This study of the rainmakers of the Nilotic Sudan means a breakthrough in anthropological thinking on African political systems. Taking his inspiration from Rene Girard's theory of consensual scapegoating the author shows that the long standing distinction of states and stateless societies as two fundamentally different political types does not hold. Centralized and segmentary systems only differ in the relative emphasis put on the victimary role of the king as compared with that of enemy victims. Kings of Disaster so proposes an uninvolved solution to the vexed problem of regicide....

This book examines law in Micronesia from a novel perspective. It draws upon several branches of interpretive analysis, including mundane phenomenology, symbolic interaction, and cultural hermeneutics, to construct a comprehensive approach to transplanted systems of state law. Rather than the usual focus on legal norms and institutions, this approach directs attention to the law-related meaningful actions and understandings of legal actors and of non-legal actors.
Application of this approach results in insights about law in Micronesia, as well as about law itself, and about the ideology...

This volume deals with a hitherto largely neglected aspect of cities, namely the symbolic and ritual structure in which the urban community is rooted. This fascinating facet is explored in a combined effort by social anthropologists, sociologists, historians and philologists for cities like Jakarta, Padang, Bangkok, Beijing, Tokyo, Baghdad, Kathmandu, Lucknow, Francistown, Vitoria and Buenos Aires. Three perspectives on the study of symbolism in the urban arena are developed, namely the material, cultural and structural point of view. This results in a series of new concepts for comparative...

One of the basic theories of politics, put forth by Aristotle centuries ago, is the theory of the middle class and its causal link with democracy. According to Aristotle, a large, prosperous middle class may mediate between rich and poor, creating the structural foundation upon which democratic political processes may operate.
Beyond Aristotelian theory, the specifically commercial nature of the middle class is also made central, as the democratic institutions of law, power limitation, and electoral participation were carried by a commercial middle class.
This volume traces the...

Eighteen authors from 10 countries offer an assessment of the role of ideology in the emergence and development of early states. In a comparative perspective the significance of ideology in the processes that led to formation of states in Europe, Africa, Meso-America and Polynesia is discussed by specialists in the fields of anthropology, history and archaeology. Special attention is given to subjects such as the concept of ideology, regional comparison, the reconstruction of ideologies on the basis of archaeological data, gender relationships, coercion, legitimacy, sacred kingship, and...