Power And Its Disguises - Second Edition: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics (Anthropology, Culture and Society)

In this fully updated edition of Power and Its Disguises, John Gledhill explores both the complexities of local situations and the power relations that shape the global order. He shows how historically informed anthropological perspectives can contribute to debates about democratisation by incorporating a ‘view from below’ and revealing forces that shape power relations behind the formal facade of state institutions. Examples are drawn from Brazil, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Sri Lanka, amongst others. Completely revised and expanded, this new edition of Power and Its Disguises explores both the complexities of local situations and the power relations that shape the global order. The book begins by analyzing the politics of societies without indigenous states and non-Western agrarian civilizations in order to confront the politics of domination and resistance within the colonial contexts that gave birth to the discipline.The author then examines the contemporary politics of Africa, Asia and Latin America, showing that historically informed anthropological perspectives can contribute to debates about democratization by incorporating a "view from below" and revealing forces that shape power relations behind the formal facade of state institutions.The book shows how the study of microdynamics of power in everyday life coupled with sensitivity to the interactions between the local and global offers critical insights into such issues as state terror and ethnic violence, the emancipatory potential of social movements and the politics of rights, gender and culture. Copyright......Page 2 Contents......Page 3 Preface to the Second Edition......Page 5 1. Locating the political: a political anthropology for today......Page 7 2. The origins and limits of coercive power: the anthropology of stateless societies......Page 29 3. From hierarchy to surveillance: the politics of agrarian civilizations and the rise of the Western national state......Page 51 4. The political anthropology of colonialism: a study of domination and resistance......Page 73 5. Post-colonial states: legacies of history and pressures of modernity......Page 98 6. From macro-structure to micro-process: anthropological analysis of political practice......Page 133 7. Political process and ‘global disorder’: perspectives on contemporary conflict and violence......Page 159 8. Society against the modern state? The politics of social movements......Page 190 9. Anthropology and politics: commitment, responsibility and the academy......Page 220 Bibliography......Page 249 Index......Page 265 Anthropology, Politics & Political Theory, Sociology Copyright 2 Contents 3 Preface to the Second Edition 5 1. Locating the political: a political anthropology for today 7 2. The origins and limits of coercive power: the anthropology of stateless societies 29 3. From hierarchy to surveillance: the politics of agrarian civilizations and the rise of the Western national state 51 4. The political anthropology of colonialism: a study of domination and resistance 73 5. Post-colonial states: legacies of history and pressures of modernity 98 6. From macro-structure to micro-process: anthropological analysis of political practice 133 7. Political process and ‘global disorder’: perspectives on contemporary conflict and violence 159 8. Society against the modern state? The politics of social movements 190 9. Anthropology and politics: commitment, responsibility and the academy 220 Bibliography 249 Index 265 Anthropology,Politics & Political Theory,Sociology This book explores both the complexities of local situations and the power relations that shape the global order. He shows how historically informed anthropological perspectives can contribute to debates about democratisation by incorporating a'view from below'and revealing forces that shape power relations behind the formal facade of state institutions. Examples are drawn from Brazil, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Sri Lanka, amongst others. Half a century ago, the subject matter and relevance of political anthropology still seemed relatively easy to define.