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Rethinking the contributions of the Manchester School of Social Anthropology for political ethnography, the Politics of Relations elaborates its relational approach to the state along four interlaced axes of research – embeddedness, boundary work, modalities and strategic selectivity – that enable thick comparisons across spatio-temporal scales of power.
In Serbia local experiences of self-government, infrastructure and care motivate its citizens to “become the state” while cursing it heartily. While both officials and citizens strive for a state that enables a “normal life,” they navigate the increasingly illiberal politics enacted by national parties and which are tolerated by trans-national donors.
“This is a very impressive book. The analysis is developed in sustained, thoughtful and detailed engagement with a very broad range of existing literature. • Stef Jansen, University of Sarajevo
“The book is an excellent contribution to the renewed relational anthropology of the state and to political science, political sociology, public administration and welfare studies.” • Paul Stubbs, University of Zagreb
André Thiemann is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Ethnology, Department of Ecological Anthropology at the Czech Academy of Sciences. He is presently Visiting Researcher at the Department of Social Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil on the project ‘Materialities of Value: Comparing Grassroots Economics in the Global South and East’.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Note on Text
Acronyms
Introduction: The Politics of Relations
Part I: The Local Council
Prelude I: The Ethnographic Position
Chapter 1. Embeddedness: Between Government and Representation
Interlude I: Transformations of Local Self-government
Chapter 2. Boundary Work: Rhythms of Self-government and Infrastructural Gridding
Chapter 3. Of Refugees and Fathers: The Tacit Social Policy of the Mesna Zajednica
Part II: The Centre for Social Work
Prelude II: Social Security and Care
Chapter 4. Modalities of Social Work: Inclusive Distribution vs. Exclusive Protection
Chapter 5. The Strategic Selectivity of Senior Home Care
Conclusion: Contours of a Relational Approach to the State
References
Index