AMBER Amber Worlds: A Geological Anthropology for the Anthropocene

• Rippa, Alessandro (2026). When is a Frontier? Nostalgia and Aspirations at China’s Borderlands with Burma and Laos. Comparative Studies in Society and History. ISSN 0010-4175. p. 1–25. doi: 10.1017/s0010417526100462. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article argues that nostalgia forms a crucial part of the imaginary that drives frontier economies—not in contradiction but alongside the future-oriented imaginaries of speculation, anticipation, and appearances. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted across three key locales—Pianma, Mong La, and the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone—this study introduces the concept of “frontier nostalgia” to analyze how these spaces function as sites of both economic opportunity and memory. While aspirations for prosperity drive individuals to engage with these dynamic zones, their lived experiences are marked by significant historical residue, creating a poignant longing for past vibrancy—and particularly for a form of hypersociality that characterize(d) frontier spaces. By examining the lived realities of Chinese migrants, the paper argues that nostalgia is not merely a counterpoint to forward-looking anticipation. Instead, it complements future-making practices and imaginaries by highlighting the complex emotional landscapes that characterize frontier encounters, hence constituting particular frontier subjectivities. In Pianma, remnants of a timber boom evoke a sense of melancholic yearning for lost sociality; in Mong La, vibrant social interactions coexist with developmentalist dynamics; and in the burgeoning Golden Triangle SEZ, rapid transformation echoes and actively resemble past experiences. Ultimately, this comparative analysis emphasizes how nostalgia shapes both individual identities and collective memories within these transient spaces, shedding further light on the experience of life on the frontier.

• Rippa, Alessandro (2025). China as ethnographic absent presence: Missed encounters in the Polish and Mexican amber markets. In Wu, Di; Pia, Andrea E. & Pulford, Ed (Ed.), China as context: Anthropology, post-globalisation and the neglect of China. Manchester University Press. ISSN 9781526184320. p. 61–80. doi: 10.7765/9781526184320.00011. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter moves from the observation that “China” is marginal not only in anthropological theory-making: it remains strikingly absent from an ethnographic perspective too. Scholars of Global China have already noticed a discrepancy between how much “China” lingers in discussions, yet how seldom Chinese actors are encountered. China, here, is certainly not absent, but it is also not entirely present – it functions as a background, an opportunity, or a threat. This chapter reflects on this particular absent presence of China through two case studies: the amber markets in Poland’s Gdańsk and Mexico’s Chiapas. Here “China” – in the form of capital, promise, and material actors – is both present and absent in peculiar ways. In Gdańsk, economic slow-downs and the Covid-19 pandemic have re-cast relationships between Polish and Chinese actors. In Chiapas, “China” is profoundly affecting the amber market despite its absence.

• Kiik, Laur (2025). Rural resistance under a golden dictatorship, part 2: the suspended villages. The International Journal of Asian Studies. ISSN 1479-5914. doi: 10.1017/s1479591425100314. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Few village-born social movements have influenced international relations as much as the campaign against Myitsone Dam in Burma (Myanmar). This village-born resistance led in 2011 to the suspension of a major Burmese and Chinese infrastructure project. This suspension became a symbol of democratization in Burma and a much-discussed setback of Chinese development-investment abroad. However, research literature on the Myitsone Dam has tended to conflate the local rural resistance with the broader ethnic Kachin and Burmese anti-dam movements. In contrast, this study focuses specifically on the local villages directly affected by the project, exploring their diverse stories and responses to the mega-project. Combining diverse published sources with ethnographic fieldwork and interviews done since 2010, it tells a story of displacement, resistance, social divisions, and complex relations with outsiders. This is a two-part article series. Another article – Part 1 – explores the Myitsone Dam’s rural story from its earliest days until the mega-project’s fall. This article – Part 2 – examines what has occurred after the mega-project’s suspension. It explores local village experiences after most residents had been resettled into relocation villages, from 2010 until now. This story begins with a bomb attack against the project and traces the village struggles until a post-coup gold mining boom.

• Kiik, Laur (2025). Rural resistance under a golden dictatorship, part 1: the Myitsone villages. The International Journal of Asian Studies. ISSN 1479-5914. doi: 10.1017/s1479591425100302. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Few village-born social movements have influenced international relations as much as the campaign against Myitsone Dam in Burma (Myanmar). This village-born resistance led in 2011 to the suspension of a major Burmese and Chinese infrastructure project. This suspension became a symbol of democratization in Burma and a much-discussed setback of Chinese development-investment abroad. However, research literature on the Myitsone Dam has tended to conflate the local rural resistance with the broader ethnic Kachin and Burmese anti-dam movements. In contrast, this study focuses specifically on the local villages directly affected by the project, exploring their diverse stories and responses to the mega-project. Combining diverse published sources with ethnographic fieldwork and interviews done since 2010, it tells a story of repression, resistance, social divisions, and complex relations with outsiders. This is a two-part article series. This article here – Part 1 – examines what occurred before the mega-project’s suspension. It tells the Myitsone Dam’s rural story from its earliest days until the mega-project’s fall: from 2002 to 2011. This story begins with the unexpected arrival of Japanese visitors and traces the village struggles up to the project’s dramatic downfall.

• Yang, Yi & Rippa, Alessandro (2025). Migrant lives in border contexts: the case of the Burmese communities in Yunnan's Ruili and Tengchong, Handbook on Migration to China. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781035332694. p. 322–336. doi: 10.4337/9781035332700.00034. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter addresses migration and migrant lives in border contexts. The chapter describes the motivations for cross-border migration and how the lives of cross-border migrants are shaped by ethnicity and social status. We introduce the administrative devices employed to govern foreigners in border towns and discuss how measures implemented during China's Zero Covid policy have left lasting effects on the governance of migrants in border areas. These topics are illustrated through the case of Burmese migrants in Western Yunnan. The study shows that Burmese migrants are not only subjected to certain administrative mechanisms but also take advantage of these in their everyday lives. The empirical data for the case study was collected through ethnographic research between 2015 and 2023 in the border towns of Ruili and Tengchong. The chapter thus pushes forward an analysis of migrant lives in Chinese border contexts that needs to be attuned to local specificities and histories, while paying close attention to the institutional mechanisms that are implemented across various locales.

• Dan, Seng Lawn & Rippa, Alessandro (2024). Trading in troubled times: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, military coup, and Chinese border closure on the Kachin amber industry. Area (London 1969). ISSN 0004-0894. doi: 10.1111/area.12970. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 military coup have dramatically affected the lives and livelihoods of communities across Myanmar. Border areas in the north of the country also suffered from the prolonged closure of the Chinese border due to PRC COVID containment measures. The city of Ruili, the main trading hub between the two countries, witnessed one of China's strictest series of lockdowns, and its border with Myanmar remained largely closed for over 1,000 days. This impacted not only cross-border businesses, but also forced thousands of temporary migrants to return to Myanmar. To address the impacts of those multiple and overlapping crises, this paper investigates the case of Kachin amber: a gemstone extracted in Kachin State's Hukawng valley, in the northernmost part of the country, which has generated significant business with China since the early 2010s. Over the past decade, many in Kachin State became involved in the amber business, from mining to polishing and trading, and a large marketplace had been set up in the outskirts of Myitkyina to facilitate the trade with China. Based on interviews with miners and traders conducted in 2021–2022, in both Myitkyina and the Hukawng valley, this paper provides an initial assessment of the impact of COVID-19, the coup, and border closure on the amber industry in Kachin State.

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