‘Occupied territory is occupied territory’: James Baldwin, Palestine and the possibilities of transnational solidarity

Abstract

In his 1966 essay 'A Report from Occupied Territory' , James Baldwin wrote that 'occupied territory is occupied territory, even though it be found in that New World which the Europeans conquered'. Though written 50 years ago, Baldwin's observations continue to resonate, indicating historical trends across geographical experiences affected by the legacy of colonialism. A growing theme in development and peace building studies relates to a kind of boundary crossing that sees academics and activists drawing linkages across spatial and temporal divides. The situation in Palestine-Israel has taken an increasingly central role in mobilising transnational solidarities that cross such boundaries. By examining James Baldwin's analysis of Harlem's 'occupation'-as well as drawing from a range of voices such as Achille Mbembe, Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, Toni Morrison and Laleh Khalili-this paper will explore the shared experiences of racism, colonialism, military occupation and dispossession that separate and divide, and the possibilities for transnational solidarities that defy those separations. Edward Said Award 2016 TWQ/Global Development Studies paper Third World Quarterly (TWQ) and Global Development Studies (GDS) of the International Studies Association (ISA) are pleased to introduce a new annual feature to the journal, the Edward Said Award. In the spirit of Professor Said's patronage of incisive and critical research, the Award showcases emerging scholarship in the politics of global development. He was a founding editorial board member of TWQ. Introduction: 'occupied territory is occupied territory' Occupied territory is occupied territory, even though it be found in that New World which the Europeans conquered; and it is axiomatic, in occupied territory, that any act of resistance, even though it be executed by a child, be answered at once, and with the full weight of the occupying forces. 1

Kashmir and Palestine: itineraries of (anti) colonial solidarity

“…Scholarship on transnational solidarity yields important theoretical insights regarding its conceptual dimensions at the interface of the local and the transnational. Timothy Seidel's (2016) work on the #BlackPalestinianSolidarityMovement references transnationalism as a porous concept by citing Laleh Khalili's discussion about the '"crucial interface between the local and the transnational"' in discursive interrogations of the binaries between North/South and inside/outside (2016, 1655).…”

“…Here, transnational discourses are '"forged"' and '"transformed across borders,"' they '"translate world-historical events into recognizable daily struggles'" and '"create a sense of sympathy if not kinship -and an imagined transnational community among people who, for the most part, ha(ve) never met and would never meet"' (Seidel 2016(Seidel , 1655). To describe networks across national borders more accurately, it may also be appropriate to hold the concept of the transnational in tension with the concept of 'Are we going to move closer to Israel and the US, and deepen our alliances with warfare and police states?…”

‘We Refuse to be Enemies’: Political Geographies of Violence and Resistance in Palestine

“…The power of transnational discourse rests in its ability 'to translate world-historical events into recognisable daily struggles and to create a sense of sympathy -if not kinship -and an imagined transnational community among people who, for the most part, had never met and would never meet' (Khalili 2007, 12). These discourses appeal to a transnational audience as well as a local one, working to forge a transnational identity or 'imagined community' that is sustained by institutions, networks, and solidarities (Keck & Sikkink 1998;Seidel 2016). What follows is one example of the articulation of civil resistance and an alternatively imagined geography 'mapped' by Palestinians that transcends national boundaries.…”

Colonialism, genocide and International Relations: the Namibian–German case and struggles for restorative relations

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