ECONOMIC MEDIATION AND THE POWER OF ASSOCIATIONS - TOWARD A CONCEPT OF ENCOMPASSMENT

Examining the incorporation of the Galician fishing sector into the Eu ropean Community, this analysis seeks to articulate a concept of encom passment. We argue that a European anthropology must develop the theor etical resources and methods to explore the dialectical relationship b etween structures that are both hierarchically linked and of different magnitudes. In particular, it is necessary to grasp the emergence of new forms of social organization that mediate this relationship. This study seeks to provide an ethnography of such a socially meaningful li nk.