This collection of essays is about the lives, ideas and modes of interaction of children in Ethiopia, against the background that in-depth knowledge of perceptions of cultural values and practices regarding children would contribute to improved work with them and to the promotion of their rights as children. The study is supported by Save the Children Sweden and Norway, and the essays are a collaboration between those bodies and the Department of Social Anthropology at Addis Ababa University. Some essays are based on Master theses from the Department, and others on fieldwork. Seminars and meetings formed part of the research with and about children. The editor provides a theoretical, methodological and ethical aspects overview, and makes proposals on possible new themes. The five other contributors cover Conceptualizations of Children and Childhood: The Case of Kolfe and Semen Mazegaja, Addis Ababa; Growing up in Town and in the Countryside in Amhara Society; Continuity and Change in the Lives or Urban and Rural Children: The Case of Two Schools in SNNPR; Conceptualizations of Children and Childhood in Bishoftu, Oromia; and Children in Ethiopian Media and School Textbooks.

Contents:
Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: People, Power and Public Spaces Eva Poluha and Mona Rosendahl 2. From Avoidance to Alliance: Hunter-Gatherers, Non-Governmental Organisations and State Relation in Tamil Nadu, South India christer Norstrom 3. Sounds of Silence: Uncertainty, Language and Politics in the Cuban Economic Crisis Mona Rosendahl 4. Learning Political Behaviour: Peasant-State Relations in Ethiopia Eva Poluha 5. In Touch with Politics: Three Individuals in the Midst of the Dalit Movement Eva-Maria Hardtmann 6. The Republic of China at a Crossroads? Processes of Democracy and Ethnic Identity on the Island of Taiwan Alexander Wanek 7. The Illicit Daughter: Hindi-Language Newspapers and the Regionalisation of the Public Sphere in India Per Sthalberg 8. Public Space Inside Out: Beirut's Private and Public Spaces Under Reconstruction Daniel Genberg Index

Research in localities in India, Cuba, Ethiopia, Taiwan and Lebanon is used to develop a broader understanding of global political phenomena such as democracy, representation and accountability. To contextualise aspects of 'good' governance the articles in the volume deal with people's perceptions of and interactions with the state; how they interpret government laws and regulations; how they interact with officials and how they comment on acts and speeches made by local bureaucrats and national power holders. Through a discussion of the much debated distinction between private and public, the articles show how the notions of public and private are interconnected in many ways, how they are contested and reformulated by people based on their experiences, and how they can be used as a tool in questioning dominant ideas and ways of executing 'good' governance.