After war, social conditions are often regarded as more open for changes and international organi... more After war, social conditions are often regarded as more open for changes and international organisations are therefore encouraged to promote women's equal rights, utilising gender mainstreaming tools. These - sometimes inadvertently - affected the demobilisation program implemented after the civil war in Sierra Leone. On this program's background, the book examines the conceptualisation of women as combatants and victims. Being marginalised but far from passive, they engage with these concepts and strategise to socially (re-)construct gendered identities in order to take part in the benefits of the programs.
International agencies implement programmes to assist the so-called transition of countries from ... more International agencies implement programmes to assist the so-called transition of countries from war to peace, applying international policies that aim at social changes. The focus of this paper lies on the Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration Programme (DDR) as the manifestation of this idea of transition in Sierra Leone. It investigates how global discourses of women and gender are translated into this programme and interact with local constructions of combatants, particularly female fighters, and the gendered conceptualisations of war and peace. As opposed to ‘international’ conceptualisations of women as inherently peaceful, evidence from Sierra Leone reveals that women acted in various ways that do not match the presumably separate spheres of women and men and those of war and peace. This raises questions about the effect of international campaigns to promote women’s participation in war-to-peace transitions as an instrument for peace-building. 1 Fieldwork was finance...
This paper studies emerging power configurations in post-conflict and no-peace-no-war Upper Guine... more This paper studies emerging power configurations in post-conflict and no-peace-no-war Upper Guinea Coast societies. These result from current interactions of global and local models of governance. With empirical data on shifting meanings of chieftaincy and control of land, changing tax regimes, and the rising importance of youth in domestic politics, shifts in authority and legitimacy of rule across time are contrasted with the effects of international interventions and global discourses on socio-political change. It becomes evident that some of these interventions accelerate, others accentuate or counteract, processes of change within local power configurations. Only by carefully considering the innate malleability of local concepts of authority, history, and tradition may contemporary processes of change be identified as either mere re-configurations or genuinely new configurations of power.
Jahreswechsel sind traditionell die passende Zeit fur Ruckblicke und Katerstimmung. Allerdings ha... more Jahreswechsel sind traditionell die passende Zeit fur Ruckblicke und Katerstimmung. Allerdings halt letztere bei einigen Medizinund/oder Westafrika-spezialisierten EthnologInnen schon spatestens seit dem Fruhherbst an. Der Kater ist vor allem „Ebola-bedingt“. Er ist der Ernuchterung geschuldet, die auf den Rausch an der plotzlich und unerwartet erfahrenen praktisch-politischen Relevanz ethnologischer Expertise folgte. Praziser: Der Kater ist der Nachhall der Ebola-bedingten Policy-Relevanz, die EthnologInnen im Verlauf der Epidemie erlebt und fur ihr Fach beansprucht haben (vgl. etwa American Anthropological Association 2014; UN News Center 2015).
Taking the two West African countries of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau as examples, the paper analyses... more Taking the two West African countries of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau as examples, the paper analyses how discourses of suffering can contribute to the emergence and development of a strong national consciousness among citizens. In both countries, rhetoric self-victimisation has different, characteristic features, referring to shared events and memories of the past. These discourses portray the population of these two countries as suffering at the hands of governments, foreign policy, or history. They do so in a collective way, bridging potential ethnic or religious divides in these otherwise very heterogeneous countries. Based on fieldwork in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, the authors investigate how popular (‘bottom-up’) narratives interact with official, governmental (‘top-down’) portrayals of the nation to form alternate versions of the national project that have a stabilising effect on society. This paper traces historical origins, the subsequent development, as well as manifestations o...
This working paper analyses the social dynamics and meanings of national, ethnic, and creole iden... more This working paper analyses the social dynamics and meanings of national, ethnic, and creole identities in contemporary Upper Guinea Coast societies where national identities are constructed within an overall context of ethnic heterogeneity and within nation-states that cut across ethnic boundaries. The relationship between ethnic and national identifications is crucial for the conceptualisation of nationhood at the different levels of society. In much of the Upper Guinea Coast region there seems to be a pronounced discrepancy between national identities, on the one hand, and the identification of the nation with the state (its representatives, institutions, and borders), on the other. Social and cultural interaction has been extensive in this part of West Africa for hundreds of years and engendered identities characterised by fluidity and ambiguous means of self-ascription and assigning identity to others. Particular interests of different groups and sections of the society are often explained and justified by historical narratives which at the same time serve as models for the future and inhabit ideological discourses produced by state and non-state actors. Interaction and mixture has also led to new social formations which include creole and settler groups. Depending on their position and function in society at large and on their interaction with indigenous populations and the given colonial power, they played different roles in the construction of transethnic identities and (postcolonial) nationhood.
... participation in combat. These ideas may influence the way organisations implementing DDR and... more ... participation in combat. These ideas may influence the way organisations implementing DDR and related projects accommodate women, combatants and women combatants. 1 See also Osman (2003); Zisk Marten (2004). 2 In this ...
Nach einem Jahrzehnt medialer Abwesenheit sind Guinea, Sierra Leone und Liberia wieder mit besorg... more Nach einem Jahrzehnt medialer Abwesenheit sind Guinea, Sierra Leone und Liberia wieder mit besorgniserregenden Nachrichten und dramatischen Bildern in der internationalen Presse vertreten. Die von Burgerkriegen und „Fluchtlingselend“ (1989-2003) gepragte Berichterstattung uber die Region hat in der Ebola-Krise neues „Sensationsfutter“ gefunden. Dabei wird uber Guinea – ein Land, dem die Medien in den letzten Jahren besonders wenig Aufmerksamkeit widmeten – vergleichsweise sparlich berichtet, obwohl hier der westafrikanische Ebola-Ausbruch begann. Vielleicht liegt das unter anderem daran, dass uber Guinea noch weniger Vorwissen vorhanden ist als uber die Nachbarlander Sierra Leone und Liberia, die in den letzten Jahren als „Post-Konflikt-Staaten“ Bekanntheit gewonnen haben.
Does Cognitive Science Need Anthropology?—Diagnosing a troubled relationship Anthropology once wa... more Does Cognitive Science Need Anthropology?—Diagnosing a troubled relationship Anthropology once was a pioneer in the cognitive revolution and a founding member of the cognitive sciences (D’Andrade, 1995). Over the years, however, its presence and influence have continuously decreased—to the extent that it became the “missing discipline” (Boden, 2006). This alienation is particularly evident at the annual meetings of the Cognitive Science Society in which anthropology is meanwhile mostly absent. At the same time, however, the role of culture is increasingly recognized as of prime relevance for the sciences of human cognition—in at least two different senses: as a source for cognitive diversity and as the context of cognition. Questions of cognitive and/or linguistic universals have been among the most hotly and controversially debated topics in recent years (e.g., Evans & Levinson, 2009; Norenzayan & Heine, 2005; and see Astuti & Bloch, 2010). They are directly related to a central as...
Such comments were commonly heard in Guinea during February 2007, when a wave of national strikes... more Such comments were commonly heard in Guinea during February 2007, when a wave of national strikes brought the country to a standstill and, once again, to the verge of a national crisis. ‘Th ey’ referred to Guineans living abroad and voicing their opinions over the radio concerning recent events in their country of origin. In Forécariah, a small town in coastal Guinea, ‘they’ were usually referred to as ressortissants Guinéens – Guineans living abroad. Th e word ressortissant indicates someone who has left his or her place of origin to make a living in the capital city or elsewhere, and in this specifi c context, someone who went abroad. ‘Us’, on the other hand, were the local listeners, people assembled around a radio at home or in a street-side cafe – and implicitly all Guineans in a country that had experienced increasing economic hardship and political turmoil throughout the last decade. Th e debates over the rights and duties of Guineans living abroad took place against a backgr...
After war, social conditions are often regarded as more open for changes and international organi... more After war, social conditions are often regarded as more open for changes and international organisations are therefore encouraged to promote women's equal rights, utilising gender mainstreaming tools. These - sometimes inadvertently - affected the demobilisation program implemented after the civil war in Sierra Leone. On this program's background, the book examines the conceptualisation of women as combatants and victims. Being marginalised but far from passive, they engage with these concepts and strategise to socially (re-)construct gendered identities in order to take part in the benefits of the programs.
International agencies implement programmes to assist the so-called transition of countries from ... more International agencies implement programmes to assist the so-called transition of countries from war to peace, applying international policies that aim at social changes. The focus of this paper lies on the Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration Programme (DDR) as the manifestation of this idea of transition in Sierra Leone. It investigates how global discourses of women and gender are translated into this programme and interact with local constructions of combatants, particularly female fighters, and the gendered conceptualisations of war and peace. As opposed to ‘international’ conceptualisations of women as inherently peaceful, evidence from Sierra Leone reveals that women acted in various ways that do not match the presumably separate spheres of women and men and those of war and peace. This raises questions about the effect of international campaigns to promote women’s participation in war-to-peace transitions as an instrument for peace-building. 1 Fieldwork was finance...
This paper studies emerging power configurations in post-conflict and no-peace-no-war Upper Guine... more This paper studies emerging power configurations in post-conflict and no-peace-no-war Upper Guinea Coast societies. These result from current interactions of global and local models of governance. With empirical data on shifting meanings of chieftaincy and control of land, changing tax regimes, and the rising importance of youth in domestic politics, shifts in authority and legitimacy of rule across time are contrasted with the effects of international interventions and global discourses on socio-political change. It becomes evident that some of these interventions accelerate, others accentuate or counteract, processes of change within local power configurations. Only by carefully considering the innate malleability of local concepts of authority, history, and tradition may contemporary processes of change be identified as either mere re-configurations or genuinely new configurations of power.
Jahreswechsel sind traditionell die passende Zeit fur Ruckblicke und Katerstimmung. Allerdings ha... more Jahreswechsel sind traditionell die passende Zeit fur Ruckblicke und Katerstimmung. Allerdings halt letztere bei einigen Medizinund/oder Westafrika-spezialisierten EthnologInnen schon spatestens seit dem Fruhherbst an. Der Kater ist vor allem „Ebola-bedingt“. Er ist der Ernuchterung geschuldet, die auf den Rausch an der plotzlich und unerwartet erfahrenen praktisch-politischen Relevanz ethnologischer Expertise folgte. Praziser: Der Kater ist der Nachhall der Ebola-bedingten Policy-Relevanz, die EthnologInnen im Verlauf der Epidemie erlebt und fur ihr Fach beansprucht haben (vgl. etwa American Anthropological Association 2014; UN News Center 2015).
Taking the two West African countries of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau as examples, the paper analyses... more Taking the two West African countries of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau as examples, the paper analyses how discourses of suffering can contribute to the emergence and development of a strong national consciousness among citizens. In both countries, rhetoric self-victimisation has different, characteristic features, referring to shared events and memories of the past. These discourses portray the population of these two countries as suffering at the hands of governments, foreign policy, or history. They do so in a collective way, bridging potential ethnic or religious divides in these otherwise very heterogeneous countries. Based on fieldwork in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, the authors investigate how popular (‘bottom-up’) narratives interact with official, governmental (‘top-down’) portrayals of the nation to form alternate versions of the national project that have a stabilising effect on society. This paper traces historical origins, the subsequent development, as well as manifestations o...
This working paper analyses the social dynamics and meanings of national, ethnic, and creole iden... more This working paper analyses the social dynamics and meanings of national, ethnic, and creole identities in contemporary Upper Guinea Coast societies where national identities are constructed within an overall context of ethnic heterogeneity and within nation-states that cut across ethnic boundaries. The relationship between ethnic and national identifications is crucial for the conceptualisation of nationhood at the different levels of society. In much of the Upper Guinea Coast region there seems to be a pronounced discrepancy between national identities, on the one hand, and the identification of the nation with the state (its representatives, institutions, and borders), on the other. Social and cultural interaction has been extensive in this part of West Africa for hundreds of years and engendered identities characterised by fluidity and ambiguous means of self-ascription and assigning identity to others. Particular interests of different groups and sections of the society are often explained and justified by historical narratives which at the same time serve as models for the future and inhabit ideological discourses produced by state and non-state actors. Interaction and mixture has also led to new social formations which include creole and settler groups. Depending on their position and function in society at large and on their interaction with indigenous populations and the given colonial power, they played different roles in the construction of transethnic identities and (postcolonial) nationhood.
... participation in combat. These ideas may influence the way organisations implementing DDR and... more ... participation in combat. These ideas may influence the way organisations implementing DDR and related projects accommodate women, combatants and women combatants. 1 See also Osman (2003); Zisk Marten (2004). 2 In this ...
Nach einem Jahrzehnt medialer Abwesenheit sind Guinea, Sierra Leone und Liberia wieder mit besorg... more Nach einem Jahrzehnt medialer Abwesenheit sind Guinea, Sierra Leone und Liberia wieder mit besorgniserregenden Nachrichten und dramatischen Bildern in der internationalen Presse vertreten. Die von Burgerkriegen und „Fluchtlingselend“ (1989-2003) gepragte Berichterstattung uber die Region hat in der Ebola-Krise neues „Sensationsfutter“ gefunden. Dabei wird uber Guinea – ein Land, dem die Medien in den letzten Jahren besonders wenig Aufmerksamkeit widmeten – vergleichsweise sparlich berichtet, obwohl hier der westafrikanische Ebola-Ausbruch begann. Vielleicht liegt das unter anderem daran, dass uber Guinea noch weniger Vorwissen vorhanden ist als uber die Nachbarlander Sierra Leone und Liberia, die in den letzten Jahren als „Post-Konflikt-Staaten“ Bekanntheit gewonnen haben.
Does Cognitive Science Need Anthropology?—Diagnosing a troubled relationship Anthropology once wa... more Does Cognitive Science Need Anthropology?—Diagnosing a troubled relationship Anthropology once was a pioneer in the cognitive revolution and a founding member of the cognitive sciences (D’Andrade, 1995). Over the years, however, its presence and influence have continuously decreased—to the extent that it became the “missing discipline” (Boden, 2006). This alienation is particularly evident at the annual meetings of the Cognitive Science Society in which anthropology is meanwhile mostly absent. At the same time, however, the role of culture is increasingly recognized as of prime relevance for the sciences of human cognition—in at least two different senses: as a source for cognitive diversity and as the context of cognition. Questions of cognitive and/or linguistic universals have been among the most hotly and controversially debated topics in recent years (e.g., Evans & Levinson, 2009; Norenzayan & Heine, 2005; and see Astuti & Bloch, 2010). They are directly related to a central as...
Such comments were commonly heard in Guinea during February 2007, when a wave of national strikes... more Such comments were commonly heard in Guinea during February 2007, when a wave of national strikes brought the country to a standstill and, once again, to the verge of a national crisis. ‘Th ey’ referred to Guineans living abroad and voicing their opinions over the radio concerning recent events in their country of origin. In Forécariah, a small town in coastal Guinea, ‘they’ were usually referred to as ressortissants Guinéens – Guineans living abroad. Th e word ressortissant indicates someone who has left his or her place of origin to make a living in the capital city or elsewhere, and in this specifi c context, someone who went abroad. ‘Us’, on the other hand, were the local listeners, people assembled around a radio at home or in a street-side cafe – and implicitly all Guineans in a country that had experienced increasing economic hardship and political turmoil throughout the last decade. Th e debates over the rights and duties of Guineans living abroad took place against a backgr...
Between February and March 2016, three Open Space Conferences (OSC) were conducted – one per coun... more Between February and March 2016, three Open Space Conferences (OSC) were conducted – one per country in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. All conferences focused on the question how the respective national health system can be improved and which contribution communities can make to support government efforts. The Open Space Conference methodology is a participatory approach activating existing knowledge and capacities while leaving out external input and teaching. The conferences brought to the fore the lessons learned which could be drawn from the recent Ebola epidemic and used for rebuilding a more resilient and better health system. Participants included a cross-section of decision makers, healthcare providers including traditional healers and birth attendants, funders, supporters and users of health systems in the three countries. The same process has been conducted in the three neighboring countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in order to permit a comparison of issues and shared learning amongst similarly affected countries. In all three conferences, participants were highly motivated and involved in meaningful exchange of ideas with others. As a common trace, when reflecting on the challenges of each national health system, participants in all countries identified the responsibilities of their government and underlined the current short-comings and resulting needs. At the same time, they stressed that communities should be provided with opportunities to participate more in health system governance. Discussions focussed on access to and quality of health services, the health workforce situation including the conditions of service, loss of confidence in the health system, challenges related to infection prevention and control, the management of emergency situations, the needs of vulnerable groups and the optimal form of health education. There were similarities with respect to solutions in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Jahreswechsel sind traditionell die passende Zeit für Rückblicke und Katerstimmung. Allerdings hä... more Jahreswechsel sind traditionell die passende Zeit für Rückblicke und Katerstimmung. Allerdings hält letztere bei einigen Medizin-und/oder Westafrika-spezialisierten EthnologInnen schon spätestens seit dem Frühherbst an. Der Kater ist vor allem " Ebola-bedingt ". Er ist der Ernüchterung geschuldet, die auf den Rausch an der plötzlich und unerwartet erfahrenen praktisch-politischen Relevanz ethnologischer Expertise folgte. Präziser: Der Kater ist der Nachhall der Ebola-bedingten Policy-Relevanz, die EthnologInnen im Verlauf der Epidemie erlebt und für ihr Fach beansprucht haben (vgl. etwa American Anthropological Association 2014; UN News Center 2015). Festgestellt haben wir die Katerstimmung zunächst bei uns selbst, die wir auf diesem Blog im Dezember 2014 nahegelegt hatten, dass ethnologische Perspektiven im Kampf gegen die Epidemie eine zentrale Rolle spielen können: indem sie kritische Perspektiven zu und Aufklärung über Exotisierungen und irreführende Vereinfachungen liefern, die einem tieferen
Die aktuelle Ebola-Krise zeigt, wie wichtig eine gute Zusammenarbeit zwischen Medien und Ethnolog... more Die aktuelle Ebola-Krise zeigt, wie wichtig eine gute Zusammenarbeit zwischen Medien und Ethnologie ist, um in der Öffentlichkeit ein differenziertes Verständnis der gesellschaftlichen Reaktionen und gesundheitspolitischen Herausforderungen in Westafrika zu fördern. Wichtig ist dabei vor allem, eine balancierte Perspektive auf das komplexe Thema „Kultur“ einzunehmen, indem lokale Wahrnehmungen, Praktiken und individuelle Antworten auf international initiierte Interventionen ernst genommen werden, ohne sie jedoch als grundsätzlich „andersartig“ von denkbaren gesellschaftlichen Reaktionen „im Westen“ darzustellen. Des Weiteren sind die zunächst als „kulturspezifisch“ erscheinenden Reaktionsformen auf eine tödliche Bedrohung wie Ebola, und konkret zum Beispiel auf das Sterben zahlreicher Angehöriger und Nachbarn oder das Erscheinen vermummter Helferteams, immer nur durch den Verweis auf die jeweiligen politischen, gesellschaftlichen und ökonomischen Hintergründe verstehbar. Aussagen über „Kultur“ und kulturelle Praktiken benötigen daher stets eine differenzierte Kontextualisierung – zum Beispiel mit Bezug auf lokal verortete Globalisierungsprozesse (wie etwa den lokalen Umgang mit „westlichen“ Regierungs- und Wirtschaftsformen) oder die Geschichte nationaler Gesundheitssysteme –, um Vorstellungen wie „böser Zauber“ oder das Misstrauen gegenüber internationalen und nationalen Helferteams nicht als exotisch, anachronistisch oder irrational darzustellen...
Nach einem Jahrzehnt medialer Abwesenheit sind Guinea, Sierra Leone und Liberia wieder mit besorg... more Nach einem Jahrzehnt medialer Abwesenheit sind Guinea, Sierra Leone und Liberia wieder mit besorgniserregenden Nachrichten und dramatischen Bildern in der internationalen Presse vertreten. Die von Bürgerkriegen und „Flüchtlingselend“ (1989-2003) geprägte Berichterstattung über die Region hat in der Ebola-Krise neues „Sensationsfutter“ gefunden. Dabei wird über Guinea – ein Land, dem die Medien in den letzten Jahren besonders wenig Aufmerksamkeit widmeten – vergleichsweise spärlich berichtet, obwohl hier der westafrikanische Ebola-Ausbruch begann. Vielleicht liegt das unter anderem daran, dass über Guinea noch weniger Vorwissen vorhanden ist als über die Nachbarländer Sierra Leone und Liberia, die in den letzten Jahren als „Post-Konflikt-Staaten“ Bekanntheit gewonnen haben.
Was die Ebola-Krise über Guinea zum Vorschein bringt – und Ähnliches gilt auch für die Nachbarländer – ist nicht allein die bereits bekannte schlechte medizinische Grundversorgung, sondern vielmehr die Haltung einer politischen Elite, die ihr Leben auf der Grundlage von Bergbau, Dividenden aus Entwicklungsprojekten und mit Hilfe eines repressiven Sicherheitsapparates jenseits der Lebensumstände des restlichen Landes eingerichtet hat...
Uploads
Books by Anita Schroven
Papers by Anita Schroven
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. All conferences focused on the question how the respective national health system can be improved
and which contribution communities can make to support government efforts. The Open Space Conference methodology is a participatory approach activating existing knowledge and capacities while
leaving out external input and teaching. The conferences brought to the fore the lessons learned which could be drawn from the recent Ebola epidemic and used for rebuilding a more resilient and better
health system. Participants included a cross-section of decision makers, healthcare providers including traditional healers and birth attendants, funders, supporters and users of health systems in the three
countries. The same process has been conducted in the three neighboring countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in order to permit a comparison of issues and shared learning amongst similarly affected countries.
In all three conferences, participants were highly motivated and involved in meaningful exchange of ideas with others. As a common trace, when reflecting on the challenges of each national health system, participants in all countries identified the responsibilities of their government and underlined the current short-comings and resulting needs.
At the same time, they stressed that communities should be provided with opportunities to participate more in health system governance. Discussions focussed on access to and quality of health
services, the health workforce situation including the conditions of service, loss of confidence in the health system, challenges related to infection prevention and control, the management of emergency situations, the needs of vulnerable groups and the optimal form of health education. There were similarities with respect to solutions in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Was die Ebola-Krise über Guinea zum Vorschein bringt – und Ähnliches gilt auch für die Nachbarländer – ist nicht allein die bereits bekannte schlechte medizinische Grundversorgung, sondern vielmehr die Haltung einer politischen Elite, die ihr Leben auf der Grundlage von Bergbau, Dividenden aus Entwicklungsprojekten und mit Hilfe eines repressiven Sicherheitsapparates jenseits der Lebensumstände des restlichen Landes eingerichtet hat...