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Austerity en route, from Lisbon to Luanda
in Focaal
Author:
Ruy Llera Blanes
Ruy Llera Blanes
University of Gothenburg ruy.blanes@gu.se
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Abstract
In this article, through a set of ethnographic vignettes from fieldwork conducted in Angola since 2015, I discuss the political semantics of crisis and austerity, and simultaneously outline an itinerary of a “traveling austerity” between Portugal and Angola, exposing the interconnectedness and mutual binding of both political and economic contexts. Invoking stories of migrant workers in Luanda and the work of local “financial activists” protesting against financial inequality in Angola, I question the relevance of national-based approaches to austerity politics, explore conceptualizations of austerity beyond its “original,” mainstream Eurocentric setting, and argue towards the necessity of analyzing transnational intersections in the study of austerity.
Contributor Notes
Ruy Llera Blanes is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology in the School of Global Studies at the University of Gothenburg. He has conducted research on mobilities, migration, diaspora, transnationalism, and globalization, from the viewpoint of social, religious, and political movements. He has worked in in Angola and within African migrant networks in Europe. Having completed his monograph A Prophetic Trajectory on a prophetic, messianic movement in Angola (Berghahn Books, 2014), he is currently focusing on democracy and human rights activisms in the country. Email: ruy.blanes@gu.se