Dr. David Bozzini is a social anthropologist (legal and political anthropology). He is the co-Editor of Tsantsa, the journal of the Swiss Ethnological Society. He studied at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. His research interest are Non-western modalities of surveillance, authoritarianism and state-sponsored terror. His PhD based on two-years fieldwork in Eritrea analyses surveillance of conscripts and the despotic governance of the Eritrean state - English title: "Under Siege. An Ethnography of National Mobilisation and State Surveillance in Eritrea".
 

Current research (SNSF postdoc):

The Reach of the Eritrean State. Surveillance and Transnational Governance of Eritreans Migrants in Europe

Abstract:
This research is at the cross-road of three fields of study: anthropology of the state, transnational studies, and surveillance studies. It examines the processes of surveillance and governance that the current Eritrean state and its unique party exercise on Eritrean communities in Europe. In particular, it focuses on the articulation and the limits of social and political logics of these processes, on their transnational and historical dimensions and on the consequences these have on social relationships.

The research is structured in three analytical sections. The first analyses governance techniques and transnational schemes that the Eritrean state applies on Eritrean citizens residing in Europe. Critical emphasis is made on the transnational political institutions of the Eritrean state that aim at mobilising resources for the country and at controlling political activities of Eritreans in Europe. The second part discusses believes, representations and feelings that Eritreans have regarding the Eritrean state and the ruling party. This section analyses political figures such as the 'traitor' or the 'spy' and political rationales and moral reasoning - revealing tensions among the communities in Europe. The third section examines the social consequences and experiences these techniques in the communities. It sheds light on individual and collective strategies and practices in response to these socio-political pressures and deciphers potential dynamics of political ambivalence.