"Dilemmas of Modernity is a cunning ethnography of patterns of law, intention and meaning in Bolivia. Yet it is more besides: the book is a reflection on and demonstration of anthropology's relevance not just to the study of law but to the formation of what Goodale calls "theory pursued by the social." Goodale's interlocutors seek conceptual grounding for their forays into liberalism, rights discourse, and justice, bringing their identities and experiences to bear yet also engaging in their own acts of social theorizing, making an explicitly self-reflective "modernity" along the way. Richly evoking the worlds of Bolivians' making—perhaps not as they would have chosen, yet in a sense still self-imposed—Goodale presents a fascinating study that is likely to reorient Andeanist scholarship as well as enhance the conversation in the anthropologies of law and modernity, and sociolegal studies on human rights, liberalism's vernacularization, and the paradoxes of the law's universalist claims in a world of wrenching particularities."—Bill Maurer, University of California, Irvine

"Goodale's examination of law and liberalism in Bolivia makes a compelling argument: that the social and political revolution underway in contemporary Bolivia, which seems to be a rejection of liberal strategies of the past decades, is in fact a renewal of the values of liberalism. Clear and often lyrical, this is an interesting and original contribution to the literature on Bolivia." —Nancy Postero, University of California, San Diego

"Mark Goodale convincingly argues that one can best understand the Bolivian experience only through examining the articulation of historical patterns of intention and concrete social practices. This is a fascinating read that presents much new and original analysis."—Shannon Speed, University of Texas at Austin