DOCSLIB.ORG

Liberal Statebuilding Interventions and the Monopoly on Violence

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Liberal Statebuilding Interventions and the Monopoly on Violence LIBERAL STATEBUILDING INTERVENTIONS AND THE MONOPOLY ON VIOLENCE A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science by Benjamin Brast Submission: 26.01.2015 Defense: 04.09.2015 Klaus Schlichte Peter Mayer Christoph Zürcher Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences i Liberal Statebuilding Interventions and the Monopoly on Violence Benjamin Brast ii Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables...................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ vi 1. Introduction: Violence, the State and Statebuilding ........................................................................ 1 1.1. Context and Research Question ............................................................................................. 1 1.2. The Argument ...................................................................................................................... 8 1.3. Methods and Case Selection ................................................................................................ 10 1.4. Organization of the Dissertation .......................................................................................... 17 2. Regulating Violence: An Institutionalist Theory .......................................................................... 19 2.1. Politics, Society and Violence ............................................................................................. 20 2.2. Regulating Large-Scale Violence......................................................................................... 28 2.3. Regulating Small-Scale Violence......................................................................................... 37 2.4. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 49 3. Liberal Statebuilding Interventions and the Regulation of Violence............................................... 51 3.1. Statebuilding Intervention and Large-Scale Violence ............................................................ 53 3.2. Statebuilding Intervention and Small-Scale Violence ............................................................ 64 3.3. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 76 4. Afghanistan............................................................................................................................... 80 4.1. State Formation and Civil War in Afghanistan...................................................................... 83 4.2. Statebuilding Intervention and Large-Scale Violence Regulation ........................................... 90 4.3. Statebuilding Intervention and Small-Scale Violence Regulation ......................................... 110 4.4. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 130 5. Sierra Leone ............................................................................................................................ 133 5.1. State Formation and Civil War in Sierra Leone................................................................... 136 5.2. Statebuilding Intervention and Large-Scale Violence Regulation ......................................... 144 5.3. Statebuilding Intervention and Small-Scale Violence Regulation ......................................... 163 5.4. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 177 6. Bosnia-Herzegovina ................................................................................................................ 180 6.1. State Formation and Civil War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ................................................. 183 6.2. Statebuilding Intervention and Large-Scale Violence Regulation ......................................... 189 6.3. Statebuilding Intervention and Small-Scale Violence Regulation ......................................... 205 6.4. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 218 7. Conclusion: What Future for Statebuilding and State Formation?................................................ 220 8. Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 235 Statement of Originality .................................................................................................................. 255 iii List of Figures Figure 1: Battle-related deaths, Uppsala Conflict Data Set (UCDP 2014a). ........................................... 14 Figure 2: Tax revenues as percentage of GDP ten years after the onset of statebuilding intervention (WorldBank 2014). ........................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 3: Monopoly on violence in Sri Lanka and Syria. ...................................................................... 32 Figure 4: Regional cooperation mechanism. ........................................................................................ 61 Figure 5: Regional competition mechanism......................................................................................... 62 Figure 6: The weak state legacies mechanism...................................................................................... 72 Figure 7: The strong state legacies mechanism. ................................................................................... 74 Figure 8: Regional competition mechanism......................................................................................... 92 Figure 9: Map of Afghanistan and its neighbors {Google, 2014 #759}. ................................................. 94 Figure 10: Number of Afghan National Security Forces, Afghan Local Police and ISAF troops. .......... 106 Figure 11: Afghan government finances (WorldBank 2014). .............................................................. 107 Figure 12: Weak state legacies mechanism. ...................................................................................... 112 Figure 13: Answers to the question “Who did you report the crime to?”. Figure reproduced from Afghan Survey 2013, The Asia Foundation (AsiaFoundation 2013: 35). ......................................................... 128 Figure 14: Question on attitude towards the ANP in 2013, item from Northeast Afghanistan Longitudinal Study (Boehnke et al. forthcoming). ................................................................................................. 129 Figure 15: Question on attitude towards the ANP, item from Northeast Afghanistan Longitudinal Study (Boehnke et al. forthcoming)............................................................................................................ 130 Figure 16: Regional Cooperation Mechanism. ................................................................................... 146 Figure 17: Map of Sierra Leone and the wider West African region (Google 2014). ............................ 149 Figure 18: Military expenditures of the Sierra Leonean state (WorldBank 2014). ................................ 160 Figure 19: Official development assistance for Sierra Leone in relation to government expenses (WorldBank 2014). ......................................................................................................................... 161 Figure 20: Weak State Legacy Mechanism. ...................................................................................... 164 Figure 21: Demand for institutions of small-scale violence regulation in Sierra Leone (Afrobarometer 2013).............................................................................................................................................. 177 Figure 22: Regional cooperation mechanism. .................................................................................... 191 Figure 23: Map of the Western Balkans and its European neighborhood (Google 2014). ...................... 193 Figure 24: Strong State Legacy Mechanism. ..................................................................................... 207 iv List of Tables Table 1: Complete list of liberal statebuilding interventions. .................................................................. 5 Table 2: Actors, resources, strategies and outcomes of statebuilding interventions. ................................ 15 Table 3: Statebuilding intervention and measures of small-scale violence monopolization. .................... 17 Table 4: “Monopoly on Violence” score of 129 countries in transition (BTI 2014a). .............................. 25 Table 5: Actors of large-scale and small-scale violence regulation. ....................................................... 27 Table 6: Institutions of large-scale and small-scale violence regulation. ................................................ 27 Table 7: Typology of possible statebuilding outcomes. ........................................................................ 77 v Acknowledgements
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Rawls's Liberal Society and the Legitimate Use of Force Matthew R
    Bates College SCARAB Honors Theses Capstone Projects 5-2018 Communities of Power: Rawls's Liberal Society and the Legitimate Use of Force Matthew R. Davis Bates College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses Recommended Citation Davis, Matthew R., "Communities of Power: Rawls's Liberal Society and the Legitimate Use of Force" (2018). Honors Theses. 247. https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/247 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Capstone Projects at SCARAB. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of SCARAB. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Communities of Power: Rawls’s Liberal Society and the Legitimate use of Force An Honors Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Philosophy Bates College In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts By Matthew R. Davis Lewiston, Maine March 28, 2018 “There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries but an organized common peace” - Woodrow Wilson Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my wonderful advisor, Professor David Cummiskey for the guidance and support through this process. It was in one of Professor Cummiskey’s classes my freshman year that I first became interested in philosophy, and he has guided me not just through writing this thesis but also through the rest of my Bates career as an academic adviser. I would also like to thank the entire philosophy department, all of whom are excellent educators and intellectual role models, and whose support and enthusiasm have made me love every philosophy class I have taken at Bates.
    [Show full text]
  • Profile of Internal Displacement : Sierra Leone
    PROFILE OF INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT : SIERRA LEONE Compilation of the information available in the Global IDP Database of the Norwegian Refugee Council (as of 15 October, 2003) Also available at http://www.idpproject.org Users of this document are welcome to credit the Global IDP Database for the collection of information. The opinions expressed here are those of the sources and are not necessarily shared by the Global IDP Project or NRC Norwegian Refugee Council/Global IDP Project Chemin Moïse Duboule, 59 1209 Geneva - Switzerland Tel: + 41 22 799 07 00 Fax: + 41 22 799 07 01 E-mail : [email protected] CONTENTS CONTENTS 1 PROFILE SUMMARY 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 CAUSES AND BACKGROUND OF DISPLACEMENT 9 BACKGROUND TO THE CONFLICT 9 CHRONOLOGY OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS SINCE INDEPENDENCE (1961 - 2000) 9 HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS OF CONFLICT (1991-1998) 13 CONTINUED CONFLICT DESPITE THE SIGNING OF THE LOME PEACE AGREEMENT (JULY 1999-MAY 2000) 16 PEACE PROCESS DERAILED AS SECURITY SITUATION WORSENED DRAMATICALLY IN MAY 2000 18 RELATIVELY STABLE SECURITY SITUATION SINCE SIGNING OF CEASE-FIRE AGREEMENT IN ABUJA ON 10 NOVEMBER 2000 20 CIVIL WAR DECLARED OVER FOLLOWING THE FULL DEPLOYMENT OF UNAMSIL AND THE COMPLETION OF DISARMAMENT (JANUARY 2002) 22 REGIONAL EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE IN SIERRA LEONE (2002) 23 SIERRA LEONEANS GO TO THE POLLS TO RE-ELECT AHMAD TEJAN KABBAH AS PRESIDENT (MAY 2002) 24 SIERRA LEONE’S SPECIAL COURT AND TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION START WORK (2002-2003) 25 MAIN CAUSES OF DISPLACEMENT 28 COUNTRYWIDE DISPLACEMENT
    [Show full text]
  • BRASILIANA 5.ª Sl!:RIE DA BIBLIOTECA PEDA Gôgica BRASILEIRA SOB a DIREÇÃO DE FERNIANDO DE AZEVEDO VOLUMES PUBLICADOS
    BRASILIANA 5.ª Sl!:RIE DA BIBLIOTECA PEDA GôGICA BRASILEIRA SOB A DIREÇÃO DE FERNIANDO DE AZEVEDO VOLUMES PUBLICADOS ANTROPOLOGIA E DEMOGRAFIA 81 - Lemos Brito: A Gloriosa Sotal­ rta do Primeiro Império - Frei 4 - Ollvelra Viana: Raça e Assimi­ Caneca - Edição 11ustr9:da. lação - 3.• edição (aumentada). as· - Wanderley Pinho: Cotegipe e 8 - Oliveira Viana: Populações Me­ seu Tempo - Ed. Ilustrada. r_idl_onaJs do 13rasll - 4.ª edição. 88 - Hélio Lobo: Um Varão da Re­ 9 - Nina Rodrigues: Os Africanos pública: Fernando Lobo. no Brasil - (Revisão e prefácio de Homero Pires). Profusamente Ilus­ 114 - Carlos Süsseklnd de Mendonça: trado - 2.ª edição. Sllvio Romero - sua Fotmaçe.o Intellectual - 1851-1880 - Com 22 -E. Roquette-Plnto: Ensaios de uma Introdução bibliográfica Antropologia Brasileira. Ed. Ilustrada. 2'7 - Alfredo Ellls Júnior; Popula­ ções Paullstas. 119 - Sud Mennuccl: O Precursor do Abolicionismo - Luiz Gama 59 - Alfredo Ellls Júnior: Os Pri­ Ed. Ilustrada. meiros Troncos Paullstas e o cru- 2amento Euro-Americano. 120 - Pedro Calmon: O Rei Filósofo - Vida de D. Pedro II - 2.ª ARQUEOLOGIA E PREHIS'J:0RIA Edição Ilustrada. , 133 - Heitor Lira: História de Dom 34 - Anglone costa: Introdução ã Pedro II - 1825-1891 - Vol. 1.0; Arqueologia Brasileira - Ed. uus- , "Ascenção" - 1825-1870 - Ed. !1. trada. 133-A - Heitor Lira: História de Dllln 137 - Antbal Matos: Prehlstórla Bra­ Pedro II - 1825-1891 - 2.0 Vo­ sileira - Vârlos Estudos - Ed. li. lume: "Fastlglo": 1870•1880 - Ed. 148 - Anlbal Matos: Peter Wilhem Ilustrada. Lund no Brasil - Problemas de Paleontologia Brasileira. Ed. Ilus­ 135 - Alberto Ptzarro Jacobina: Dias trada. Carneiro (O Conservador) - Ed. Ilustrada.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Soldiers and Blood Diamonds OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES GRADES
    Civil War in Sierra Leone: Child Soldiers and Blood Diamonds OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES GRADES This lesson addresses the civil war in Sierra Leone to 8 illustrate the problem of child soldiers and the use of diamonds to finance the war. Students will draw TIME conclusions about the impact of the ten years civil war on the people of Sierra Leone, as well as on a boy who 4-5 class periods lived through it, by reading an excerpt from his book, A Long Way Gone. This lesson explores the concepts REQUIRED MATERIALS of civil war, conflict diamonds, and child soldiers in Sierra Leone while investigating countries of West Computer with projector Africa. Students will also examine the Rights of the Child and identify universal rights and Computer Internet access for students responsibilities. Pictures of child soldiers Poster paper and markers Students will be able to... Articles: Chapter One from A Long Way describe the effects of Sierra Leone’s civil war. Gone by Ishmael Beah; “What are Conflict analyze the connection between conflict Diamonds”; “How the Diamond Trade diamonds and child soldiers. Works”; “Rights for Every Child” analyze the role diamonds play in Africa’s civil wars Handouts: “Pre-Test on Sierra Leone”; compare their life in the United States with the “Post-Test on Sierra Leone”; “Sierra Leone lives of people in Sierra Leone. and Its Neighbors” describe the location and physical and human geography of Sierra Leone and West Africa. identify factors that affect Sierra Leone’s economic development analyze statistics to compare Sierra Leone and its neighbors. assess the Rights of the Child for Sierra Leone analyze the Rights of the Child and the responsibility to maintain the rights MINNESOTA SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS & BENCHMARKS Standard 1.
    [Show full text]
  • G U I N E a Liberia Sierra Leone
    The boundaries and names shown and the designations Mamou used on this map do not imply official endorsement or er acceptance by the United Nations. Nig K o L le n o G UINEA t l e a SIERRA Kindia LEONEFaranah Médina Dula Falaba Tabili ba o s a g Dubréka K n ie c o r M Musaia Gberia a c S Fotombu Coyah Bafodia t a e r G Kabala Banian Konta Fandié Kamakwie Koinadugu Bendugu Forécariah li Kukuna Kamalu Fadugu Se Bagbe r Madina e Bambaya g Jct. i ies NORTHERN N arc Sc Kurubonla e Karina tl it Mateboi Alikalia L Yombiro Kambia M Pendembu Bumbuna Batkanu a Bendugu b Rokupr o l e Binkolo M Mange Gbinti e Kortimaw Is. Kayima l Mambolo Makeni i Bendou Bodou Port Loko Magburaka Tefeya Yomadu Lunsar Koidu-Sefadu li Masingbi Koundou e a Lungi Pepel S n Int'l Airport or a Matotoka Yengema R el p ok m Freetown a Njaiama Ferry Masiaka Mile 91 P Njaiama- Wellington a Yele Sewafe Tongo Gandorhun o Hastings Yonibana Tungie M Koindu WESTERN Songo Bradford EAS T E R N AREA Waterloo Mongeri York Rotifunk Falla Bomi Kailahun Buedu a i Panguma Moyamba a Taiama Manowa Giehun Bauya T Boajibu Njala Dambara Pendembu Yawri Bendu Banana Is. Bay Mano Lago Bo Segbwema Daru Shenge Sembehun SOUTHE R N Gerihun Plantain Is. Sieromco Mokanje Kenema Tikonko Bumpe a Blama Gbangbatok Sew Tokpombu ro Kpetewoma o Sh Koribundu M erb Nitti ro River a o i Turtle Is. o M h Sumbuya a Sherbro I.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Concepts Committee on Concepts and Methods Working Paper Series
    Political Concepts Committee on Concepts and Methods Working Paper Series 54 December 2011 The Concept of Nature in Libertarianism Marcel Wissenburg Radboud University Nijmegen ([email protected]) C&M The Committee on Concepts and Methods www.concepts-methods.org IPSA International Political Science Association www.ipsa.org CIDE Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences www.cide.edu Editor The C&M working paper series are published by the Committee on Concepts and Methods Andreas Schedler (CIDE, Mexico City) (C&M), the Research Committee No. 1 of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), hosted at CIDE in Mexico City. C&M Editorial Board working papers are meant to share work in progress in a timely way before formal José Antonio Cheibub, University of Illinois at publication. Authors bear full responsibility for Urbana-Champaign the content of their contributions. All rights reserved. David Collier, University of California, Berkeley The Committee on Concepts and Methods Michael Coppedge, University of Notre Dame (C&M) promotes conceptual and methodological discussion in political science. It provides a forum of debate between John Gerring, Boston University methodological schools who otherwise tend to conduct their deliberations at separate tables. It Russell Hardin, New York University publishes two series of working papers: “Political Concepts” and “Political Methodology.” Evelyne Huber, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Political Concepts contains work of excellence on political concepts and political language. It James Johnson, University of Rochester seeks to include innovative contributions to concept analysis, language usage, concept operationalization, and measurement. Gary King, Harvard University Political Methodology contains work of Bernhard Kittel, University of Oldenburg excellence on methods and methodology in the study of politics.
    [Show full text]
  • The Boko Haram Example in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon MOSES JOSEPH YAKUBU University of Benin Nigeria Yak [email protected]
    Child insurgents in West Africa: The Boko Haram example In Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon MOSES JOSEPH YAKUBU University of Benin Nigeria [email protected] Abstract One of the most shocking horrors of Boko Haram’s rampage in West Africa has been the insurgents’ ability to turn captured boys and girls into destroyers and killers. Since 2014, Boko Haram group has used hundreds of young boys and girls to terrorize north-east Nigeria and some of her northern neighbours such as Niger, Cameroon and Chad. A critical aspect of neglect in available materials on this subject is the inadequate presentation and documentation of child insurgents in Boko Haram insurgency. This study examines children’s involvement in Boko Haram insurgency. Specifically it discusses the implications of child insurgents on national development. Keywords: Boko Haram, child insurgent, Cameroon, development, insurgency, Niger, Nigeria. Introduction The involvement of children in war is a disturbing social and political phenomenon. It is a universal problem with adverse security and developmental implications in West Africa. In the 1990s and 2000s, most of the wars in Africa such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan Angola, Cote d’Ivoire and Burundi were not without children. Children under the age of 18 were coerced, manipulated and recruited into fighting forces. Despite the protection of the International Convention and Customary International Laws over children, this underaged group is still widely used in armed conflict. The most worrisome is the recent phenomenon of child insurgents in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon. Since 2014, the use of child insurgents within the selected countries has been on the increase.1 Young boys and girls have been recruited into Boko Haram terrorist group and are designated both destructive and non-destructive roles.
    [Show full text]
  • Darfur Conflict: a Phenomenological Study of Female Victims’ Perception of Justice Careen Hutchinson Nova Southeastern University, [email protected]
    Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses CAHSS Theses and Dissertations and Dissertations 1-1-2017 Darfur Conflict: A Phenomenological Study of Female Victims’ Perception of Justice Careen Hutchinson Nova Southeastern University, [email protected] This document is a product of extensive research conducted at the Nova Southeastern University College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. For more information on research and degree programs at the NSU College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, please click here. Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dcar_etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Careen Hutchinson. 2017. Darfur Conflict: A Phenomenological Study of Female Victims’ Perception of Justice. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Conflict Resolution Studies. (73) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dcar_etd/73. This Dissertation is brought to you by the CAHSS Theses and Dissertations at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Darfur Conflict: A Phenomenological Study of Female Victims’ Perception of Justice by Careen A. Hutchinson A Dissertation Presented to the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences of Nova Southeastern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Nova Southeastern University 2017 Copyright © by Careen A. Hutchinson June 2017 July 18th, 2017 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the circle of family and friends who supported me throughout this academic journey.
    [Show full text]
  • War and Local Collective Action in Sierra Leone
    Journal of Public Economics 93 (2009) 1144–1157 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Public Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jpube War and local collective action in Sierra Leone John Bellows a, Edward Miguel b,⁎ a Dept. of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, USA b Dept. of Economics, 508-1 Evans Hall #3880, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3880, USA article info abstract Article history: We study the brutal 1991–2002 Sierra Leone civil war using nationally representative household data on Received 28 December 2008 conflict experiences, postwar economic outcomes, local politics and collective action. Individuals whose Received in revised form 25 July 2009 households directly experienced more intense war violence are robustly more likely to attend community Accepted 29 July 2009 meetings, more likely to join local political and community groups, and more likely to vote. Tests using Available online 21 August 2009 prewar controls and alternative samples suggest that selection into victimization is unlikely to be driving the results. More speculatively, the findings could help partially explain the rapid postwar political and economic Keywords: Civil war recoveries observed in Sierra Leone and after several other recent African civil wars. Africa © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Collective action Local public goods Sierra Leone 1. Introduction findings are consistent with the predictions of the neoclassical growth model, which predicts rapid catch-up growth postwar. This paper analyzes a novel nationally representative dataset from However, the neoclassical growth model has little to say about the postwar Sierra Leone with the goal of better understanding the short- impact of war on institutions, politics, and social norms, and it is run economic and political impacts of civil war.
    [Show full text]
  • Private Security Companies and the State Monopoly on Violence: a Case of Norm Change?
    PRIF-Reports No. 88 Private Security Companies and the State Monopoly on Violence: A Case of Norm Change? Elke Krahmann Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) 2009 Correspondence to: HSFK Baseler Str. 27-31 60329 Frankfurt am Main Germany Telephone: +49(0)69 95 91 04-0 Fax: +49(0)69 55 84 81 E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.prif.org ISBN: 978-3-937829-89-0 Euro 10,- Summary The proliferation of private security companies has received increasing public and academic attention in recent years. From the involvement of private security firms in Sierra Leone and Angola to the capture and killing of Blackwater security contractors in Iraq, the emergence of an international private security industry raises new questions with regard to the legitimacy of the private use of armed force. One aspect often missed in the public debate has been the pervasiveness of private security contractors. While most reports focus on the controversial actions of private security firms in international interventions, most notably Afghanistan and Iraq, domestic private security sectors in Europe and North America have been expanding since the 1970s. The emergence of a global private security industry thus appears to be part of a broader trend that suggests the growing acceptance and use of commercial security firms at the national and international levels. The recent signing of the Montreux Document on Pertinent International Legal Obligations and Good Practices for States related to Operations of Private Military and Security Companies during Armed Conflict has been a further expression of the increased legitimacy of private security contractors.
    [Show full text]
  • Defining a Post-Leftist Anarchist Critique of Violence
    Ashen Ruins Against the Corpse Machine: Defining A Post-Leftist Anarchist Critique of Violence 2002 The Anarchist Library Contents What’s the Problem? ........................ 3 Our Violent Anarchist History................... 9 “The People” are Alienated by Violence and Other Myths . 11 The Case of Mumia ......................... 23 Mean Ends............................... 27 2 What’s the Problem? Sometimes anarchists are slow learners. Disregarding the famous, definitive and prognostic Marx-Bakunin split in the First International near the end of the 19th century, anarchists overall have continued to cling to the obsolete notion that anarchy is best situated within the otherwise statist Leftist milieu, despite the bourgeois democratic origins of the Left-Right spectrum. Since then communists and Marxists, liberals and conservatives alike have had us right where they want us — and it’s shown in our history. In continuing to view ourselves as Leftists, despite the glaring contradictions in such a stance, we have naturally relegated ourselves to the role of critic within larger movements, and often found ourselves either marching towards goals which stand in direct opposition to our own interests or suckered by counter-revolutionary appeals to anti-fascist or anti-capitalist unity. The anarchist, as Leftist, swims in a sea of contradictions, much of which derives from our passive acceptance of the grip that Leftists have over the po- litical dialogue, both in terminology and in the framing of issues. In conceding to them the underlying territory of debate, North American anarchists have historically been forced into reactionary roles, arguing for nonsensical nuanced points or for means over outcomes. Until we are able to break this cycle and forge an independent critique that reflects our own ends, we are doomed to re- play the past.
    [Show full text]
  • The Demonic Genius of Politics? Social Action and the Decoupling of Politics from Violence
    The Demonic Genius of Politics? Social Action and the Decoupling of Politics from Violence Professor Jenny Pearce [email protected] ‘He who seeks the salvation of the soul, of his own and of others, should not seek it along the avenue of politics, for the quite different tasks of politics can only be solved by violence. The genius or demon of politics lives in an inner tension with the god of love…This tension can at any time lead to an irreconcilable conflict’ (Weber 1991 [1919], 126). This paper explores the way violence is simultaneously absent and present in our everyday understanding of politics and the State. It argues that politics does not have to be an arena inherently and unavoidably reliant on the tools of violence. Indeed, politics could be seen as primarily an arena for violence reduction. Social action on violence is one route towards realizing such a goal. However, the ontological assumptions about human violence behind, for instance, the Weberian approach to the modern State remain a conceptual limit to such social action. They have provided an apparently intuitive foundation for why violence and its monopoly must be coupled to our understanding of politics and the State. While there have been philosophical challenges to this, they ultimately fail, it is argued, to provide a focus on violence as a phenomenon with its own distinctions. Social action on violence raises new consciousness about its lived experiences and multiple forms, including state violence. Such action can influence and be influenced by an emergent epistemological leap in the study of violence, made possible by the interdisciplinary potential of new knowledge.
    [Show full text]