State as a technology of kinship

In this presentation I will argue that contrary to the received wisdom, kinship and state should be treated as complementary technologies of social governance. In this presentation I will argue that contrary to the received wisdom, kinship and state should be treated as complementary technologies of social governance. The empirical material for this presentation comes from interpretation of historic and contemporary interaction between the “state” and “kin relations” in the geographic territory roughly corresponding to contemporary Latvia. This analysis demonstrates that throughout the known history, there have been attempts to regulate kin relations and put them into a particular frame of “correctness”. However, the ideas of the proper kin ties did not originate outside the society itself but instead was a result of certain circulation of ideas inside the society. Thus, instead of saying that the state attempted to regulate and rule kin relations, we should speak of certain social groups that attempt to promote their particular ideas of kin against the perceived “incorrect” or “inappropriate” practices of other members of the society. These “appropriate” notions are incorporated in the fabric of the state, e.g., state as constituted of relatives (citizens) that should keep particular detachment from other members of the kin group (nation). Thus, rather than interpreting state as a detached autonomous sphere that produces governance and works against kinship in general, I interpret the state as a mechanism though which the notions of proper and appropriate kin relations are being negotiated and enforced.