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Amerindian societies have an iconic status in classical political thought. For Montaigne, Hobbes, Locke, Hume and Rousseau, the native American ‘state of nature’ operates as a foil for the European polity. Challenging this tradition, The Imbalance of Power demonstrates ethnographically that the Carib speaking indigenous societies of the Guiana region of Amazonia do not fit conventional characterizations of ‘simple’ political units with ‘egalitarian’ political ideologies and ‘harmonious’ relationships with nature. Marc Brightman builds a persuasive and original theory of Amerindian politics: far from balanced and egalitarian, Carib societies are rife with tension and difference; but this imbalance conditions social dynamism and a distinctive mode of cohesion. The Imbalance of Power is based on the author’s fieldwork in partnership with Vanessa Grotti, who is working on a companion volume entitled Living with the Enemy: First Contacts and the Making of Christian Bodies in Amazonia.

Trio Indians. --- Wayana Indians. --- Akurio Indians. --- Power (Social sciences) --- Group identity --- Leadership --- Masculinity --- Political aspects --- Guiana --- Ethnic relations. --- amazonia. --- american indian. --- amerindian politics. --- amerindian. --- carib. --- cultural anthropology. --- cultural studies. --- defying stereotypes. --- differences between tribes. --- egalitarian. --- egalitarianism. --- ethnographic. --- europe. --- european polity. --- feminism. --- feminist. --- guiana. --- harmonious with nature. --- history. --- indian stereotypes. --- indigenous people. --- native american. --- patriarchy. --- political ideologies. --- social dynamic. --- sociology. --- state of nature. --- tension. --- unconventional. --- united states history.