TRUST IN TRANSNATIONAL NETWORKS

Authors

  • Thomas Hylland Eriksen University of Oslo

Abstract

A curiously overlooked dimension of globalisation concerns the motivations explaining why millions of people engage in, and invest into, the increased connectedness which is taken as a premise and a startingpoint for much of the academic literature in the field. I would like to argue that trust and reciprocity, on the one hand, and humiliation andmarginalisation on the other, are in fact central aspects of transnational processes, which contribute to explaining some of their dynamics and resultant patterns. Keeping such webs of commitment alive can be hard work, but millions are prepared to pay the price.

Author Biography

Thomas Hylland Eriksen, University of Oslo

Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo and Special Chair at the Vrije Universiteit (Free University), Amsterdam. His writings deal with many issues relevant to globalisation, including identity politics, cultural creolisation/hybridity and the cultural consequences of new information technology. His most recent books in English are "Globalisation - studies in anthropology" (2003) and "What is anthropology?" (2004). "Røtter og føtter" was published in Norwegian and Swedish in 2004.

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Published

2005-05-27

Issue

No. 1 (2005)

Section

Articles