A World of Insecurity: Anthropological Perspectives on Human Security(Anthropology, Culture and Society)

Human security is a key element in the measure of well-being, and 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 exposed to a variety of different threats. This forceful book will expand and deepen the entire concept of human security, in the process endowing it with political relevance. It is an essential read for students of development studies and anthropology.

Table of Contents:
1. Human Security and Social Anthropology by Thomas Hylland Eriksen Part I The Political Economy of Human Security 2. Taking Risks for Security’s Sake: Bolivians Resisting their State and its Economic Policies by Ton Salman 3. State Formation, Imposition of a Land Market and Silent Resistance among the Berbers of the Middle Atlas by Bernard Venema (with Ali Mguild) 4. Flexible Migrants: Brazilian Gold Miners and their Quest for Human Security in Surinam by Marjo de Theije and Ellen Bal Part II Security, Identity and Belonging 5. ‘Bharat-Wasie or Surinamie?’ Hindustani Notions of Belonging in Surinam and the Netherlands by Ellen Bal and Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff 6. Cultural Identity as a Key Dimension of Human Security in Western Europe: The Dutch Case Edien Bartels, Kim Knibbe by Martijn de Koning and Oscar Salemink 7. ‘I’d die without the Cybersouk’: Local Experiences in a Dutch Digital Community Centre by Lenie Brouwer 8. Religion, Identity and Security Among Pomeranian Lutheran Migrants in Espírito Santo, Brazil (1880–2005): A Schema Repertoire Approach by André Droogers Part III: States of (In)security 9. Changing Notions of Belonging: Migrants and Natives in an Amsterdam Multicultural Neighbourhood by Marion den Uyl 10. Tales from a Captive Audience: Dissident Narratives and the Official History of the Seychelles by Sandra Evers 11. Harnessing Ceremonial for Political Security: An Indian Princely State on the Verge of Extinction by Dick Kooiman 12. Ritual Efficacy, Spiritual Security and Human Security: Spirit Mediumship in Contemporary Vietnam by Oscar Salemink Notes on Contributors Index

About the Author :
Thomas Hylland Eriksen (1962 – 2024) was Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo and former President of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA). He was among the most highly cited anthropologists of his generation, and his classic and accessible textbook Small Places, Large Issues remains a cornerstone in anthropology courses. His later books, including Overheating, tackled the important issue of climate change within the discipline. Ellen Bal is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Free University of Amsterdam. She is the co-editor of A World of Insecurity: Anthropological Perspectives on Human Security (Pluto, 2010) and the author of They Ask if we Eat Frogs: Garo Ethnicity in Bangladesh (2007). Oscar Salemink is Professor of Anthropology and Head of Department in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Free University of Amsterdam. He is the co-editor of A World of Insecurity: Anthropological Perspectives on Human Security (Pluto, 2010) and is the author of The Ethnography of Vietnam's Central Highlanders: A Historical Contextualization, 1850-1990 (Routledge, 2003).