New Publication: Laura Mafizzoli on Ambivalence and Political Protest in Georgia

MEMPOP postdoctoral researcher Laura Mafizzoli has published a new essay, “Ambivalence,” in Cultural Anthropology’s Hot Spots series, “The Protest Affect: Anti-Authoritarian Resistance and the Struggle for Freedom in Georgia,” published on November 3, 2026.

The series brings together ethnographic reflections on the emotions and everyday experiences that have shaped Georgia’s ongoing anti-government protests. Rather than focusing exclusively on organised political mobilisation, the contributions explore how anger, anxiety, exhaustion, solidarity, and other affective experiences sustain and complicate political resistance.

In her contribution, Mafizzoli examines the everyday ambivalences that emerge under conditions of political polarisation. Drawing on an ethnographic encounter with a young Georgian woman who participated in protests against the government while maintaining a romantic relationship with a police officer tasked with monitoring demonstrations, the essay explores how political commitments become entangled with intimate relationships, economic necessities, and aspirations for the future.

Through this encounter, Mafizzoli challenges understandings of political polarisation that divide society into clearly opposed camps. She shows how individuals navigate contradictory moral and political positions that cannot always be reconciled, even as they continue to hope for political change.

The essay speaks directly to MEMPOP’s interest in understanding political life from below, highlighting the importance of ethnographic attention to ambiguity, affect, and everyday experiences that complicate conventional distinctions between political supporters and opponents.

The essay is available in English and Georgian.

Read Laura Mafizzoli’s essay: https://www.culanth.org/fieldsights/ambivalence

Explore the full Hot Spots series: https://www.culanth.org/fieldsights/series/the-protest-affect