authoritarianism

Fariba Adelkhah’s anthropology gives an original twist to Bronislaw Malinowski’s classical prescriptions for “participant observation” and “being on the spot” – for him the condition for doing full justice “to the imponderabiliia of every life.” For Fariba such an approach has been most productive for understanding the kaleidoscopic and often unexpected effects of an authoritarian regime – of which Iran seems to be an extreme example – in everyday life.