Dark Threats and White Knights: The Somalia Affair, Peacekeeping, and the New Imperialism

Fergusson, James; Razack, Sherene H.

doi:10.2307/40203999

Cited by 63 publications

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“…As mentioned earlier, the introduction of Somali refugees to the West was not a welcoming one. After the "Somali Affair" where Shidane Arone was beaten to death, and his lifeless body photographed alongside Canadian soldiers, many more Somali's were allowed entry into Canada, possibly a coincidence, but more likely done to rectify the guilty conscious Canada developed over the heinous human rights violation that surfaced with this crime (Fergusson & Razack, 2004). Oddly enough, the lawyers and prosecutors present at the court proceedings that followed to hold those Canadian soldiers accountable for their abuse and torture of Arone, labelled Somalia as a "lawless land in which well-intentioned peacekeepers were besieged by ungrateful Somalis" and "rough justice" was necessary (Fergusson & Razack, 2004. p. 89).…”

Section: III Discourse On Somalis In the Westmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young diaspora Somali women's navigation of intersectional identities in online social media spaces

Warsame¹

2021

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Using Crenshaw’s work on intersectionality, this research examines how young Somali women have used the arts to challenge negative mainstream media discourse regarding the Black, Muslim and Somali identities. This research, similar to Crichlow's work on narrative sharing in the classroom space being used to amplify the voice of the oppressed and the marginalized, finds that young Somali women are using the arts interact with their intersectional identities and share them in online spaces. Social media has provided room for them to use and amplify their own voices which inevitably challenges negative representations promoted by mainstream media outlets while interacting with their intersectional identities. Using 6 Somali women from the arts communities in two of the major Somali-populated cities in the West; Toronto, Canada, and Minneapolis, USA, this work explores how young Somali women artists have been able to critically and creatively shape a more nuanced discourse about their identities. Keywords: Diaspora youth, Black AND Muslim, Somali women, arts-based inquiry, belonging, social media, narrative sharing, resiliency.

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Section: III Discourse On Somalis In the Westmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young diaspora Somali women's navigation of intersectional identities in online social media spaces

Warsame¹

2021

Preprint

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“…A full critique of the ideological underpinnings of each myth and their political effects is beyond the scope of this chapter. I instead defer to the excellent work of other scholars who critique, for example: Canadian colonialism and imperialism, in peacekeeping and beyond (Gordon, 2010;Midzain-Gobin & Smith, 2020;Razack, 2004;Thobani, 2007), gendered violence in peacekeeping (C. King et al, 2020;Whitworth, 2004); and feminist critiques of militarism and militarization (Enloe, 2016b;Sjoberg & Via, 2010;Taber, 2015). The following chapter builds on the foundation developed in this chapter, wherein I explore mythologies related to the Canada Army Run.…”

Section: Canadians Failing the Canadian Armed Forces: Misconceptions ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much recent work on the military/militarism in Canada focuses on the increased militarization of culture post-9/11 (Fremeth, 2010;Kozolanka, 2015;Wegner, 2017) and the diminishing (and problematic) role of peacekeeping (Dorn, 2005;Dorn & Libben, 2018;Razack, 2004;Young, 2019). Mutimer (2016, p. 210) argues that the formerly uncontested narrative depicting the Canadian Armed Forces as a primarily peacekeeping force is "under sustained threat in a military landscape increasingly understood as complex and uncertain."…”

Section: Critical Military Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Canadian Armed Forces engagement in peacekeeping missions is viewed as a moral good and representative of the benevolence of Canadian foreign policy because such work is considered necessary and helpful to aid recipients. Following momentous precipitating events, the 'dark side' (Razack, 2004) of peacekeeping is discussed by the public via media scrutiny and national inquest (see for example the 1994-1997 Somalia Commission of Inquiry, initiated by newly elected Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and led by Federal Court Judge Gilles Létourneau), where reactions of disgust and condemnation predominate. However, such momentous events are seen as anomalous, the work of isolated, non-representative agents of evil, and therefore not reflective of the presumed benevolence at the core of peacekeeping.…”

Section: Pride In the Canadian Armed Forces: Why They Deserve Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Significant attention has been paid to discourses of militarism in Canada (McCready, 2013;Mutimer, 2016;Razack, 2004;Taber, 2014;Wegner, 2017Wegner, , 2021a, in keeping with broader trends in the field. Discursive analyses of media coverage of the war in Afghanistan and public responses to it, of state and military communications and military recruitment campaigns, etc., have been instrumental in discerning how public support for Canadian Armed Forces combat action is generated, or, as Wegner (2017) argues, how public mobilization against military action in Afghanistan was avoided despite low rates of support amongst the populace.…”

Section: Expanding the Sport Militarism Subfieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

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(Re)Producing military mythology at the Canada Army Run

Desjardins¹

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This thesis offers a novel exploration of militarism in amateur sport, wherein civilians are participants rather than spectators, thus allowing the body to be centered when exploring reproductions of militarism. I analyze the 2019 Canada Army Run -an annual road race organized and hosted by the Canadian Armed Forces -to explore how embodied interaction with the pro-military messaging saturating the event affects participants' political orientation to the Canadian military. I draw on ethnographic data gathered while running in the 5k race and attending pre-and post-race activities, as well as 40 semi-structured qualitative interviews with race participants and three interviews with event organizers. Theoretically, I utilize Barthes' (1972) work on mythology to conceptualize the ideological significance and political affects of military myth and explore the ways myth is circulated and produced at the Army Run.The most predominant Canadian Armed Forces myths described by participants are: having a standing, armed military is necessary and inevitable; the military is moral, only using force when necessary and primarily engaging in aid work; and the military is misunderstood by most civilians and as a result is under appreciated. These myths circulate at the Army Run in myriad ways. The opportunity to build civilian-military connections via interpersonal interaction was the event's most effective tactic in generating civilian support. The race expo facilitated interaction between civilian race attendees and military servicepeople who volunteered for or participated in the races, while featuring individual deceased veterans along the racecourse encouraged participants to see the military not as a faceless institution, but rather as the sum of its parts: individual servicepeople. Army Run participation notably impacted the orientation of civilian participants who had no strong attachment to the military prior to participating. For this group, participation inspired increased political support for the military, largely as a result of developing a perceived connection to the military.Ultimately, I argue that the Canada Army Run (re)produces myths of military necessity, morality, and under appreciation via participants' embodied engagement in military themed spaces and with military members. Through physical engagement in the Army Run's militarysaturated event space and interaction with military servicepeople, participants come to feel connected to the military, and it is through this felt connection that increased support is generated and attention is shifted away from military politics and practices and toward the interpersonal. The Army Run's presentation of a depoliticized, individualized Canadian Armed Forces allows for increased public support that remains constant as it is not grounded in the reality of military action, thus enabling the proliferation of military power and investment.

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Breaching the Colonial Contract

2009

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In today's dominant modes of pedagogy, questions about issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, colonialism, religion, and other social dynamics are rarely asked. Questions about the social spaces where pedagogy takes place -in schools, media, and corporate think tanks -are not raised. And they need to be.The Explorations of Educational Purpose book series can help establish a renewed interest in such questions and their centrality in the larger study of education and the preparation of teachers and other educational professionals. The editors of this series feel that education matters and that the world is in need of a rethinking of education and educational purpose.Coming from a critical pedagogical orientation, Explorations of Educational Purpose aims to have the study of education transcend the trivialization that often degrades it. Rather than be content with the frivolous, scholarly lax forms of teacher education and weak teaching prevailing in the world today, we should work towards education that truly takes the unattained potential of human beings as its starting point. The series will present studies of all dimensions of education and offer alternatives. The ultimate aim of the series is to create new possibilities for people around the world who suffer under the current design of socio-political and educational institutions.For other titles published in this series, go to

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Dark Threats and White Knights: The Somalia Affair, Peacekeeping, and the New Imperialism

Cited by 63 publications

References 0 publications

Young diaspora Somali women's navigation of intersectional identities in online social media spaces

Young diaspora Somali women's navigation of intersectional identities in online social media spaces

(Re)Producing military mythology at the Canada Army Run

Breaching the Colonial Contract

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