Fear of Small Numbers: An Essay on the Geography of Anger
"In this book, Appadurai follows up "Modernity at
Large" with a look into the seamy side of globalization.
Analyzing the growing inequalities and endemic violence of the past
decade, he still sees signs of hope in less noticed trends of
'globalization from below.' These are important new
thoughts from an influential thinker of our times."--Partha
Chatterjee, Director, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences,
Calcutta, and Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, New
York
The period since 1989 has been marked by the global endorsement of
open markets, the free flow of finance capital and liberal ideas of
constitutional rule, and the active expansion of human rights. Why
then, in this era of intense globalization, has there been a
proliferation of violence, of ethnic cleansing on the one hand and
extreme forms of political violence against civilian populations on
the other?
Fear of Small Numbers is Arjun Appadurai's answer to that
question. A leading theorist of globalization, Appadurai turns his
attention to the complex dynamics fuelling large-scale, culturally
motivated violence, from the genocides that racked Eastern Europe,
Rwanda, and India in the early 1990s to the contemporary "war
on terror." Providing a conceptually innovative framework for
understanding sources of global violence, he describes how the
nation-state has grown ambivalent about minorities at the same time
that minorities, because of global communication technologies and
migration flows, increasingly see themselves as parts of powerful
global majorities. By exacerbating the inequalities produced by
globalization, the volatile, slippery relationship between
majorities and minorities foments the desire to eradicate cultural
difference.
Appadurai analyzes the darker side of globalization: suicide
bombings; anti-Americanism; the surplus of rage manifest in
televised beheadings; the clash of global ideologies; and the
difficulties that flexible, cellular organizations such as Al-Qaeda
present to centralized, "vertebrate" structures such as
national governments. Powerful, provocative, and timely, Fear of
Small Numbers is a thoughtful invitation to rethink what violence
is in an age of globalization.
"Arjun Appadurai is already known as the author of striking
new formulations which have greatly illuminated contemporary global
developments, notably in Modernity at Large. In this new book, he
tackles the most burning and perplexing problems of collective
violence which beset us today. The book is alive with new and
original ideas, essential food for thought not just for scholars,
but for all concerned with these issues." Charles Taylor,
author of Modern Social Imaginaries
"Arjun Appadurai is already known as the author of striking new formulations which have greatly illuminated contemporary global developments, notably in Modernity at Large. In this new book, he tackles the most burning and perplexing problems of collective violence which beset us today. The book is alive with new and original ideas, essential food for thought not just for scholars, but for all concerned with these issues." Charles Taylor, author of Modern Social Imaginaries "In this book, Arjun Appadurai follows up Modernity at Large with a look into the seamy side of globalization. Analyzing the growing inequalities and endemic violence of the past decade, he still sees signs of hope in less noticed trends of 'globalization from below.' These are important new thoughts from an influential thinker of our times."--Partha Chatterjee, Director, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, and Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York "This sorrowful, insightful book comes from a sobered visionary of cultural globalisation. Following his groundbreaking masterpiece Modernity at Large, in which he espied new cultural creativities generated by footloose media and mass migrations, Arjun Appadurai now poses the following paradox: why, at a time when cultural innovations proliferate, do outbreaks of ethnic slaughter demonstrate the continued resonance of state-sponsored nationalism?"--Red Pepper, Feb 2007
Arjun Appadurai is the John Dewey Professor in the Social Sciences at The New School, where he is also Senior Advisor for Global Initiatives. His books include "Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization" and the collection "Globalization," also published by Duke University Press. He is a cofounder of the journal "Public Culture," founder of the nonprofit PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action, and Research) in Mumbai, cofounder and codirector of ING (Interdisciplinary Network on Globalization), and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has served as a consultant or advisor to a wide range of public and private organizations, including the Ford, Rockefeller, and MacArthur foundations; UNESCO; the World Bank; and the National Science Foundation.
