Don Kalb is Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Central European University, Budapest, and Senior Researcher at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. His books include Expanding Class: Power and Everyday Politics in Industrial Communities, The Netherlands, 1850-1950 (Duke University Press 1997); The Ends of Globalization. Bringing Society back in, (ed., Rowman and Littlefield 2000); Globalization and Development: Key Issues and Debates (ed., Kluwer Academic 2004); Critical Junctions: Anthropology and History beyond the Cultural Turn (ed., Berghahn Books 2005). He is the founding editor of Focaal – Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology.
“This is an excellent volume…[that] offers major theoretical and ethnographic insights not just with reference to neoliberal processes but also to the general understanding of state transformations…The overall theme of the book – the importance of bringing class back into anthropological concerns - and a shift away from culturalist/essentialist understandings (especially in relation to nationalism) is well-taken and developed. The book will be a major contribution towards reasserting the importance of an attention to class-based discussion.” • Bruce Kapferer, University of Bergen “[A] must-read. In the best tradition of Eric Wolf and Sydney Mintz, this book is a powerful example of the anthropological rethinking of class analysis that is necessary for grasping the contradictions of post-Cold War globalization. With Kalb’s penetrating introductory essay and the urban case studies from across Europe, it addresses one of the most challenging issues of our time - the power of the new right.” • Ida Susser, Hunter College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York “[A]n extremely responsible engagement with the important issues of our time. It is throbbing with relevance and edgy in its provocations. Kalb’s introductory essay is a tour de force, which shows how the various contributions add up to more than the sum of the parts. It will secure a wide readership in the social sciences, history, and cultural studies.” • Gavin Smith, University of Toronto