Talk Title: 'Who cuts the chains? Governmentality and Actors in the Caribbean Anti-Trafficking Field'

Discussant: Priscilla Vitoh

Abstract: My research seeks to analyse trafficking in persons efforts in the Anglophone Caribbean. One of the main observations is that anti-trafficking has long been seen as the realm of government actors with it being suggested that they wield all the power and influence over what gets done, when and how. However, this paper suggests that the reality is much more complex. The anti-trafficking field comprises and requires a range of state and non-state actors whose relationships to each other reveal social, political and economic nuances about the Anglophone Caribbean. This presentation will provide a brief introduction to this research. Then, the relationships between various actors and the resulting problems and contradictions will be assessed using Michel Foucault's concept of governmentality as a method of analysis.