Politics

Angola’s Election Day – An interview with MC Carbono

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A note on the run-up to the Angolon elections that were held on August 31st, 2012.

By Roberto Valussi, 4th September, 2012

The 31st August 2012 marks the day of the Angolan presidential elections; the second one after the 27 years of civil war of 1975-2002. The last time the Angolan population went to the poll was in 2008, when the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) – which emerged victorious in the conflict – obtained an enviable 82%.

The transparency of the electoral process was a concern then and it has only grown on this occasion. Many  have denounced the irregularities, some of which has already hit the international news. The main opposition party, UNITA – which lost the war – organised a rally last Saturday calling a postponement  of the elections until a decent standard of transparency is met.

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Who said Psychoanalysis is dead? Psychoanalysis, politics and culture in the twenty first century – Part II

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In this interview, Carmen Gallano, an experienced psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, analyses the relevance of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytical philosophy in contemporary politics and culture. It covers the importance of a single ‘like’ on Facebook, the combination of narcissism and cynicism as well as the mental ‘concentration camps’ of modern capitalism.

4 June, 2012

Q. You have previously noted that family and social bonds are diluting. Based on your 30 plus years of clinical practice, what role do you think social networks and the rapid emergence of virtual life are playing in human life?

A. Individuals use social networks in order to compensate for the breach of social bonds. New means of technology offer virtual connections that facilitate the establishment of global networks of contacts. These, in turn, may or may not bring about local and territorial connections with physical individuals. In order to better understand the rising impact of social networks I have sought guidance in the works of Lacan, in particular his studies on the move from a discourse of the Master to a capitalist discourse and his theory of the subject.

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Who said Psychoanalysis is dead? Psychoanalysis, politics and culture in the twenty first century – Part I

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In this interview, Carmen Gallano, an experienced psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, analyses the relevance of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytical philosophy in contemporary politics and culture.

4 April, 2012

This interview was conducted at the private practice of Ms Carmen Gallano in Madrid, Spain, in early March. Ms Gallano studied medicine and psychiatry and worked several years in hospitals and mental institutions before training in psychoanalysis at the Paris School of Jacques Lacan. She is a member of the International School of Psychoanalysis of the Forums of the Lacanian Field (EPFCL), and she has worked many years in her private practice in Madrid. Ms Gallano further combines her work with teaching and she has published extensively in Spain and abroad including two books titled “The feminine alterity” and “Desire, texts and conferences” (available only in Spanish: “La Alteridad Femenina” and “Deseo, textos y conferencias”). Photographs included in these series are courtesy of Ms Gallano.

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