Human security is a key element in the measure of well-being and is a hot topic in anthropology and development studies. A World of Insecurity outlines a new approach to the subject. The contributors expose a contradiction at the heart of conventional accounts of what constitutes human security namely that without taking non-material considerations such as religion, ethnicity and gender into account, discussions of human security, academically and in practical terms, are incomplete, inconclusive and deeply flawed. A variety of compelling case studies indicate that, in fact, material security alone cannot adequately explain or fully account for human activity in a range of different settings, and exposd to a variety of different threats. This forceful intervention will expand and deepen the entire concept of human security, in the process endowing it with political relevance. It is an essential book for students of development studies and anthropology.
Author(s): Prof. Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Ellen Bal, Oscar Salemink
Series: Anthropology, Culture and Society
Publisher: Pluto Press
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 320
Contents......Page 6
Series Preface......Page 8
1. Human Security and Social Anthropology by Thomas Hylland Eriksen......Page 10
Part I: The Political Economy of Human Security......Page 30
2. Taking Risks for Security’s Sake: Bolivians Resisting their State and its Economic Policies by Ton Salman......Page 32
3. State Formation, Imposition of a Land Market and Silent Resistance among the Berbers of the Middle Atlas by Bernhard Venema, with contributions by Ali Mguild......Page 54
4. Flexible Migrants: Brazilian Gold Miners and their Quest for Human Security in Surinam by Marjo de Theije and Ellen Bal......Page 75
Part II: Security, Identity and Belonging......Page 96
5. ‘Bharat-Wasie or Surinamie?’ Hindustani Notions of Belonging in Surinam and the Netherlands by Ellen Bal and Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff......Page 98
6. Cultural Identity as a Key Dimension of Human Security in Western Europe: The Dutch Case by Edien Bartels, Kim Knibbe, Martijn de Koning and Oscar Salemink......Page 125
7. ‘I’d die without the Cybersouk’: Local Experiences in a Dutch Digital Community Centre by Lenie Brouwer......Page 142
8. Religion, Identity and Security among Pomeranian Lutheran Migrants in Espírito Santo, Brazil (1880–2005): A Schema Repertoire Approach by André Droogers......Page 157
Part III: States of (In)security......Page 188
9. Changing Notions of Belonging: Migrants and Natives in an Amsterdam Multicultural Neighbourhood by Marion den Uyl......Page 190
10. Tales from a Captive Audience: Dissident Narratives and the Official History of the Seychelles by Sandra Evers......Page 217
11. Harnessing Ceremonial for Political Security: An Indian Princely State on the Verge of Extinction by Dick Kooiman......Page 250
12. Ritual Efficacy, Spiritual Security and Human Security: Spirit Mediumship In Contemporary Vietnam by Oscar Salemink......Page 271
Notes on Contributors......Page 300
Index......Page 301
