War without end? Military humanitarianism and the limits of biopolitical approaches to security in Central America and the Caribbean

Bryan, Joe

doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2015.01.006

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Disasters take shape in relation to a wide array of discursive and material processes. However, we choose to focus specifically on the connections between state and nature because there is a near hegemonic assumption that states must take responsibility for citizens when 'natural' disaster strikes (Bryan 2015;Dauber 2012; Pantti, Wahl-Jorgensen and Cottle 2012: 139; See also Klein 2007). No wonder then that the post-disaster moment is saturated with claims and counterclaims about the meanings and relations of nature and state.…”

Section: The Changing Role Of 'Nature' In the Political Ecology Of Hamentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond "natural-disasters-are-not-natural": the work of state and nature after the 2010 earthquake in Chile

Gould

García

Remes

2016

Journal of Political Ecology

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Since the 1970s, human ecologists, geographers, Marxian political economists and others have insisted that there is no such thing as a 'natural' disaster. This assertion opened a space not only for exploring socioeconomic conditions that render marginalized populations vulnerable to natural hazards, but also for the formation of a field, the political ecology of hazards. A few political ecologists further interrogated the idea of a natural disaster, asking how different notions of 'the natural' circulate in post-disaster politics and with what effects. This article extends the latter approach by documenting how interconnected categories of 'nature' and 'state' were mutually constituted by narratives of politicians and elites after Chile's 2010 earthquake and tsunami. Drawing on media reports, we identify three distinct pairings of state/nature: (1) nature as manageable and the state as manager; (2) nature as out of control and the state as a police state; and (3) nature as financial opportunity and the state as prudential. Influenced by socioeconomic and historical factors, these state/nature pairings contradicted and reinforced one another in the disaster's aftermath and were deployed to reinforce top-down—rather than democratic—strategies of post-disaster reconstruction. This case offers an unusual approach to disaster politics by tracing how entwined and power-laden categories of state and nature condition the governance of disaster reconstruction processes.Key words: disaster, state, nature, socionature, political ecology of hazards, media disaster, earthquake, Latin America, Chile, 27F

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Section: The Changing Role Of 'Nature' In the Political Ecology Of Hamentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond "natural-disasters-are-not-natural": the work of state and nature after the 2010 earthquake in Chile

Gould

García

Remes

2016

Journal of Political Ecology

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“…CMS scholars have highlighted the link between development and security and the militarization of development assistance and practice, which they capture in the concept of the security-development nexus (Bryan 2015;Chandler 2007;Duffield 2010;Stern and …jendal 2010). This nexus is dual sided.…”

Section: A Soft Approach To Anti-poaching: Conservation Developmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking green militarization and critical military studies

Massé

Lunstrum

Holterman

2017

Critical Military Studies

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The precipitous increase in commercial poaching across parts of Africa has been met by progressively more militarized responses. Amounting to green militarization, we now see national armies, increasingly paramilitarized rangers, military tactics, and even sophisticated military technology used to address the problem. Scholarly investigations on the topic have largely been approached from a political ecology perspective and hence have not made connections with the equally relevant field of critical military studies (CMS). We see this as a missed opportunity. This paper is thus an early attempt to begin forging these connections. At the most general level, we introduce green militarization Ð as a practice and realm of scholarly debate Ð to CMS. By bringing in environmental conservation and non-human nature, this offers a broader view into the vast areas of nominally civilian life that are increasingly militarized, a defining interest of CMS. Second, we draw from core CMS insights Ð especially regarding the link between development and security Ð to grasp changing practices and trends in green militarization. In particular, we illustrate how the recent shift toward softer militarized approaches amounts to poaching-related soft-counterinsurgency, which we capture in the concept of the conservation-security-development nexus. Here, communities become the object of development interventions to Òwin hearts and mindsÓ and prevent their involvement in poaching, thereby neutralizing the security threats poaching might pose. We close by suggesting future areas of intersection between CMS and the political-ecological work on green militarization in hopes of inciting a deeper engagement.

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“…There are many external pressures on Autonomous Region villages and institutions (Nietschmann, ; Hale, ; Finley‐Brook, , ; Bryan, ). With ideologically dissimilar approaches, Nietschmann () and Hale () both show Miskitu were highly skilled at adapting and could take advantage of shifting opportunities across history.…”

Section: Territorial ‘Fix’?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Territorial ‘Fix’? Tenure Insecurity in Titled Indigenous Territories

Finley-Brook

2016

Bull Latin American Res

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Indigenous territorial governments in Nicaragua's North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region experience ongoing land and resource contests, in many cases building from longstanding disputes or problems, even after titling. I argue that it is naïve to expect that granting titles – a supposed territorial fix – will resolve conflicts created across decades as a result of ineffective policies and economic pressures. As shown with three demarcated Miskitu territories, tenure insecurity arises from challenges with the state, private firms, non‐indigenous colonists, and even from the activities of territorial leaders. These cases suggest the need to move beyond perceptions of Miskitu territories as simple bounded remnants of the past and acknowledge they are complex, porous, trans‐local, and transgressed by processes such as migration, urbanisation, and neoliberal economic integration. Indeed, new territorial governments are encouraged by foreign donors and state laws to mirror government agencies and prioritise market linkages.

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War without end? Military humanitarianism and the limits of biopolitical approaches to security in Central America and the Caribbean

Cited by 17 publications

References 42 publications

Beyond "natural-disasters-are-not-natural": the work of state and nature after the 2010 earthquake in Chile

Beyond "natural-disasters-are-not-natural": the work of state and nature after the 2010 earthquake in Chile

Linking green militarization and critical military studies

Territorial ‘Fix’? Tenure Insecurity in Titled Indigenous Territories

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