Ferenc Dávid Markó
@markoferko.bsky.social
anthropology, South Sudan, lecturer at ELTE, formerly at Crisis Group and Small Arms Survey
Pinned
I have a new academic essay at @HAU on the famous Azande witchcraft, based on a decade of fieldwork and almost a dozen trips to Western Equatoria state of South Sudan. I try to unpack social transformation through the changing nature of oracles.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
I talked about the new UN Human Rights Commission in South Sudan report, and their robust methodology at BBC Africa ‘Focus on Africa’ podcast
BBC World Service - Focus on Africa, UN accuses South Sudanese leaders of 'systematic looting'
U.N. investigators accuse South Sudanese authorities of plundering country’s wealth
www.bbc.co.uk
September 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I talked about the new UN Human Rights Commission in South Sudan report, and their robust methodology at BBC Africa ‘Focus on Africa’ podcast
“It’s not just private companies that are instrumentalised by the government. Humanitarian aid has been used (…) as a tool of population control and a means of acquiring revenue”
I’m quoted by joe_falzetta and @joshuacraze.bsky.social in a piece on Fogbow
www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...
I’m quoted by joe_falzetta and @joshuacraze.bsky.social in a piece on Fogbow
www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...
Fogbow operations in South Sudan and beyond raise red flags for faltering aid system
The for-profit US firm is coordinating airdrops that critics say transgress humanitarian principles.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org
June 17, 2025 at 9:06 PM
“It’s not just private companies that are instrumentalised by the government. Humanitarian aid has been used (…) as a tool of population control and a means of acquiring revenue”
I’m quoted by joe_falzetta and @joshuacraze.bsky.social in a piece on Fogbow
www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...
I’m quoted by joe_falzetta and @joshuacraze.bsky.social in a piece on Fogbow
www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...
I am deeply ashamed of the vote by my native Hungary
February 24, 2025 at 9:16 PM
I am deeply ashamed of the vote by my native Hungary
interesting piece
“Rebellions that were unified, with just one major group taking power, tended to build long-lasting governments. But fractured rebellions, in which multiple rebel groups formed a coalition to defeat the previous regime, tended to produce short-lived governments.”
“Rebellions that were unified, with just one major group taking power, tended to build long-lasting governments. But fractured rebellions, in which multiple rebel groups formed a coalition to defeat the previous regime, tended to produce short-lived governments.”
Why Do Some Rebel Governments Last When Others Fall?
One factor matters most, and it could be a problem in Syria.
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2024 at 6:27 PM
interesting piece
“Rebellions that were unified, with just one major group taking power, tended to build long-lasting governments. But fractured rebellions, in which multiple rebel groups formed a coalition to defeat the previous regime, tended to produce short-lived governments.”
“Rebellions that were unified, with just one major group taking power, tended to build long-lasting governments. But fractured rebellions, in which multiple rebel groups formed a coalition to defeat the previous regime, tended to produce short-lived governments.”
Reposted by Ferenc Dávid Markó
I have a new piece out with Small Arms Survey on the situation in Eastern Equatoria, #SouthSudan
It's about gold, power, and cattle raids!
www.smallarmssurvey.org/highlight/ne...
It's about gold, power, and cattle raids!
www.smallarmssurvey.org/highlight/ne...
November 27, 2024 at 6:31 PM
I have a new piece out with Small Arms Survey on the situation in Eastern Equatoria, #SouthSudan
It's about gold, power, and cattle raids!
www.smallarmssurvey.org/highlight/ne...
It's about gold, power, and cattle raids!
www.smallarmssurvey.org/highlight/ne...
Reposted by Ferenc Dávid Markó
Great short interview with Dr Ikhlas Abdel Latief Sudan’s director of Museums for the National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums on the recent looting of the National museum. Sadly much of the stolen material is likely already distributed on the market
theconversation.com/sudans-natio...
theconversation.com/sudans-natio...
Sudan’s national treasures have been stolen – we spoke with the director of museums
The war in Sudan has seen the looting of the country’s museums. Heritage boss Ikhlas Abdel Latief speaks about the losses.
theconversation.com
November 22, 2024 at 7:20 PM
Great short interview with Dr Ikhlas Abdel Latief Sudan’s director of Museums for the National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums on the recent looting of the National museum. Sadly much of the stolen material is likely already distributed on the market
theconversation.com/sudans-natio...
theconversation.com/sudans-natio...
The issue has several other essays on Azande witchcraft, including a smart reflection by my friend @joshuacraze.bsky.social on what can-and-cannot be said when a society is talking about witches
www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/hau/2024...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/hau/2024...
November 21, 2024 at 11:20 AM
The issue has several other essays on Azande witchcraft, including a smart reflection by my friend @joshuacraze.bsky.social on what can-and-cannot be said when a society is talking about witches
www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/hau/2024...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/hau/2024...
Reposted by Ferenc Dávid Markó
I have an essay out in
@haujournal
on witchcraft, anthropology, and the state.
It's about what you can say with witches, and the violence of the silences that surround them.
It contains some sentences I am very proud to have written:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
@haujournal
on witchcraft, anthropology, and the state.
It's about what you can say with witches, and the violence of the silences that surround them.
It contains some sentences I am very proud to have written:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
November 15, 2024 at 3:54 AM
I have an essay out in
@haujournal
on witchcraft, anthropology, and the state.
It's about what you can say with witches, and the violence of the silences that surround them.
It contains some sentences I am very proud to have written:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
@haujournal
on witchcraft, anthropology, and the state.
It's about what you can say with witches, and the violence of the silences that surround them.
It contains some sentences I am very proud to have written:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
Lately, dabaya replaced the famous benge oracle, that used strychnine poison instead of the decapitation of the chicken. Benge is a cornerstone of Evans-Pritchard's famous 'Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande' book. The essay is an anthropological reflection on the changes in witchcraft.
November 21, 2024 at 11:12 AM
Lately, dabaya replaced the famous benge oracle, that used strychnine poison instead of the decapitation of the chicken. Benge is a cornerstone of Evans-Pritchard's famous 'Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande' book. The essay is an anthropological reflection on the changes in witchcraft.
I was invited to attend a dabaya divination in 2019 to settle a case of adultery at the chief's court. Dabaya is a divination when an operator cuts the head off a chicken and the place of the collapse of the chicken and the position of the carcass determines if the accused is a witch or no.
November 21, 2024 at 11:05 AM
I was invited to attend a dabaya divination in 2019 to settle a case of adultery at the chief's court. Dabaya is a divination when an operator cuts the head off a chicken and the place of the collapse of the chicken and the position of the carcass determines if the accused is a witch or no.
I have a new academic essay at @HAU on the famous Azande witchcraft, based on a decade of fieldwork and almost a dozen trips to Western Equatoria state of South Sudan. I try to unpack social transformation through the changing nature of oracles.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
November 21, 2024 at 11:00 AM
I have a new academic essay at @HAU on the famous Azande witchcraft, based on a decade of fieldwork and almost a dozen trips to Western Equatoria state of South Sudan. I try to unpack social transformation through the changing nature of oracles.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Hi bsky, I'm an anthropologist, researching and writing mostly about South Sudan. Currently I am teaching social anthropology at ELTE, Budapest and work as a consultant researcher. I worked for @crisisgroup.org and @smallarmssurvey.bsky.social in the last 8 years.
November 21, 2024 at 10:54 AM
Hi bsky, I'm an anthropologist, researching and writing mostly about South Sudan. Currently I am teaching social anthropology at ELTE, Budapest and work as a consultant researcher. I worked for @crisisgroup.org and @smallarmssurvey.bsky.social in the last 8 years.