Anthropologists at SAI address those topics through fieldwork-based explorations of state formations, bureaucratic practices, and social movements in a variety of settings and contexts. We understand those processes to be based within historical, social, and cultural dynamics and legacies, including those driven by nationalism, colonialism, and racialised violence. Building on much anthropological tradition on the subject, we understand the political not as a separate field, but rather as a dynamic interplay of power relations, cultural processes, and historical trajectories. We also question what counts as “politics” by exploring the relations and overlaps between formal and informal political arenas.
Some of the key themes that anthropologists at SAI focus on are social inequality, everyday state formation, political transformation, and global connections; in areas as diverse as Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.
Researchers working on Political Anthropology
Research projects within Political Anthropology
Amber Worlds: A Geological Anthropology for the Anthropocene
Unpacking the Logistics Town - How are local communities reshaped in a time of global logistics?