The French scholar Marc Abeles is one of the leading political and philosophical anthropologists of our time. He is perhaps the leading anthropologist writing on the state and globalization. Thinking beyond the State, a distillation of his work to date, is a superb introduction to his contributions to both anthropology and political philosophy.

Abeles observes that while interdependence and interconnection have become characteristic features of our globalized era, there is no indication that a concomitant evolution in thinking about political systems has occurred. The state remains the shield-for both the Right and the Left-against the turbulent effects of globalization. According to Abeles, we live in a geopolitical universe that, in many respects, reproduces alienating logics. His book, therefore, is a primer on how to see beyond the state. It is also a testament to anthropology's centrality and importance in any analysis of the global human predicament. Thinking beyond the State will find wide application in anthropology, political science and philosophy courses dealing with the state and globalization.

About the Author

Marc Abeles is Full Professor of Anthropology at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. He is the author of Quiet Days in Burgundy and The Politics of Survival.

Reviews

His message is that social scientists need to broaden their organizing perspective in order to capture the dynamics of all the local, national, and international forces at play in contemporary society. He draws on traditional political philosophy and a broad scope of social sciences. In elevated but precise language, Abeles challenges contemporary social scientists to develop this inclusive framework, which mirrors more accurately the contemporary 21st-century world. Most useful for university libraries with graduate programs.

* Choice *

[German language review]

* Anthropos *



Book Information
ISBN 9781501709289
Author Marc Abeles
Format Paperback
Page Count 124
Imprint Cornell University Press
Publisher Cornell University Press
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 11mm