Anthropological interest in new subjects of research and contemporary knowledge practices has turned ethnographic attention to a wide ranging variety of professional fields. Among these the encounter with international development has perhaps been longer and more intimate than any of the others. Anthropologists have drawn critical attention to the interfaces and social effects of development's discursive regimes but, oddly enough, have paid scant attention to knowledge producers themselves, despite anthropologists being among them. This is the focus of this volume. It concerns the...

"I really appreciate the way the authors combine the overall concept of social power with its actual application by decision-makers that impact the daily lives of ordinary people, and the way they perceive the realities that they experience in a very wide range of circumstances... This is a well-structured collection by authors who all share the same perspective, but they cover a wide-diversity of areas, both topically and geographically." - John H. Bodley, Washington State University

"This collection of essays uses the writings, methods, and ideas of Laura Nader to produce an important...