Anthropology of power : empowerment and disempowerment in changing structures

The Anthropology of Power presents case studies from a wide range of societies and discusses what is actually happening when people talk about 'empowering' others. The contributors question whether power is actually being transferred to the powerless, or whether this is a delusion.

This collection draws on ethnographic material from Europe, the Middle East, Australasia, Africa and the Americas, exploring how traditionally disem powered groups gain influence in postcolonial and multicultural settings, from civil war to new communication technologies, from religious imperialism to transnational mining investments. It surveys the relationships between empowerment and economic development, gender and environmentalism. The contributors confront post-Foucauldian theoretical issues on the nature, distribution and balance of power, and ask whether the rhetoric of 'empower ment' actually masks a lack of change in established power relations. This will make challenging reading for all those interested in theoretical issues of power in the postmodern era.