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Between kinship ties on the one hand and the state on the other, human beings experience a diversity of social relationships and groupings which in modern western thought have come to be gathered under the label 'civil society'. A liberal-individualist model of civil society has become fashionable in recent years, but what can such a term mean in the late twentieth century? Civil Society argues that civil society should not be studied as a separate, 'private' realm clearly separated in opposition to the state; nor should it be confined to the institutions of the 'voluntary' or 'non-governmental' sector. A broader understanding of civil society involves the investigation of everyday social practices, often elusive power relations and the shared moralities that hold communities together. By drawing on case materials from a range of contemporary societies, including the US, Britain, four of the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle and Far East, Civil Society demonstrates what anthropology contributes to debates taking place throughout the social sciences; adding up to an exciting renewal of the agenda for political anthropology.
The term 'civil society' has in recent years enjoyed something of a
vogue. Social scientists in many countries have enthusiastically
endorsed it as an ideal model of social organization, but from an
anthropological point of view this seems odd. How can an elusive
idea that is clearly European in origin - and which, on closer
scrutiny, throws little light even on the current social realities
in Europe - gain the status of a universal perspective model? Civil
society is often presented as a distinct private sphere and equated
with the voluntary or non-governmental sector. The contributors to
Civil Society challenge such narrow definitions in the light of
ethnographic research. They argue for a broader understanding of
civil society, encompassing a range of everyday social practices,
often elusive power relations and the many material constraints
that influence shared moralities and ideologies. Drawing on case
materials from the USA, Britain, four of the former communist
countries of Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, Indonesia,
China and Japan, the studies presented here demonstrate the
contribution that anthropology can make to the current debate in
the social sciences. They also add up to an exciting renewal of the
agenda for political anthropology.
Primarily on the basis of ethnographic case-studies from around the
world, this volume links investigations of work to questions of
personal and professional identity and social relations. In the era
of digitalized neoliberalism, particular attention is paid to
notions of freedom, both collective (in social relations) and
individual (in subjective experiences). These cannot be
investigated separately. Rather than juxtapose economy with ethics
(or the profitable with the good), the authors uncover complex
entanglements between the drudgery experienced by most people in
the course of making a living and ideals of emancipated personhood.
Beginning with an original historical vision of financialization in
human history, this volume then continues with a rich set of
contemporary ethnographic case studies from Europe, Asia and
Africa. Authors explore the ways in which finance inserts itself
into relationships of class and kinship, how it adapts to
non-Western religious traditions, and how it reconfigures legal and
ecological dimensions of social organization, and urban social
relations in general. Central themes include the indebtedness of
individuals and households, the impact of digital technologies, the
struggle for housing, financial education, and political
contestation.
According to accepted wisdom, rational practices and ritual action
are opposed. Rituals drain wealth from capital investment and draw
on a mode of thought different from practical ideas. The studies in
this volume contest this view. Comparative, historical, and
contemporary, the six ethnographies extend from Macedonia to
Kyrgyzstan. Each one illuminates the economic and ritual changes in
an area as it emerged from socialism and (re-)entered market
society. Cutting against the idea that economy only means markets
and that market action exhausts the meaning of economy, the studies
show that much of what is critical for a people's economic life
takes place outside markets and hinges on ritual, understood as the
negation of the everyday world of economising.
Beginning with an original historical vision of financialization in
human history, this volume then continues with a rich set of
contemporary ethnographic case studies from Europe, Asia and
Africa. Authors explore the ways in which finance inserts itself
into relationships of class and kinship, how it adapts to
non-Western religious traditions, and how it reconfigures legal and
ecological dimensions of social organization, and urban social
relations in general. Central themes include the indebtedness of
individuals and households, the impact of digital technologies, the
struggle for housing, financial education, and political
contestation.
Examines contemporary identities in a region of Turkey's eastern
Black Sea coast. Based on fieldwork carried out between 1983 and
1999, this is an exploration of contemporary social identities in a
little-known region of Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast abutting
the border with the Republic of Georgia. Regional developments have
included the promotion of tea as a cash crop, disappointments in
this market, and the opening of a border crossing to Georgia
shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. These are analysed
in the context of more general changes in Turkish civil society and
widespread doubts about the continued viability of the secular
institutions of Ataturk's republic. Series Editors: Wendy James
& N.J. Allen
The social lives of the peoples of the Balkans have long stimulated
the imagination of their northern European neighbours, including
anthropologists. Yet these peoples and places have anthropological
traditions of their own, shaped initially by nationalist movements
and later (more superficially) by socialism and other political
constraints. This volume explores the anthropological field between
Greece and Slovenia when political pressures were strongest, in the
era of the Cold War. However, the environments were by no means
uniformly repressive. These studies provide indispensable insights
for new generations pursuing innovative research agendas in this
region in the new century; they also raise deeper issues about the
boundaries and substance of the anthropological endeavour.
Bringing together ethnographic case studies of industrial labor
from different parts of the world, Industrial Labor on the Margins
of Capitalism explores the increasing casualization of workforces
and the weakening power of organized labor. This division owes much
to state policies and is reflected in local understandings of
class. By exploring this relationship, these essays question the
claim that neoliberal ideology has become the new 'commonsense' of
our times and suggest various propositions about the conditions
that create employment regimes based on flexible labor.
Bringing together ethnographic case studies of industrial labor
from different parts of the world, Industrial Labor on the Margins
of Capitalism explores the increasing casualization of workforces
and the weakening power of organized labor. This division owes much
to state policies and is reflected in local understandings of
class. By exploring this relationship, these essays question the
claim that neoliberal ideology has become the new 'commonsense' of
our times and suggest various propositions about the conditions
that create employment regimes based on flexible labor.
Self-sufficiency of the house is practiced in many parts of the
world but ignored in economic theory, just as socialist
collectivization is assumed to have brought household
self-sufficiency to an end. The ideals of self-sufficiency,
however, continue to shape economic activity in a wide range of
postsocialist settings. This volume's six comparative studies of
postsocialist villages in Eastern Europe and Asia illuminate the
enduring importance of the house economy, which is based not on the
market but on the order of the house. These formations show that
economies depend not only on the macro institutions of markets and
states but also on the micro institutions of families, communities,
and house economies, often in an uneasy relationship.
According to accepted wisdom, rational practices and ritual action
are opposed. Rituals drain wealth from capital investment and draw
on a mode of thought different from practical ideas. The studies in
this volume contest this view. Comparative, historical, and
contemporary, the six ethnographies extend from Macedonia to
Kyrgyzstan. Each one illuminates the economic and ritual changes in
an area as it emerged from socialism and (re-)entered market
society. Cutting against the idea that economy only means markets
and that market action exhausts the meaning of economy, the studies
show that much of what is critical for a people's economic life
takes place outside markets and hinges on ritual, understood as the
negation of the everyday world of economising.
Self-sufficiency of the house is practiced in many parts of the
world but ignored in economic theory, just as socialist
collectivization is assumed to have brought household
self-sufficiency to an end. The ideals of self-sufficiency,
however, continue to shape economic activity in a wide range of
postsocialist settings. This volume's six comparative studies of
postsocialist villages in Eastern Europe and Asia illuminate the
enduring importance of the house economy, which is based not on the
market but on the order of the house. These formations show that
economies depend not only on the macro institutions of markets and
states but also on the micro institutions of families, communities,
and house economies, often in an uneasy relationship.
Examines contemporary identities in a region of Turkey's eastern
Black Sea coast. Based on fieldwork carried out between 1983 and
1999, this is an exploration of contemporary social identities in a
little-known region of Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast abutting
the border with the Republic of Georgia. Regional developments have
included the promotion of tea as a cash crop, disappointments in
this market, and the opening of a border crossing to Georgia
shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. These are analysed
in the context of more general changes in Turkish civil society and
widespread doubts about the continued viability of the secular
institutions of Ataturk's republic. Series Editors: Wendy James
& N.J. Allen
Anthropology in Austria has come a long way, in terms of achieving
diversity, growth and international visibility, since first
emerging in Vienna, the capital of the former Habsburg Empire, and
now of one of its main successor countries. This volume combines
elements of critical self-reflection about that academic past with
confidence in the intellectual currents presently in motion across
the discipline. As with the country’s contributions to world
literature and music, the trajectory of social-cultural
anthropology may be seen as a good example of the global relevance
of research in Austria within the humanities and social sciences.
This ‘anthropology in motion’ situates itself at the
intersections between contemporary and historical research, but
also often between the natural and the social sciences. It shows a
commitment to conceptual and theoretical pluralism, but, equally
importantly, a dedication to the maintenance and improvement of
standards of methodological quality. Whether empirical research is
focused on studies at home or abroad, the blending of renewed forms
of ethnographic fieldwork with solid comparative analyses and
archival research characterizes many of these ongoing advances.
Karl Polanyi's "substantivist" critique of market society has found
new popularity in the era of neoliberal globalization. The author
reclaims this polymath for contemporary anthropology, especially
economic anthropology, in the context of Central Europe, where
Polanyi (1886-1964) grew up. The Polanyian approach illuminates
both the communist era, in particular the "market socialist"
economy which evolved under Janos Kadar in Hungary, as well as the
post-communist transformations of property relations, civil society
and ethno-national identities throughout the region. Hann's
analyses are based primarily on his own ethnographic investigations
in Hungary and South-East Poland. They are pertinent to the rise of
neo-nationalism in those countries, which is theorized as a malign
countermovement to the domination of the market. At another level,
Hann's adaptation of Polanyi's social philosophy points beyond
current political turbulence to an original concept of "social
Eurasia".
Sociocultural anthropologists have taken increasing interest in the
global communities established by Roman Catholic and Protestant
churches, but the many streams of Eastern Christianity have so far
been neglected. "Eastern Christians in Anthropological Perspective"
fills this gap in the literature. The essays in this pioneering
collection examine the primary distinguishing features of the
Eastern traditions - iconography, hymnology, ritual, and pilgrimage
- through meticulous ethnographic analysis. Particular attention is
paid to the revitalization of Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches
that were repressed under Marxist-Leninist regimes.
Sociocultural anthropologists have taken increasing interest in the
global communities established by Roman Catholic and Protestant
churches, but the many streams of Eastern Christianity have so far
been neglected. "Eastern Christians in Anthropological Perspective"
fills this gap in the literature. The essays in this pioneering
collection examine the primary distinguishing features of the
Eastern traditions - iconography, hymnology, ritual, and pilgrimage
- through meticulous ethnographic analysis. Particular attention is
paid to the revitalization of Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches
that were repressed under Marxist-Leninist regimes.
Karl Polanyi's 1944 book, The Great Transformation, offered a
radical critique of how the market system has affected society and
humanity since the industrial revolution. This volume brings
together contributions from distinguished scholars in economic
anthropology, sociology and political economy to consider Polanyi's
theories in the light of circumstances today, when the relationship
between market and society has again become a focus of intense
political and scientific debate. It demonstrates the relevance of
Polanyi's ideas to various theoretical traditions in the social
sciences and provides new perspectives on topics such as money,
risk, work and the family. The case studies present materials from
around the world, including Britain, China, India, Jamaica and
Nigeria. Like Polanyi's original work, the critical engagement of
these essays will be of interest to a wide readership.
Karl Polanyi's 1944 book, The Great Transformation, offered a
radical critique of how the market system has affected society and
humanity since the industrial revolution. This 2009 volume brings
together contributions from distinguished scholars in economic
anthropology, sociology and political economy to consider Polanyi's
theories in the light of circumstances today, when the relationship
between market and society has again become a focus of intense
political and scientific debate. It demonstrates the relevance of
Polanyi's ideas to various theoretical traditions in the social
sciences and provides perspectives on topics such as money, risk,
work and the family. The case studies present materials from around
the world, including Britain, China, India, Jamaica and Nigeria.
Like Polanyi's original work, the critical engagement of these
essays will be of interest to a wide readership.
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