Course Notes for POL S 359-B02: Geographies of War and Peace

Course Overview

• Course Title: POL S 359-B02 Topics in International Politics: Geographies of War and Peace
• Instructor: Adriana Rincón-Villegas, PhD
• Date: April 4, 2025

Course Themes

PART I: HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL TOOLKIT

Colonialism as War

• Definition: A framework viewing colonialism as a form of warfare.
• Typologies of Colonialism (Shoemaker, 2015):
  • Settler Colonies: Establish colonies populated by settlers.
  • Planter Colonies: Based on plantation agriculture, often exploiting enslaved people.
  • Extractive Colonies: Focus on resource extraction.
  • Trade Colonies: Centers for commerce and trade.
  • Transport Colonies: Facilitate movement of goods and people.
  • Imperial Power: Authority rooted in political and military dominance.
  • Types: Legal, Rogue, Missionary, Romantic.
  • Postcolonial Perspectives: Addressing the legacies of colonialism through decolonization.

Decolonization and Development

• Definitions of Development: Explore who the subjects of development are and the measures used to assess it.
• Politics of Amnesia (Kennedy, 2016): The tendency to forget historical injustices and their effects.

Neoliberalism and Conflict

• Key Constructs:
  • Washington Consensus: Neoliberal economic policy framework.
  • "Crisis of Keynesianism": Shift from government-led economic models to market-driven ones.
  • Accumulation by Dispossession (Harvey, 2007): Economic exploitation intertwined with dispossession of resources.
• Escobar's Conflict Dimensions (2006): Political ecology of war linked to resource conflicts.

Causes for Conflict

• Resource Dependence, Resource Conflictuality, Resource Lootability (Le Billon, 2001).
• Influence of neoliberal policies on exacerbating conflict.

PART II: GEOGRAPHIES OF WAR: LANDS, BODIES, BORDERS

Conceptualizing Borders

• Borders as Products of War: Developed through colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and post-war treaties.
• Securitized Zones: Regions designated for military and security purposes.
• Inclusion and Exclusion: Differentiating between “deserving” and “undeserving” migrants.
• Criminalization of Migration: Terms such as “illegals” reflect societal attitudes toward migrants.
• Transnational Crime Networks: Exploiting vacuums of state power.
• Cyber Borders: Control and regulation of digital spaces with implications for sovereignty.

Gender and Identity in Conflict

• Conflict-related Gender Dynamics: Explore femininities, masculinities, and stereotypes produced during conflict.
• Hegemonic Femininities/Masculinities: Analyze the contrasting ideals of womanhood and manhood in wartime.
• Framework for understanding how gender shapes the experiences of conflict, including the role of women in security frameworks and resistance movements.

Land as a Resource for Conflict

• Political, Economic and Territorial Significance of Land: Central to identity and survival.
• Categories of Wars Over Land:
  • Territorial disputes, resource conflicts, and agrarian conflicts.
  • Historical dispossession of Indigenous lands.

PART III: GEOGRAPHIES OF PEACE

Defining Peace

• Galtung's Definitions (1969): Differentiate between negative and positive peace.

Mechanisms of Peacebuilding

• Ways to Address Past Atrocities:
  • Ad-Hoc Tribunals: International Military Tribunal, ICTY, ICTR.
  • Permanent Criminal Tribunals: International Criminal Court.
  • Transitional Justice Mechanisms: Truth commissions, reparations, reform.

Case Studies in Peacebuilding

• Korean Demilitarized Zone: How does it serve Pacific (de-escalation) in the Korean Peninsula?
• Eritrea-Ethiopia Conflict: Peace mechanisms resolving border disputes, underlining the importance of institutional reform.
• Gacaca Courts in Rwanda: Addressing colonial legacies and ethnic divisions post-conflict.
• Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace: Analyzing models of feminist mobilization.

Migration's Role in Peacebuilding

• Migration as a Peacebuilding Tool: Specific case studies, such as Colombia, investigate how economic migration assists in peace efforts.
• Intersection of Digital Technology and Peacebuilding: Explore the role of media, including initiatives like Radio La Benevolencija in Rwanda.

Critical Reflection

• Examine the implications of violence and disparities in peace contexts, including environmental conflicts and systemic oppression.
• Consider Arundhati Roy's perspective on peace as a continuous societal battle against poverty and degradation.