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Paper short abstract

During the Tigray war (2020-2022; Plaut and Vaughan 2023), I documented pro-Ethiopian government and anti-government demonstrations in Europe. In this process, many find themselves becoming ‘immune’ to resistance as Ethiopian diaspora voices are 'ritualised' and transformed into ‘normality’.

Paper long abstract

Drawing on the anthropology of the state (Sharma and Gupta 2008), I propose examining anthropology as a source of resistance and solidarity in times of adversity. One crucial anthropological assumption is the tension between the universality and the particularity of anthropological themes, which helps us understand violence not as an isolated event but as part of a universally shared human condition.

During the Tigray war (2020-2022; Plaut and Vaughan 2023), I documented pro-Ethiopian government activism and demonstrations in London, as well as anti-government demonstrations, mainly by Tigrayan nationals, in four major European cities (Paris, Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Luxembourg). In this process of convergence and divergence, many find themselves becoming ‘immune’ to resistance as Ethiopian diaspora voices—traumatised by ethnic and political disputes—are ritualised and transformed into ‘normality’. In this process, activism becomes the object rather than the subject of scrutiny.