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WITCHCRAFT, BUREAUCRAFT, AND THE SOCIAL LIFE OF (US)AID IN HAITI

2012; Wiley; Volume: 27; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1548-1360.2012.01126.x

1548-1360

Erica Caple James,

Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

Cultural AnthropologyVolume 27, Issue 1 p. 50-75 WITCHCRAFT, BUREAUCRAFT, AND THE SOCIAL LIFE OF (US)AID IN HAITI ERICA CAPLE JAMES, ERICA CAPLE JAMES Massachusetts Institute of TechnologySearch for more papers by this author ERICA CAPLE JAMES, ERICA CAPLE JAMES Massachusetts Institute of TechnologySearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 February 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1360.2012.01126.xCitations: 34Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat ABSTRACT In this article I discuss the unintended consequences of humanitarian and development assistance provided to "victims of human rights abuses" in Haiti in the years following the restoration of democracy in 1994. Such targeted aid was a component of international political and economic development aid intended to facilitate the nation's postconflict transition. I argue that in much the same manner that witchcraft discourses signify moral struggles over the distribution of resources in small-scale societies, the cultures and moral economies of humanitarian and development aid—well-intentioned activities that nonetheless include opaque bureaucratic practices and competition over knowledge, scarce resources, and institutional territory—can produce similar phenomena as has been described regarding contemporary witchcraft. I draw on the literature on witchcraft, bureaucracy, and secrecy to analyze accusations of malfeasance, scapegoating, and violence directed toward both providers and recipients of humanitarian and development assistance. I characterize such processes occurring in relation to compassion economies by the term bureaucraft. [witchcraft, bureaucracy, bureaucraft, humanitarianism, democracy, insecurity, human rights, Haiti] REFERENCES CITED Agamben, Giorgio 1998[1995] Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Daniel Heller-Roazen, trans. Stanford : Stanford University Press. Appadurai, Arjun, ed. 1986 The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. Ashforth, Adam 2005 Witchcraft, Violence, and Democracy in South Africa. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. Bockie, Simon 1993 Death and the Invisible Powers. Bloomington : Indiana University Press. Comaroff, Jean, and John L. Comaroff 1999a Response to Moore: Second Thoughts. 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Citing Literature Volume27, Issue1February 2012Pages 50-75 ReferencesRelatedInformation