ABSTRACT: Why are moments of developmental promise and striving in Africa so often followed by periods of social unrest, political violence, or even the outbreak of war? During the 2010s, Ethiopia experienced rapid economic development before steadily devolving into regional warfare by the end of the decade. Drawing from research conducted during this period of political and economic transition, my talk traces the effects of massive foreign investment on the country’s domestic brewing industry: the production, distribution, sale, and consumption of commercial beer. Specifically, I analyze the social, cultural, and political contradictions underlying corporate transformation of the local beer supply chain, as situated within the politics of developmental capitalism in Ethiopia. Thus, taking my case of the beer and brewing industry, I argue that the state’s pursuit of economic progress through national planning and foreign investment serves as both the cause and consequence of national unrest, challenging scholarly assumptions of what it means to “grow” an economy.

BIO: Christina T. Collins is a cultural anthropologist whose ethnographic research examines the social, cultural, and economic impact of multinational alcohol companies in Ethiopia. Up until the early 2010s, the alcohol industry in Ethiopia was primarily state-owned, but recent privatizations have opened up the local market to international competition. With a focus on beer and brewing, her fieldwork explores the socio-cultural effects of private investments within labor and service economies (e.g., brewing, malt barley production, draft cleaning services, alcohol distribution, food and beverage services, advertising/marketing, and entertainment/nightlife). Her research shows that market activities (i.e., the production, distribution, sale, and consumption of commercial lagers in Ethiopia) are not merely economic in nature but saturated with symbolic, affective, religious, ethnic, and political meanings. Dr. Collins holds a PhD in cultural anthropology from Duke University. Her research interests include anthropology and business; industry and industrialization in emerging markets; national economy; alcohol production, distribution, and consumption; science and technology studies (STS); and the anthropology of development, with a regional focus in sub-Saharan Africa, especially Ethiopia.