This course asks: How can we conceptualize `states’?  And how can one study ethnographically something as vast and difficult to grasp as a `state’? These are two different but related aspects of our approach to `states’ in this course: conceptual and ethnographic, both necessary and important to relate to each other. We will examine concepts, and look at examples of practices and processes in a number of significant domains, in order to comprehend states, in their variety, in a distinctively anthropological manner. Most of our central readings are by anthropologists, and involve the relating to each other of concepts and ethnography. Central topics through which we will look at this conjunction will include everyday practices; culture and state ritual; law and regulation; personhood and agency; hidden and overt mechanisms of power; persistent structures, emergent and mixed (state-private and other) forms of governance. Along the way we look at examples of some of the rubrics currently most often applied to states: the `stable’ state; the `would-be’ state (`Islamic state’?), the `failed’ state. Ethnographically, we will especially (but not exclusively) focus on what are considered developing states, by which is meant here: those which offer fewer entitlements and have penetrated less completely into the daily lives of their citizens, than is customary in the state systems of better-off countries. Thus the course is for students of the social sciences and related areas of practice such as development studies and social research.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. discuss different understandings of the concept `state’ from anthropology and cognate disciplines;
2. understand the nature of institutions regularly considered definitive of (if not always exclusive to) states, e.g.: `legitimate violence’, citizenship, bureaucracy, census, taxation, education, security, sovereignty;
3. analyse the effects in everyday life, of specific examples of state processes and practices;
4. discuss a sample of major theoretical debates in anthropology in terms of which state practices and processes have been examined;
5. identify, locate and evaluate primary sources relating to a particular instance of state practice/process, or issues arising around it; and
6. examine how traditions of studying the state relate to research
   

Recommended Resources

Reference works (online and in 2-hour reference)

Some of the tutorial readings come from the references below; others are suggested in case you want further material

Hansen, Thomas Blom and Finn Stepputat 2005 Sovereign bodies: citizens, migrants and states in the postcolonial world. Princeton, N.J. Princeton University Press. [online]

Krohn-Hansen, Christian and Knut G. Nustad

Title: State formation : anthropological perspectives

London, Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto [online]

M?ller, B., L Andersen and F. Stepputat 2007. Fragile States and Insecure People: Violence, Security, and Statehood in the Twenty-First Century. Palgrave Macmillan. [online]

Nugent, David and Joan Vincent eds. 2004, 2007

Title: A companion to the anthropology of politics

Blackwell Publishing.  [online]

Sharma, Aradhana and Akhil Gupta 2006

Title: The anthropology of the state : a reader

Blackwell Publishing. [in 2-hour ref]

Stepputat, Finn 2001. States of imagination : ethnographic explorations of the postcolonial state  Durham, NC : Duke University Press. [2-hour ref]

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

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Student Feedback

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Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	What is a State? What do we mean by state, how do we live in relation to states? Although we tend to have the European `nation-state’ in our minds as as the model of the state, we need to recognize that there is a great diversity of states. Anthropology is often thought of as dealing with pre-state societies. Anthropology began with research undertaken largely in such places (and/or in places under colonial rule). They wrote a great deal about`pre-state’ societies (those that exist/ed without a state). What perspectives did that produce? Subsequently they have done research in all sorts of societies. We now talk a lot about `stateless’ societies. The range of stateless societies includes not only societies that have not had a state system, but more often today, ones where state-building has been incomplete or has collapsed. Discussion of both `pre-state’ and `stateless’ situations will help clarify the meaning of `state’. We will contrast the idea of living in a `stateless’ mode with one that involves relations to some kind of state. Then we will look at ideas of statelessness, and make reference to `strong’, `weak’, failed and other similar characterizations which have gained ground. We will use the following article (by an historian) to talk about concepts including: state, development, nation, nation-building, legibility, dams.The example is of Afghanistan, before us in the news on a regular basis.	Tutorial Reading Cullather, Nick 2002. Damming Afghanistan: Modernization in a Buffer State. The Journal of American History 89(2): 512-37.
2	State Effects This week we will develop our discussion of anthropological approaches to states (for which the Krohn-Hansen and Nustad reading is central) and examine an example of an ethnographic approach to state road-building in Peru which illustrates how people experience `state effects’. What do they mean by that, and what does it imply about views of states? This week should convey a view of how anthropologists have treated the topic of states, in broad terms, and give a view of what is meant by an ethnographic approach.	Tutorial Reading Krohn-Hansen and Kurt Nustad 2007. Introduction. (see Reference below). Harvey, Penelope 2007. The Materiality of State Effects: An Ethnography of a Road in the Peruvian Andes. In Krohn-Hansen and Nustad eds.
3	States: History and Power ?This week’s lecture and readings provide perspectives on the history and diversity of state and other forms. We will not go through a lengthy `history of state-building’ (though those interested have a supplementary paper by Gledhill, and many other works). The following paper by Barry Hindess, through centrally about citizenship and the `creation of subjects’ (and the concept of `nation’-states), gives a brief account of state formation in the European context. The article by van Creveld, on the other hand, looks at a variety of forms of organization and governance and considers the diverse forms of organization they display with respect to the exertion of violence. Do (some) states achieve monopolies of power? If so, how? And how is power distributed in a range of state and organizational forms?	Tutorial Reading Hindess, Barry 2005. Citizenship. In Hansen and Stepputat. van Creveld, Martin 1999. The Rise and Decline of the State. CUP. (last chapter, The Decline of the State).
4	Colonialism and Postcolonial States While engaging in forms of state-building at home, European powers reached outward and at colonialism’s apogee, had colonized something like 85% of the globe. Colonialism is (for the colonized) often the very opposite of state-building;it is more typically an exploitative form of trusteeship and in the end (at decolonization) spins off a range of new nation-states of varying capacities.	QUIZ 1 in Tutorials (readings for this week included in material). Tutorial Reading Stoler, Ann 1989. Rethinking Colonial Categories: European Communities and the Boundaries of Rule. Comparative Studies in Society and History 31(1):134-61. Mamdani, Mahmood 2001. Beyond Settler and Native as Political Identities: Overcoming the Political Legacy of Colonialism. Comparative Studies in Society and History 43(4):651-65. Bourdieu, Pierre 2003. Colonialism and Ethnography. Anthropology Today 19(2).
5	Sovereignty, Law, the Nation-State ?The imagined iconic nation-state is said to be `sovereign’. What does this mean? How absolute or otherwise is `sovereignty’? What are the effects of sovereignty that people experience? We will illustrate the notion of sovereignty as final and completed by discussion of the concept of native title which has developed out of the Mabo case of 1992.	Tutorial Reading Silverstein, Ben (2013). Native Title within a History of Incorporation. In Evans, Julie, Ann Genovese, Alexander Reilly and Patrick Wolfe (eds), Sovereignty: Frontiers of Possibility. Honolulu:Hawaii, pp. 60-85. Hansen and Stepputat (2006). Sovereignty Revisited. Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 2006. 35: 295–315.
6	Bureaucracy and Power ?Bureaucracy is not only associated with state structures and processes; it is a pervasive form which implies forms of hierarchy, procedure and proceduralism, and expertise. We will review the `classic’ Weberian model of the state as a centralized entity that taxes, conscripts, and monopolizes legitimate violence within a given territory , and his conception of `rational’ bureaucratic states as standing above society. Then we will compare some recent views consonant in some ways with Weber (Scott 1998) as well as alternative views that question the unity of the state and other aspects of the classical model. How is bureaucracy linked to the exercise of power? We will look at anthropological perspectives on bureaucracy – Michael Herzfeld, Arthur Kleinman, Veena Das, Margaret Lock.	Tutorial Reading Weber, Max [1968]. Bureaucracy. Pp. 956-1005 from G. Roth and C. Wittich, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, trans. E. Fischoff. H. Gerth, A.M. Henderson, F. Kolegar, C. Wright Mills, T. Parsons, M. Rheinstein, G. Roth, F. Shils, and C. Wittch. New York: Bedminster Press. [parts to concentrate on will be identified] Scott, James C. 1998. Cities, People and Language. Pp. 53-83 and 369-76 from James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press. Gupta, Akhil 2012. (selections from) Bureaucracy, Structural Violence, and Poverty in India. Duke University Press.
7	Gender and Power ?How and at what levels is gender difference relevant in state processes; what, according to Wendy Brown, are the masculinist powers of the state? She examines four distinct modalities of US state power: its liberal dimension, capitalist dimension, prerogative dimension and its bureaucratic dimension. What view do you take of her saying, `the state replaces the man for many women’?	Tutorial Reading Brown, Wendy 1992. Finding the Man in the State. Feminist Studies, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 7-34. Di Leonardo, Micaela (2007). Gender, Race, and Class. In David Nugent and Joan Vincent (eds), A Companion to the Anthropology of Politics. Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
8	Citizens and non-Citizens, Migration and its Consequences ?This week we return to take up the question of citizenship raised in week 3 and look at the consequences for increasingly mobile workers, refugees and others who do not fit into normative `citizenship’ categories.	QUIZ 2 in Tutorials (readings for this week included in material). Tutorial Reading Van der Veer, Peter 2005. Virtual India: Indian IT Labor and the Nation-State. In Hansen and Stepputat 2005. Turner, Simon 2005. Suspended Spaces: Contesting Governments in a Refugee Camp. In Hansen and Stepputat 2005.
9	Liberalism, `Advanced Liberalism’?, Neoliberalism and the State What is `neoliberalism’, and what is its relation to state practices? And how does Donna Perry explain the emergence of a new kind of (female) creditor in rural Senegal? In what way does paper provide an ethnographic perspective on and instance of `neoliberalism’?	Tutorial Reading Ferguson, James 2010. The Uses of Neoliberalism. Antipode 41:166-84. Perry, Donna 2002. Microcredit and Women Moneylenders: The Shifting Terrain of Microcredit in Rural Senegal. Human Organization 61(1): 30-40.
10	Security and the State ?In weeks 1 and 3 we opened the question of the organization of violence by the state and other people and organizational forms. This week we consider further the provision of security by the state and a range of non-state actors. There is a general introduction; a return to issues in Somalia; and an article which looks at a variety of forms of vigilantism in South African townships and considers ways in which they aim to replicate state forms.	Tutorial Reading Stepputat, Andersen and Møller (2007). Introduction: Security Arrangements in Fragile States. In Fragile States and Insecure People: Violence, Security, and Statehood in Fragile States in the Twenty-First Century. Palgrave Macmillan. Gartenstein-Ross, Daveed (2009). The Strategic Challenge of Somalia’s Al-Shabaab. Middle East Quarterly 16.4: 25-36. Buur, Lars 2006. Redordering Society: Vigilantism and Expressions of Sovereignty in Port Elizabeth’s Townships. Development and Change 37(4): 735-57.
11	States as Objects of Desire, or Hate ?Some people think states are too intrusive in their lives – think of the US John Birch society, or the kind of `rolling back’ of the state and regulation that we see going on in the US. Also refer back to Penny Harvey’s (week 2) mention of the state as an `object of desire’ – some people want more state intervention in their lives. Where do we find the latter to be the case?	Tutorial Reading Macintyre, Martha and Simon Foale (2004). Global Imperatives and Local Desires: Competing Economic and Environmental Interests in Melanesian Communities. Vl Lockwood (ed), Globalisation in the Pacific. Judis, John B (2009), Anti-Statism in America. New Republic. Online Artice. Retrieved 22nd of Februrary 2017 from https://newrepublic.com/article/71077/anti-statism-america
12	The Past and Future of States Many theorists have held that the state will `wither away’, that it is withering away, and will be replaced by alternative forms, transnational associations (or, in some extreme views, by nothing – we will go back to localism). How real or imagina/tive/ary are these alternative views?	Tutorial Reading Nash, June (2007). Transnational Civil Society. In David Nugent and Joan Vincent (eds), A Companion to the Anthropology of Politics. Blackwell Publishing, 2007, pp. 437-447.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Tutorial Quiz 1	10 %	20/03/2019	03/04/2019	1, 2, 3, 4
Tutorial Quiz 2	10 %	01/05/2019	15/05/2019	1, 2, 3, 4
Short Essay	30 %	05/04/2019	19/04/2019	1, 2, 3, 4
Long Essay	40 %	31/05/2019	14/06/2019	1, 2, 3, 4
Tutorial Participation	10 %	31/05/2019	14/06/2019	1, 2, 3, 4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

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• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
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Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Tutorial Quiz 1

The quiz will be given during the first part of the tutorial in week four (15-20 minutes). It will be short answer and based on the readings of the previous weeks before the quiz, including the powerpoints posted weekly relating to the lectures. The first quiz will be on the readings for weeks 1-4 inclusive.

Assessment Task 2

Tutorial Quiz 2

The quiz will be given during the first part of the tutorial in week eight (15-20 minutes). It will be short answer and based on the readings of the previous weeks before the quiz, including the powerpoints posted weekly relating to the lectures. The first quiz will be on the readings for weeks 5-8 inclusive.

Assessment Task 3

Short Essay

Proposed short essay topics will be put up under Assignment tabs on the front page. The short essay is 2000 words (not counting references and notes).

Assessment Task 4

Long Essay

Proposed long essay topics will be put up under Assignment tabs on the front page. The long essay is 3000 words (not counting references and notes).

Assessment Task 5

Tutorial Participation

Students must attend (at least) 7 tutorials to qualify for the 10%. Beyond that, the character of participation counts.

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Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

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