Nancy Postero

Nancy Postero is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where she has been a faculty member since 2001. She holds dual roles as Co-Director of the Human Rights Program and Co-Director of the International Institute. Prior to academia, she worked as a criminal defense attorney, human rights advocate, and journalist. Her research focuses on race, politics, and political economy, particularly in the context of indigenous peoples in Latin America, with a deep engagement in Bolivia.

Postero’s work examines neoliberal multiculturalism, indigenous rights, and the tensions between state policies and grassroots movements. Her seminal book Now We Are Citizens (2007) analyzes Bolivia’s multicultural reforms and their impact on Guaraní communities. Her later work, The Indigenous State (2017), critiques Bolivia’s post-neoliberal governance under Evo Morales, exploring how indigeneity became both a tool for empowerment and state consolidation.

Her research also addresses performance and political spectacle, such as conservative elites’ use of hunger strikes to frame themselves as victims of authoritarianism. She co-edits volumes on Latin American political anthropology and neoliberalism’s challenges. Postero’s contributions bridge ethnography with critical theory, emphasizing decolonization, human rights, and the complexities of indigenous state-building.

• Education: PhD in Anthropology, UC Berkeley (2001)
• Key Roles: Co-Director of UCSD Human Rights Program, Co-Director of International Institute
• Research Themes: Indigeneity, Neoliberalism, Decolonization, Political Performance