| Anthropology, Politics, and the State: Democracy and Violence in South Asia Contributor(s): Spencer, Jonathan (Author) |
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ISBN: 0521777461 ISBN-13: 9780521777469 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $33.24 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: July 2007 Annotation: In recent years anthropology has rediscovered its interest in politics. Building on the findings of this research, this book offers a new way of analysing the relationship between culture and politics, with special attention to democracy, nationalism, the state and political violence. Beginning with scenes from an unruly early 1980s election campaign in Sri Lanka, it covers issues from rural policing in north India to slum housing in Delhi, presenting arguments about secularism and pluralism, and the ambiguous energies released by electoral democracy across the subcontinent. It ends by discussing feminist peace activists in Sri Lanka, struggling to sustain a window of shared humanity after two decades of war. Bringing together and linking the themes of democracy, identity and conflict, this important new study shows how anthropology can take a central role in understanding other people??'s politics, especially the issues that seem to have divided the world since 9/11. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - Political Science | Political Process - General - Political Science | Political Ideologies - Democracy |
| Dewey: 306.209 |
| Series: New Departures in Anthropology |
| Physical Information: 0.53" H x 6.13" W x 8.89" (0.79 lbs) 218 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Asian - Cultural Region - Indian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In recent years anthropology has rediscovered its interest in politics. Building on the findings of this research, this book, first published in 2007, analyses the relationship between culture and politics, with special attention to democracy, nationalism, the state and political violence. Beginning with scenes from an unruly early 1980s election campaign in Sri Lanka, it covers issues from rural policing in north India to slum housing in Delhi, presenting arguments about secularism and pluralism, and the ambiguous energies released by electoral democracy across the subcontinent. It ends by discussing feminist peace activists in Sri Lanka, struggling to sustain a window of shared humanity after two decades of war. Bringing together and linking the themes of democracy, identity and conflict, this important new study shows how anthropology can take a central role in understanding other people's politics, especially the issues that seem to have divided the world since 9/11. |
Contributor Bio(s): Spencer, Jonathan: - Jonathan Spencer is Professor of the Anthropology of South Asia at the University of Edinburgh. |