The Anthropology of the State: A Reader (Blackwell Readers in Anthropology)

425 Pages·2006·6.63 MB·English

by  Aradhana Sharma

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the anthropology of
the state
a reader
edited by
aradhana sharma and akhil gupta
The Anthropology of the State
Blackwell Readers in Anthropology
As anthropology moves beyond the limits of so-called area studies, there is an
increasing need for texts that do the work of synthesizing the literature while
challenging more traditional or subdisciplinary approaches to anthropology. This
isthe object ofthis exciting new series, Blackwell Readers inAnthropology.
Eachvolumeintheseriesoffersseminalreadingsonachosenthemeandprovidesthe
finest, most thought-provoking recent works in the given thematic area. Many of
thesevolumesbringtogetherforthefirsttimeabodyofliteratureonacertaintopic.
Theseriesthusbothpresentsdefinitivecollectionsandinvestigatestheverywaysin
which anthropological inquiry hasevolved and isevolving.
1 The Anthropologyof Media: AReader
Edited by Kelly Askew and Richard R. Wilk
2 Genocide: An Anthropological Reader
Edited by Alexander Laban Hinton
3 The Anthropologyof Space and Place: Locating Culture
Edited by Setha Low and Denise Lawrence-Zu´n˜iga
4 Violence in Warand Peace: AnAnthology
Edited by Nancy Scheper-HughesandPhilippe Bourgois
5 Same-Sex Culturesand Sexualities: AnAnthropological Reader
Edited by Jennifer Robertson
6 SocialMovements: AnAnthropological Reader
Edited by June Nash
7 The CulturalPoliticsof Foodand Eating:A Reader
Edited by James L.WatsonandMelissa L.Caldwell
8 Anthropologyof Globalization: AReader
Edited by Jonathan Xavier Inda and Renato Rosaldo
9 The Anthropologyof theState: AReader
Edited by Aradhana Sharma and AkhilGupta
The Anthropology
of the State
A Reader
Edited by
Aradhana Sharma and Akhil Gupta
Editorialmaterialandorganization!2006byBlackwellPublishingLtd
BLACKWELLPUBLISHING
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Firstpublished2006byBlackwellPublishingLtd
1 2006
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Theanthropologyofthestate:areader/editedbyAradhanaSharmaandAkhilGupta.
p.cm.–(Blackwellreadersinanthropology;9)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978-1-4051-1467-7(hardcover:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:1-4051-1467-3(hardcover:alk.paper)
ISBN-13:978-1-4051-1468-4(pbk.:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:1-4051-1468-1(pbk.:alk.paper)1.Politicalanthropology.2.State,The.3.Nationalstate.4.
Sovereignty.5.Worldpolitics.I.Sharma,Aradhana.II.Gupta,Akhil,1959–III.Series.
GN492.A542006
306.2—dc22
2005013799
AcataloguerecordforthistitleisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
Setin10/12Sabon
bySPIPublisherServices,Pondicherry,India
PrintedandboundinIndia
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Dedication by Aradhana Sharma
For Vijay Dhawan
Dedication by Akhil Gupta
For two generations whose courage and can-do spirit is
inspiring and infectious
My father, Jwala P. Gupta and my daughter,
Deeya Shivani Gupta

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Organization of theBook xi
Introduction: Rethinking Theoriesof the State inan Age of Globalization 1
PartITheoretical Genealogies 43
Introduction 45
1 Bureaucracy 49
MaxWeber
2 State and Civil Society 71
Antonio Gramsci
3 Ideologyand IdeologicalState Apparatuses 86
(Notes towards an Investigation)
LouisAlthusser
4 Notes on theDifficulty of Studying theState 112
Philip Abrams
5 Governmentality 131
Michel Foucault
6 Governing‘‘Advanced’’LiberalDemocracies 144
Nikolas Rose
viii CONTENTS
Part IIEthnographic Mappings 163
Section IBureaucracy andGovernmentality 165
7 Society,Economy,andthe State Effect 169
TimothyMitchell
8 Findingthe Man inthe State 187
WendyBrown
9 Blurred Boundaries: The Discourseof Corruption, 211
the Culture ofPolitics, and theImagined State
AkhilGupta
Section IIPlanning and Development 243
10 Cities, People,and Language 247
James C.Scott
11 The Anti-Politics Machine 270
James Ferguson
Section III Violence, Law,and Citizenship 287
12 Making Warat Homein theUnited States: Militarization 291
and theCurrentCrisis
Catherine Lutz
13 CulturalLogics of Belonging and Movement: Transnationalism, 310
Naturalization, and USImmigration Politics
SusanBiblerCoutin
14 The Public/Private Mirage: MappingHomes and 337
Undomesticating Violence Work inthe South Asian Immigrant
Community
AnannyaBhattacharjee
Section IV PopularCulture 357
15 Popular Culture and the State 360
Stuart Hall
16 The Banality ofPower and theAesthetics of Vulgarity inthe Postcolony 381
Achille Mbembe
Index 401
Acknowledgments
This book is a result of the collaborative work of several individuals. Donald Moore and
K.Sivaramakrishnangaveushelpfulsuggestionsasweconceptualizedthisbook.Anonymous
reviewers guided the project through their detailed feedback on the introduction and the
proposed contents. Lalaie Ameeriar and Aaron David Shaw provided Akhil Gupta with
crucialresearchassistance.PurnimaMankekarreadourintroductionandcontributedgreatly
toitssubstanceandstyle.AkhilGuptawouldalsoliketothanktheSouthAsiaCenteratthe
UniversityofHawaiiatManoaforinvitinghimtopresentanearlierversionoftheintroduc-
tionthere.WearegratefultocolleaguesatHawaiifortheirvaluablecomments.JaneHuber
andEmilyMartinatBlackwellareaninspiringeditorialteam.Notonlydidtheymakethis
projectpossible,buttheyprovidedinvaluableinputandsupportfortheprojectrightthrough
to its final stages. We would not have been able to write this book without the support,
encouragement, and critical engagement of all these colleagues, and weare grateful to each
oneofthem.Themistakesare,ofcourse,solelyours.
The editor and publisher gratefully acknowledge the permission granted to reproduce the
copyrightmaterialinthisbook:
1 Max Weber, ‘‘Bureaucracy,’’ pp. 956–1005 from G. Roth and C. Wittich, Economy and
Society:AnOutlineofInterpretiveSociology,trans.E.Fischoff,H.Gerth,A.M.Hender-
son, F. Kolegar, C. Wright Mills, T. Parsons, M. Rheinstein, G. Roth, E. Shils, and C.
Wittich.NewYork:BedminsterPress,1968.
2 AntonioGramsci,‘‘StateandCivilSociety,’’pp.228–70fromSelectionsfromthePrison
NotebooksofAntonioGramsci,ed.andtrans.Q.HoareandG.NowellSmith.NewYork
andLondon:InternationalPublishersandLawrence&Wishart,1971.
3 LouisAlthusser,‘‘IdeologyandIdeologicalStateApparatuses(NotestowardsanInvesti-
gation),’’ pp. 127–86 from Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays, trans. B. Brewster.
New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1971. Copyright ! 1971 by Monthly
ReviewPress.ReprintedbypermissionofMonthlyReviewFoundation.
4 PhilipAbrams,‘‘NotesontheDifficultyofStudyingtheState,’’pp.58–89fromJournalof
Historical Sociology, 1(1), March 1988 (1977). Reprinted by permission of Blackwell
Publishing.