Ethnographies of Energy: Race, Space, and State Formation on the Paria Peninsula

Abstract

Drawing on collaborative ethnographic research in Venezuela (2008–present), this article examines the role of race and space in state formation through the lens of energy production. I argue that energy production allows us to observe how racialized groups are particularly exposed to state power through the spatial processes of culture. This energy-culture nexus offers an alternative to biopolitical analyses of power. [Caribbean, energy, environment, race, Venezuela].