Anthropological Explorations of Violent Transfigurations of State, Crime and Politics across Contexts May 20-22, 2021 Keynote Speech by Prof Jean Comaroff (Harvard University) Across the globe, we are witnessing collective dissent against police violence and (abusive) state practices alongside a resurrection of vigilante activities, that is citizens’ attempts to take law into their own hands to punish alleged criminals. While the perceived targets of these vigilante endeavours vary in different contexts – ranging from communities who are deemed illegal to those who are considered immoral-indecent and from those who slaughter cattle to elected members of parliaments – vigilante groups, by…