Excited to see two of the four contributions to the Symposium "Beyond Paradigms: Eclectic Pathways of Agrarian Change" (co-edited with Michael Spies) in Agriculture and Human Values published! There is more to come.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
and
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Posts by Irna Hofman
Registration is now open for Daniela Gabor's lecture:
www.iss.nl/en/events/seville-process-developmentalism-after-american-hegemony-2026-01-22
@danielagabor.bsky.social @powelljr.bsky.social @ingridhk.bsky.social @andrewmfischer.bsky.social @marsel.bsky.social @cacrisalves.bsky.social
(Though) the reality of/labour involved in silk wormbreeding in the region is harsh...
@scwobservatory.bsky.social @lauchinainstitute.bsky.social @madeinchinajournal.com
Written with passion, completed and shared with the usual anxiety:
"Everyday Politics of Global China: Looking to, Reflecting on, and Enacting Authority in Rural Tajikistan"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Interesting dynamics here..:
Thanks for posting! Might try to come ..
US -aid?
US delivered 75 tons of U.S.-manufactured food, "proudly produced" in Texas
"'Our mutual goal is simple: to save lives, improve health, and make a real difference for Tajik families and communities,'” said Ambassador Micaller"
tj.usembassy.gov/united-state...
As lecturer, I look forward interacting and working with students and (new) colleagues, engaging with exciting and critical themes of political ecology, sustainability, belonging, diversity, and development
A new academic year, a new chapter!
Happy to share I have joined Leiden University's Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology
Over the past 2 decades, China has become Laos’s top investor, main creditor, and 2nd-largest trade partner. In a new report, @profjulietlu.bsky.social and I unpack Chinese investment across four land-intensive sectors: agriculture & plantations, mining, infrastructure & SEZs. tinyurl.com/kw5vteem
The new issue of Global China Pulse is now live! What does it mean to do fieldwork on Global China? This issue explores the methodological, ethical, and political challenges researchers face when studying China’s global presence from the ground up. Download here: globalchinapulse.net/download/glo...
"Where did she come from? Whose side is she on?"
Relating and Differentiating: Navigating Worlds and Negotiating Positionality in Research on Chinese Agribusinesses in Rural Tajikistan
My contribution to the SI "Researching Global China" in Global China Pulse:
globalchinapulse.net/relating-and...
Commentary with @adoolotkeldieva.bsky.social on how Chinese mining companies in Kyrgyzstan have worked to adapt to a state court system in which compliance as such is an impossibility. @gvagrad.bsky.social
carnegieendowment.org/posts/2025/0...
How do you do ethnography in places of suspended sovereignty? Richard Nyelade draws on his fieldwork in Taiwan to explore how researchers navigate legal ambiguity, geopolitical tension, and fragile alliances, proposing 'ethnographic diplomacy' as a mode shaped by silence, suspicion, and performance.
This article is part of a forthcoming Special Issue "China in Compliance", edited by, and many thanks to, @matthewserie.bsky.social
@scwobservatory.bsky.social @beltandroadpod.bsky.social @madeinchinajournal.com
Publication alert!
Happy to share my recently published article in Regulation & Governance:
"This is ... about the remaking of (domestic and international)law." An excellent essay
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
While I wouldn't talk of plantations in Central Asia, my thoughts resonate with Sarah Besky's, who questioned whether a plantation can be fair.
European firms increasingly look to Central Asia for sourcing agricultural commodities, and markets play a role in setting standards #shiftinggeographiesofproduction.
Yet can we talk of fair trade where/if farmers are subject to production plans, as (still) happens in parts of the region?
Rode lijn acties om genocide in Gaza te stoppen.
Na 1,5 jaar vroeg kabinet om ‘onderzoek’. EU-onderzoek: Israël volledig over de schreef.
Toch trekt kabinet geen enkele consequentie. Diep teleurstellend hoe coalitie meewerkt aan straffeloosheid van Netanyahu’s misdaden.
Another great initiative!
Join us this Thursday (5 June) at the International Institute of Social Studies:
Shifting geopolitical fault lines and global food security
www.iss.nl/en/events/sh...
AI & Academia. Aw.
I was delighted to speak at the seminar on water challenges in Central Asia at @clingendael.bsky.social on 17 April.
What are (some of) the everyday water challenges encountered at the microlevel?
Were you interested but unable to attend? Watch the recording:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV6g...
The Central Asia gang in the Hague ☀️
@irnahofman.bsky.social
@plovism.bsky.social
Looking forward to discuss water challenges in Central Asia at @clingendael.bsky.social coming Thursday. Join us in person or online!