Understanding Sudanese politics is like a long-distance relationship. You never fully appreciate the relationship until you are living with the…
The anthropology of debt by Keith Hart
(Editor’s note: This article is published in its entirety with the permission of the author) The limits of naïvety I…
The collapse of national capitalism — a Sophoclean tragedy – Part 2 – by Keith Hart
After 1971 World economy has reverted since the break-up of the Bretton Woods system of fixed parity exchange rates to…
The collapse of national capitalism — a Sophoclean tragedy – Part 1 – by Keith Hart
Abstract The global economic crisis is not merely financial, a moment in the historical cycle of credit and debt. The…
Interview with Keith Hart on Nationalism
by Nika Dubrovsky Keith Hart was the International Director of the Human Economy Programme, University of Pretoria and Professor of…
South Africa’s two-tier economy (2012-2022) by Keith Hart
This analysis is based on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2011-2012. It identifies twelve “pillars” of sustainable…
SPECIAL EDITION: The Wages of War
Unlike any other war the United States ever took part in, the Vietnam War was a major turning point. It…
Sudan’s kleptocratic military system won’t stop the people’s movement from rising by Jehron Muhammad
Anti-military coup, pro-democracy marches occurring in Sudan with growing numbers and increasing frequency since October show there is a renewed,…
Liberal Revolutions and the African Future: An Interview with Keith Hart
Economic anthropologist Keith Hart (KH), one of the leading figures in African studies, spoke to Social Transformations editor Lisandro Claudio…
Africa 2021: Perplexing, horrendous, dramatic and inspiring by Jehron Muhammad
Africa’s year 2021 was perplexing, horrendous, dramatic but also inspirational. It can be summed in the “two-ness” of the sojourn…
Informality and international trade: The case for an African Customs Union Part 2 by Keith Hart
(Keynote address for a World Customs Organization/World Bank conference on ‘Informality, international trade and customs’, Brussels, 3-4 June 2013) It…
Informality and international trade: The case for an African Customs Union by Keith Hart
(Keynote address for a World Customs Organization/World Bank conference on ‘Informality, international trade and customs’, Brussels, 3-4 June 2013) It…
Sudan: Its diversity, economics and history by Jehron Muhammad
KHARTOUM, Sudan—Nothing says diversity like Sudan. Once Africa’s largest country, now divided by neocolonial and neoliberal machinations the U.S. helped…
Gypsy Economy: The Promise and Limitations of Ethnography – Part 3
by Keith Hart Why Study Gypsy Economy? Looking at the contributions to this volume, I would pick out four themes:…
Gypsy Economy: The Promise and Limitations of Ethnography – Part 2
by Keith Hart Heads or tails? Martin Fotta referred to a lecture of mine on money, “Heads or tails? Two…
Gypsy Economy: the Promise and Limitations of Ethnography
By Keith Hart The Promise and Limits of Ethnography I am usually rather concerned when I observe how unreflectingly my…
How Political Corruption Impacts Culture
How Political Corruption Impacts Culture From a traditional perspective, when people think of South America, many think of a group…
An Unlawful Form of Democracy
What do we mean by an unlawful form of democracy? In the context of discussing the events of January 6,…
Trump’s attack on American “democracy” – Part 2 by Keith Hart
Is the United States a racist theocracy? As the last of three generations of Northern Irish Protestant descent settled in…
Trump’s attack on American “democracy” by Keith Hart – Part 1
Donald Trump and the Republican Party Donald Trump may not have expected to win the 2016 presidential election. Once he…
American Exceptionalism and Violent Protests
It is important to understand that for more than fifty years, American foreign and defense policies such as EUCOM, PCOM,…
World Orders Old and New – Latin America
The Colossus of the South “When the resources of that vast country are taken into account,” the editors of the…
The Chomsky Chronicles – Wild Man in the Wings
Noam Chomsky is the quintessential pioneering linguist, intellectual and political activist of the last fifty years. He is an American,…
How the informal economy took over the World by Keith Hart – Part 3
The demise of national capitalism. To talk of the world economy being “informalized” suggests that there is a global rule-system,…
How the informal economy took over the World – Part 2 by Keith Hart
The dialectics of form. “General Forms have their vitality in Particulars, and every Particular is a Man” (William Blake). Most…
Perspectives in Anthropology 