Ethnographies of Parliaments, Politicians and People
A team of scholars around the world have been exploring the ruptures in relationships between politicians and others in society in Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, the UK and the US since 2020 with an European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant of €2.5 million.
Our research focuses on crises of representation and pathways towards more inclusive and well-informed communication between politicians and people. This coalition of film-makers, artists and ethnographers is aiming to influence how elected representatives are studied both within and outside parliaments. You can see our findings in our resource library and in an exhibition we are holding in the Brunei Gallery, SOAS from 12th January to 16th March 2024: Living Democracy, Frayed Entanglements.
Exhibition of film, text, art and photos in SOAS 12th January to 16th March 2024
An Exhibition on Parliaments, Politicians and People from 13th January 2024
We are holding an exhibition on the relationship between politicians and people in the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, 9am to 5pm, 13th January to 16th March 2024, featuring research findings from Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, the UK and the US: Living Democracy – Frayed entanglements. Films, photography, installations, audio and text will reveal what we have found about the riffs, rhythms and rituals in Parliaments.
As part of this exhibition film showings will take place in the Brunei Gallery, all welcome:
“A Câmara (The Chamber)”. Directed by Cristiane Bernardes and Tiago de Aragão. Brunei Gallery screening at 3pm on the 16th of January, 25th January (5.30pm) and 22nd February (5.30pm).
“Megut: the Wheels of Democracy”. Directed by Mitiku Gabrehiwot. Brunei Gallery screening at 1pm on the 17th of January, 1st February (5.30pm) and 29th February (5.30pm).
“Full Council”. Directed by Richard Axelby and Shirley van der Maarel. Brunei Gallery screening at 3pm on the 18th of January, 8th February (5.30pm) and 7th March (5.30pm).
“Elections in Paradise”. Directed by Tumeli Tuqota and Laisiasa Dave. Brunei Gallery screening at 3pm on the 19th of January, 15th February (5.30pm) and 14th March (5.30pm).
Researchers and their questions
The team, co-ordinated by Emma Crewe (SOAS, University of London), includes Richard Axelby (SOAS), Cristiane Brum Bernardes (Legislative School of Brazilian Chamber of Deputies), Giulia Sbaraini Fontes (SOAS), Telma Hoyler (SOAS), Jastinder Kaur (SOAS), Cristina Leston-Bandeira (Leeds University), Amir Massoumian (SOAS), and Mitiku Gabrehiwot Tesfaye (Mekelle University, Ethiopia). We work with with ethnographers, film-makers and artists in 6 countries – and two advisors: Gerhard Anders (University of Edinburgh) on ethics and Shirley Van Der Maarel (University of Manchester) on visual anthropology.
Relationships between politicians and the people they represent are in turmoil. Although the digital revolution has created unprecedented scope for political expression and debate, potentially acting as a connective tissue binding the public to politicians, the sobering reality of echo-chambers and post-truth populist memes has tempered the optimism of many. The institutions that lie at the heart of our democracies – parliaments – are under constant attack by the media and disdained by the public and they are also under-researched by scholars. At a time when in-depth political scrutiny has a vital role to play in addressing democratic deficits, this research is uncovering the relationships between parliaments, politicians and people as expressed and shaped by political communication especially in six democratic states: Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, the UK and the US.
Researchers and their questions
The team, co-ordinated by Emma Crewe (SOAS, University of London), includes Richard Axelby (SOAS), Cristiane Brum Bernardes (Legislative School of Brazilian Chamber of Deputies), Giulia Sbaraini Fontes (SOAS), Telma Hoyler (SOAS), Jastinder Kaur (SOAS), Cristina Leston-Bandeira (Leeds University), Amir Massoumian (SOAS), and Mitiku Gabrehiwot Tesfaye (Mekelle University, Ethiopia). We work with with ethnographers, film-makers and artists in 6 countries – and two advisors: Gerhard Anders (University of Edinburgh) on ethics and Shirley Van Der Maarel (University of Manchester) on visual anthropology.
Relationships between politicians and the people they represent are in turmoil. Although the digital revolution has created unprecedented scope for political expression and debate, potentially acting as a connective tissue binding the public to politicians, the sobering reality of echo-chambers and post-truth populist memes has tempered the optimism of many. The institutions that lie at the heart of our democracies – parliaments – are under constant attack by the media and disdained by the public and they are also under-researched by scholars. At a time when in-depth political scrutiny has a vital role to play in addressing democratic deficits, this research is uncovering the relationships between parliaments, politicians and people as expressed and shaped by political communication especially in six democratic states: Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, the UK and the US.
The researchers’ views on anthropology
Methods and Ethics
Research ethics conventionally tends to focus on compliance with law (especially data protection) and participants’ consent, but we find this approach too narrow. We are just as concerned about our wider impact on each other, the people we study with, and the environment. We see ethics as complex and often contradictory, requiring debate and negotiation. We propose taking 10 principles seriously. We have documented our principles and commitments in an Ethical Approach to Research.
Methods and Ethics
Research ethics conventionally tends to focus on compliance with law (especially data protection) and participants’ consent, but we find this approach too narrow. We are just as concerned about our wider impact on each other, the people we study with, and the environment. We see ethics as complex and often contradictory, requiring debate and negotiation. We propose taking 10 principles seriously. We have documented our principles and commitments in an Ethical Approach to Research.
The researchers’ views on anthropology
Major Publications
To see our publications on parliaments and people, go to the GRNPP library and search under our authors. Over the coming years we will produce books and articles but also podcasts, digital media and visual outputs in collaborative with creative enterprises.
Our latest major publications include two books, one on Complexity and Leadership (2023) – a series of reflections on the practice of leading within organisations, co-edited by Emma Crewe and Kiran Chauhan, and another on the Anthropology of Parliament: entanglements in democratic politics (2021) – an overview of global anthropological research on parliaments over the last fifty years. Emma writes about how elected politicians navigate relationships by forging alliances and thwarting opponents; how parliamentary buildings are constructed as sites of work, debate and the nation in miniature; and how politicians and officials cope with hierarchies, continuity and change. It reveals the tracking of riffs, rhythms and rituals in parliament as a systematic way to study patterns of interaction and is available as an open access e-book.
According to reviewers:
“With characteristic wit and imagination, Emma Crewe casts her anthropological eye across the spectrum of parliamentary politics. This book is the product of those enquiries – it is sparklingly fresh, insightful, and as ever with this author, more interested in illumination than condemnation.” Jonathan Spencer, University of Edinburgh, UK.
“This is a pioneering anthropological exploration of parliaments from the UK to East Africa and South Asia, through a rigorous, imaginative and productive crossing of disciplinary boundaries. Emma Crewe’s study of the sociality of parliaments – elections, representation and scrutiny – is complemented by a fascinating account of the culture of parliaments – their rhythms, riffs and rituals – both drawing on a formidable volume of primary research, from the constituency-level to every imaginable aspect of parliamentary practice.” Niraja Gopal Jayal, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.
Major Publications
To see our publications on parliaments and people, go to the GRNPP library and search under our authors. Over the coming years we will produce books and articles but also podcasts, digital media and visual outputs in collaborative with creative enterprises.
In our first major publication within this programme – Emma Crewe’s book on the Anthropology of Parliament: entanglements in democratic politics – is an overview of global anthropological research on parliaments over the last fifty years. The point of this work is to deepen understanding of the complexity of political institutions. She writes about how elected politicians navigate relationships by forging alliances and thwarting opponents; how parliamentary buildings are constructed as sites of work, debate and the nation in miniature; and how politicians and officials cope with hierarchies, continuity and change.
This book also contains a proposal about how to study parliaments through an anthropological lens while in conversation with other disciplines. The dive into ethnographies from 34 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Region demolishes hackneyed geo-political categories and culminates in a new comparative theory about the contradictions in everyday political work. It reveals the tracking of riffs, rhythms and rituals in parliament as a systematic way to study patterns of interaction. It is available free as an e-book.
According to reviewers:
“With characteristic wit and imagination, Emma Crewe casts her anthropological eye across the spectrum of parliamentary politics. This book is the product of those enquiries – it is sparklingly fresh, insightful, and as ever with this author, more interested in illumination than condemnation.” Jonathan Spencer, University of Edinburgh, UK.
“This is a pioneering anthropological exploration of parliaments from the UK to East Africa and South Asia, through a rigorous, imaginative and productive crossing of disciplinary boundaries. Emma Crewe’s study of the sociality of parliaments – elections, representation and scrutiny – is complemented by a fascinating account of the culture of parliaments – their rhythms, riffs and rituals – both drawing on a formidable volume of primary research, from the constituency-level to every imaginable aspect of parliamentary practice.” Niraja Gopal Jayal, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.
“This book… begins with parliaments, but it does not end there. Rather, it offers a different way of exploring the political world and political institutions. While it shows readers how parliaments are entangled with other institutions, processes and actors, Crewe also offers an anthropological perspective on political life more generally… She points out the many contradictions and complexities of politics. In doing so, she directly and explicitly challenges existing scholars, particularly within mainstream political science, to think again about how they have studied parliaments.” Marc Geddes, International Journal of Parliamentary Studies.
“… we should praise the dynamic analysis model based on three structuring processes, which the author suggests as an alternative to the universal use of typologies within legislative studies. First, the author convinces us that there is a way forward to renew in depth, not so much the raw knowledge of the functioning of a parliament but the way we understand and view the place of MPs and parliamentary institutions in today’s democracies. In this respect, it is not insignificant that the question of the relations between MPs and citizens (including researchers) constitutes an implicit thread in this book, which makes it possible to shed light on now-classic issues from an original angle. In this instance, we are concerned with the lived meaning of political representation, which is at the heart of the analysis of the ordinary activities that make up MPs’ work. In turn, this could establish the specificity of the anthropological view of parliaments in, as contrasted with, political and legal sciences.” Jonathan Chibois, Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory