to find certain room for autonomy.Drawing on her extensive fieldwork in Mexico, and her experience in the field of development, Nuijten draws wide conclusions that can be applied to many societies. Providing a detailed ethnography, she focuses on various themes, including a theoretical anthropology of state power; families and factionalism after agrarian reform; local organisation; questions of law; corruption; and development theory. Focusing on the relationships between a local community and the state, this study is relevant not only to political anthropology, but also to development studies more generally.‘an outstanding contribution John Gledhill, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Manchester, editor of the journal Critique of Anthropology.
Synopsis
An important contribution to debates on theorising state power. The author's fieldwork in Mexico is used to examine the tensions between local community and state.
Synopsis
A rethinking of popular political movements, this book looks at new, emerging, mass visions and analyses their impact and potential in new ways.
About the Author
Colette Harris is a researcher specialising in gender and development, with particular interests in family relations, sexuality and domestic violence. She is currently program director, women in international development at the Office of International Research, Education and Development of Virginia Tech University in the States.
Table of Contents
1 : An Anthropology Of Power And The State
2: Factionalism And Family After The Agrarian Reform
3: Politics And Local Organisation
4: Illegality And The Law
5: The Lost Land 1: The Priest And The Lawyer
6: The Lost Land 2: The Engineers
7: Inside The 'Hope-Generating Machine'
8: Development Discourses And Participatory Approaches
9: Corruption, Order And The Idea Of The State
References
Index