The Shifting Face of the Enemy: ‘Less than Lethal’ Weaponry and the Criminalised Protestor

Abstract

From checkpoints in Palestine and cities in other war-torn places to Istanbul, Ferguson and Paris: anti-riot and other so called 'non-lethal' weaponry is used worldwide against civilians by government forces. The use of such violence (even if framed as 'non-or less-than-lethal') against protestors in major cities, often turning the city streets into scenes from battle fields, is worrying as it shows an increasing disrespect for human and civil rights by states with an obsession with 'keeping the order'. What is less visible, however, is how technologies and weapons that are used against protestors, and the ways they are marketed, (re)produce the image of the protestor as a legitimate target. Studying this process in more detail can help understand the criminalisation of protests and protestors along with other democratic tools.

Weathering violence: Atmospheric materialities and olfactory durations of ‘skunk water’ in Palestine

“…Here already the human body became targeted as a breathing entity captured in aerial environs of toxic clouds that cause various, (mostly) less-than-lethal symptoms (respiratory difficulties, eye and skin irritation, etc.). Albeit skunk water bears resemblance to techniques such as 'stink bombs' briefly introduced by the US Army during WWII, and can be further seen as part of the post-Cold War investment in developing a variety of less-than-lethal policing and warfare technologies (Grassiani, 2022;McSorley, 2020;Schmeisser et al, 2013), the particularity of skunk water lies precisely in its non-linear way of weaponising the moving air with a smell that sticks to bodies and objects but also intensifies, spreads and transformslingersaccording to prevalent weather conditions. Skunk water, in other words, doesn't simply disperse the mobs; it rather collectively punishes everyone inhabiting the environments affected by its sticking, spreading and lingering malodours.…”