Lecture Content Flashcards
1
Q
concept of “sex”, author
A
- essentialize women
- “depict women as sharing a distinctive, to some degree biologically determined nature” (Randall Reading)
2
Q
concept of “gender”
A
- the way in which differences between male and female are “socially constructed”
- historically and culturally variable, rather than innate and constant
3
Q
civil rights
A
property ownership, doing business, joining workforce
4
Q
political rights
A
participating in gov, freedom of speech and assembly
5
Q
social rights
A
housing, health care, education, food and water
6
Q
women’s access to rights and consequences of lack of rights
A
- divorce, abortion, land ownership and employment has strong impact on social and political power
- women have not had right to drive (Saudi Arabia)
- not allowed to leave house unaccompanied by a male relative (Afghanistan)
- lack of rights deprives them of autonomy, power to make decisions
- deepens poverty and social inequality
7
Q
impact of colonization on gender (women)
A
- colonial powers disrupted social order, codifying gender inequality
- women dispossessed of claims to land, ownership codified to favor men
- customs into law: India had law granting legal authority over women to male elders
- undermining of women participation in agriculture
8
Q
descriptive representation
A
- # of women in positions of power and extent that this mirrors share of population
9
Q
substantive representation
A
- promotion of women’s interests
- women presence does not equate to greater advocacy on behalf of women’s rights
10
Q
women’s role in revolution
A
- members of insurgent groups fighting colonial or authoritarian regime
- key roles in logistics and healthcare but also combat roles
- dual struggle: fighting against oppressive regime and for rights (gender discrimination)
11
Q
Salvadoran guerrilla army, author
A
- women’s mobilization
- even in revolutions, many didn’t revolt
- heterogeneous activists can follow different paths to same mobilization outcome (Viterna)
- 30-35% combatants were women, similar in Nicaragua and Guatemala
12
Q
factors for women joining rebel armies, author
A
- network ties before mobilization: family ties with guerrillas, living in refugee camp
- biographical availability: being a mom, age
- experiences of repression: atrocities committed against local communities
- viterna writes about these
13
Q
locating gender at grassroots
A
- ignoring grassroots= ignoring women
- after winning, women are marginalized from power in new government
14
Q
why do social movements emerge?
A
- arise from causes that can’t be addressed through existing channels
- initially, not institutionalized; demands may be integrated into existing institutions
- space is created to address the issue, may end up being integrated into the political system
15
Q
role of social networks
A
- ties between prospective members = essential to initial group formation, and expanding membership
- if pre-existing networks are present, recruitment more successful
- protests not spontaneous: they are active in a subterranean way, suggest protests have more direction and cohesion that apparent
16
Q
when do social movements emerge?
A
- through economic and political shifts
- like drop in state repression
- divisions among ruling elites
- movement political, demands towards elites
- crisis like loosing a way can undermine gov’s legitimacy
17
Q
Fall of Argentinian military dictatorship
A
- repressive junta killed 30k during dirty war
- regime led to war in Falkland Islands, UK embarrassed them
- protest ensued and elections were held
18
Q
attracting international allies to social movements
A
- they compete for intl support
- global civil society has limited amount of sympathy, attention and willingness to devote resources (scarcity)
- not having a trendy cause or a charismatic leader capable of expressing grievances will not get intl support
- many groups haven’t succedeed, you need to market it
19
Q
Zapatistas who are they and what were their views
A
- indigenous chiapas state (marginalized group)
- in memory of Zapata, rebel leader
- demanded housing, food, basic rights for indigenous and rural communities
- strengthening mexican state sovereignty from intl pressures
- rejected globalization
- rejection of intl investments
20
Q
case study: Zapatistas context and socioeconomic state
A
- aftermath of 1982 mexican debt crisis
- privatization of industries, removal of constitutional labor protections dating back to 1917
- rising rates poverty
- low democratic representation for indigenous communities
21
Q
Zapatistas on the global scale
A
- uprising launched coincided with NAFTA
- gave international resonance, timing was on purpose
- actions meant to be symbolic
22
Q
Zapatistas post modern strategy
A
- too weak to defeat Mexican forces military
- used anti-globalization as message, resonated bc little violence used
- Subcommandante Marcos gave press conferences to show the no violence
- worldwide anti-globalization icons came to show solidarity
23
Q
positive impacts of zapatista uprising
A
- san andres accords: strengthening indigenous rights
- increased intl profile
- inspired social forums in brazil
24
Q
negative impacts of zapatistas
A
- increased military occupations of Chiapas
- little foreign investments
- ongoing violence, state-sponsored vigilantes
- no participation in elections means missed opportunities for increased representation as they boycotted national election
25
democracy as a normative good
- normative determines what should happen; it entails a value judgment
- democracy is a good thing
- they safeguard human rights and have accountability mechanisms to redress injustice
- churchill said democracy is worst form of gov, except all others
- turkey said dem better than military dictatorship
26
defining democracy
- parties lose elections
- fallacy of electoralism = they are necessary but they are not sufficient, you also need to guarantee human rights and ensure accountability
27
timing and pace of democratization
- democracies grew for 50 years
- reverse wave shrank democracy due to poverty, instability, superpower destabilization
in 2007: 123 democracies, and in 2016 there was another reverse wave
28
third wave of democracy
- coined by Huntington
- began with fall of Portuguese regime in 1974
- accelerated in 1980s and after cold war
29
Fukuyama's End of History
- peace seems to be breaking out in many regions of the world
- once democratization, history will end and we will reach a utopian point
30
democracies not complete, with adjectives
- retain authoritarian traits
- procedural democracies, emerging democracy
- if the meaning is stretched, it is no longer a democracy, becomes meaningless
31
evolution of democratization theory
- 1950-60s: modernization theory, economic development first
- 1990s-present: democratic transitions, education and welfare state are consequences of democracy rather than precondition
32
semi authoritarianism, author
- ottaway
- semi-authoritarian have a one rival party, and in theory there is enough political freedom that they could win
- retain democratic features but leaders disregard them
- seek to prevent competition that might threaten their power
33
What tactics do semi-authoritarians use?
- prevent the emergence of competing political organizations rather than defeat them in elections
- control flow of info to sway public opinion
- manipulate institutions and constitutions, undermining and distorting them
34
who was Hugo Chavez de Venezuela
- army officer who launched failed coup and elected in 1998
- popular bc willing to spend state resources on the poor
- held referendums to which they voted to increase presidential power
- judicial lost power
35
how did he cultivate loyalty
- spent oil wealth on social services for the poor
- portrayed as robin hood
36
after Chavez
- Maduro assumed power
- soaring inflation
- widespread poverty, refugee flows
- good prices increased
- waves of protests killed and arrested
37
democracy gray zone
- not linear transition, category of their own
- elections may not deepen democratic participation and accountability
38
sources of human rights violations: what are the rational incentives
- state repression
- past repression
- low levels of democracy
- poverty
- war
- social threats
39
exclusionary ideologies
- define the conditions under which it is deemed appropriate and necessary to violate human rights norms
- examples are police crackdowns, torture, killing, silencing of speech
- national security doctrines are types of exclusionary ideologies
40
Argentina and human rights abuses
- Under Videla, a terrorist was viewed as someone contrary to Western and Christian civilization
- national security threat = ideology not aligning
- Alfonsin tried to prosecute the military officials and implemented democratic reform
- but Menem pardoned the members of the junta, he pivoted away from accountability
41
Aftermath of Authoritarianism: justice
- 1999 Supreme Court revokes pardons, prosecutions resume
- role of supreme court asserted
- justice delayed is justice denied
- 2011: war criminals imprisoned for life
- alfredo astiz blond angel of death tortured people, throwed bodied out of airplanes into the ocean
- need to match human rights abuses with mechanisms of justice
42
path to human rights reform
- long-term
- state face pressure internationally and domestic (above and below)
- foreign gov favor democracy and put pressure, human rights NGOs and religious bodies like Pope
1. denials of abuses
2. small concessions
3. broader reforms
4. altering behavior to safeguard rights
43
the case of the Phillipines context
- colonized by Spain, the US seized after winning the Spanish-American war
- US-installed dictator Marcos
- pro-democracy protests overthrew him, democracy installed in constitution
44
human violations in Philippines and policies
- under Duterte
- suspected of running death squads
- campaigned on a law-and-order platform, dumped criminal bodies in Manila Bay
- endorses sexual violence, disavows his party's apology
- made homophobic comments
- ICC opened investigation into extra-judicial killings
45
drug war in Philippines
- waging war on drug dealers
- vigilante groups killed over 12k
- many dead had no connection to drug trade
46
press freedom under Duterte
- he intimidated and arrested journalists, political opposition
- disinformation, flood the zone with shit from steve bannon
- so much fake that no one knows what is true
- Journalist Ressa arrested on a libel case, currently out on bail
47
future of Philippines
- law forbids pres from running a second term
- duterte had 75% approval rate when leaving office
- drug war killings continue
48
how to prevent human rights abuses
- states resist high costs of protecting marginalized groups
- target root of abuses like weak democracy, poor development and exclusionary ideologies
- its not just about promoting human rights standards
49
role of military in regime change and threats
- hard-liners and soft-liners within an authoritarian regime
- leaders give political freedom in exchange for no violence, immunity from prosecution and economic and political privileges
military threats include
- undermining of transition process
- risk generals take decision making away from gov
50
Case Study: Chile and overthrow of democracy
- democratic for 150 years
- copper exports key source of revenue
- Allende elected in 1971, economic downturn and social unrest destabilized gov, with US encouragement the army overthrew him
- army siege by Pinochet
- they arrested, tortured or killed students, academics, teachers, union organizers or community activitists
- landowners, industrialists and traditionalists supported the coup
- Pinochet implemented private ownership
51
1988 plebiscite
- army called for referendum to decide if Pinochet should stay in power
- if no, army would step aside and hold elections
- the NO won by 56%
- campaign to register the electorate
- pinochet had the army and business community for support
- democracy had students, human rights and political parties
52
transition and compromise of chile
- military offciers remained immune from prosecution
- pinochet arrested in 2000 for crimes against humanity
53
Case Study: Burma (Myanmar), military overthrow
- 1988: Aung San Suu Kyi founded National League for Democracy
- 1990: won election, military annulled results and cracked down
- 1989-2010: Suu Kyi placed under house arrest, won nobel peace prize
54
house arrest to power
- after Suu Kyi's release, NLD became active in politices
- army maintained grip on power but legislative elections gave NLD more seats
- elected state counsellor in 2016, criticized for her silence on military persecution of minority muslims
- then back to house arrest
- she was arrested in a coup again in 2021, held in solitary confinement
- economic downturn and covid led military leaders to become unpopular, but strong support from China
55
Religion and Politics Dynamics
- religion provides politicans with organizing principle
- political struggles are couched in terms of religion
- religious org. provide social-welfare networks, well honed grassroots elements like education and healthcare
- opens up recruitment into religious groups
56
rise of religion in middle east politics
- not just islamist social/political movements
- states intervene and deploy religious institutions for own goals
- 1970s: liberalization created a political environment conducive to growing Islamism
- into the vacuum of state retreat: retreating from subsidies
- religious org villed vaccum left by state by providing these health and educational services
57
Muslim Brotherhood, author
- Trager
- founded in egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna
- advocated social welfare programs and political participation
- sought accommodation with secular leaders
58
Brotherhood and Egypt
- Egyptian govs tried to repress and co-opt brotherhood, secular govs didn't endorse brotherhood either
- Al-Banna assassinated in 1949
- Pres Nassar cracked down on Brotherhood
- Pres Sadat freed imprisoned brotherhood members, but was assassinated by extremists in 1981
- Tried to win the favor of the brotherhood by freeing prisoners
- Sadat signed a peace treaty with Israel, this caused him to be seen as a traitor by many Egyptians
- they won many seats in parliament with a growing influence
59
Recruitment into Brotherhood, author
- Trager
- strict system of recruitment and promotion
- indoctrination process, politicized interpretation of Islam, vetted for belief in ideology and monitored for obedience and orders from the leaders
60
Arab Spring protests
- protest by middle class who were excluded from education and culture
- not motivated by religion
- Tunisian, Egyptian protesters had no leadership, hierarchy or unifying ideology
- united on what to get rid of but not what to replace with
- protests were non violent
there was importance in individual dignity
61
Arab Spring outcome for Brotherhood
- pres Mubarak of egypt was toppled by revolt, Brotherhood won 2012 election with Morsi, free and fair election
62
Morsi in Power chronology
- opportunity to establish and islamic state and then later on global islamic state (Trager)
- power struggle within country's military
- granted himself power to legislate w/o constitutional oversign
- oversaw prosecution of journalists, violent mobs, 30 day detention w/o trial, mass protests
- June 2013, egyptians wanted his outster, police officers said they wouldn't return to work until president was toppled
- waved banners calling for Morsi to be hung
- MB had vigilante units
- 2013 Morsi overthrown, Morsi supporters killed
- brotherhood arrested and sentenced to death
63
Case of Iraq: Vital facts
- 44m in 2024
- 1932 independence from Britain
- 4th largest oil exporter
64
origins of state weakness: Iraq
- 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement, UK France made pact to have spheres of influence in Middle East, Britain got Iraq as a protectorate, assigned by LoN in 1919
65
Iraqi revolt in 1920 and independence
- revolted and British forces had to rely on aerial bombardment to suppress uprisings
- 1932 independence
- 1958 military coup overthrows British-aligned monarchy, installed secular Arab gov
- 1960-75: wages war against Kurdish in northern Iraq
- 1963, 1968, coup d'etat
66
Iraq under Saddam Hussein
- seized power in 1979 and ruled until US overthrow in 2003
- "hard and fierce state, but not strong state" (Nazih Ayubi)
- hard state = strength of state institutions
- fierce state = state that ruthlessly hunted down opponents and external enemies
- not a strong state: violence indicated its own weakness due to lack of legitimacy, needing to use threat of violence, no investment in deepening legitimacy
- excluded rivals and promoted mistrust, developed patronage networks and crushed dissent
- killed members of his own fam by luring them in after being exiled
- Iraqi state was powerful in terms of monopoly over use of force but lacked popular legitimacy
- Iraqis suffered most
67
internal and external conflicts in Iraq
internal
- separatist ethno-regional elements due to arbitrarily-drawn borders
Kurds are seeking independence
- 1960s-2003: Iraq waged a low intensity war vs. Kurds
external
- 1980-88: Hussein launches extremely long and bloody war with Iran
- Military invasion of Kuwait 1990
- external powers fought large-scale wars against Iraq in 1990-1 and 2003
68
Iraq Population dynamics
- Iraqi Sunni and Shi'a Muslims got along well and intermarried
- Hussein caused a divide
- regime killed 200k Iraqis
- Iran-Iraq war killed 1m
69
US invasion in Iraq
- march 2003: US and UK invade on pretext of stopping Hussein's support for terrorism and building weapons of mass destruction, claims that have been discredited
- under US occupation, Iraq became democracy but few people saw it as legitimate, seen as hostile power takeover
- May 2003: Bush said ended of invasion
70
Outcomes of Iraq invasion by US: ISIS takeover
- Iraqi state paralyzed by extreme corruption and deep sectarian division
- failure of political institutions set up by US and UK
- economy stagnated, malnutrition and food insecurity have increased, health services deterioriated
- US-strained army defeated by ISIS in 2014 due to lack of cohesion and motivation
- ISIS smaller and not as well armed but they took US weaponry as Iraqi fled
- army fell apart bc no internal legitimacy
71
ISIS in Iraq and Syria
- founded in 2006
- captured territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014
- weakened states, porous borders have enabled militants to move freely
- religious divisions have contributed to conflict
- ISIS established Caliphate in areas under control, tax revenue collection, infrastructure and enforced laws
72
meaning of Iraqi democracy
- remained plagued by chronic political violences
- using ink to make sure there was no voting more than once
- women voting, but more for the international media to see
- western values to pass democracy as working
- women worse off than under Hussein
- growing insecurity targets women disproportionately
- they have little political representation
73
Case Study: Mexico civil war democracy
- gained independence from Spain in 1821
- country left fragmented, governed by local strongmen
- fought wars against US and France and USA loosing 50% of its territory
- underwent a civil war in 1910-20 during critical period of state development, killing 1.4m
- regional factions seeking greater rights and autonomy battled the central gov
74
Mexico's one part democracy
- Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) held power for 70 years, more electoral autocracy than democracy
- rigged elections, political hegemony
- fusion of state and party, establishing hegemonic control at all levels
- established a clientelist state, distributing resources in exchange for loyalty, punishing opponents by withholding resources
- state controlled civil society by corrupting
75
democratic transition of Mexico
- National Action Party (PAN) became powerful
- PAN leader Fox won presidency, remodeled electoral institutions and eliminating massive electoral fraud
- replaced with independent election body, and mechanism of oversight by political parties
76
economic civil war in Mexico: drug war & impacts, author
- rather than fight against rebels for political objects, Mexico is fighting a heavily armed enemy with economic aims: drug cartels
- Mexico replaced Colombia in epicentre of drug trade
- drug cartels employ lethal violence for private gain
- Calderon admin declared war, militarizing a law-enforcement issue and weakening rule of law in Mexico
- Duncan
impacts
- functioning democracy in theory but in practice, formal rights like due process, justice etc are of little significance for most citizens
77
patterns of violence in Mexico
- homicide rates x2
- Pres Calderon militarized campaign
- targeting cartel leadership resulted in fragmentation and multiplicated decentralized armed actors
- mass disappearances
78
Fukuyama on democracy
- democracy's spread could usher in a global era of peace and prosperity
- march of Western economic and political ideals
79
Sen's Democracy as a Universal Value
- regards rise of democracy as most important thing to happen in 20th century
- Sen's view: a country does not have to be deemed fit for democracy, it becomes fit through democracy
- major revolution in thinking that democracy is a universal value
- views democratic governance as generally right
- those who want to rubbish democracy have to provide justification for that rejection
80
India: Lab of democracy in the developing world
- Britain was reluctant to give India independence bc scared it wasn't ready to govern itself
- India has unclear political alignment, communal violence and social disorder
- key divisions in region, religion, ethnicity, language and class
- yet india worked out well
81
democracy and human security
- no evidence that non-democracies are better at promoting economic growth,
- Sen argues that we need to consider economic and social security
- "look at both political and civil rights and prevention of economic disasters"
82
democracy and absence of famine
- Sen says there has not been a substantial famine in democratic countries
- because responsive gov intervenes to alleviate hunger
- forced to take action against famine
- even poorest democracies have averted famine and large-scale disasters after droughts, floods or another natural disaster
83
Bengal Famine
- 3m Indians died
- British Empire shipped grain from India to Mediterranean, burned rice crops and local boats to prevent Japanese landing
- India exported more than 70k tons of rice between Jan and July 1943, even as famine set in
- British refused to accept food relief for India from Canada and Australia
- grain prices shot up = hoarder able to make huge profit will people starved
84
Colonial presence in India: policy and outcome
- British presence, Churchill said he hates Indians
- UK gov had ideological commitment to free trade
- famine corrected over-population
- Brits believed free relief promotes idleness and saps initiatives, people must labor for their subsistence
- not as much racism as the imbalance of power
85
value of political and social freedoms: three mechanisms, Sen
1. political and social participation has intrinsic value for human well-being
2. it has instrumental value in enhancing people’s political voice and their ability to raise awareness
3. it also gives citizens the opportunity to learn from one another and helps society to form its values and priorities
86
democracy and COVID
- iran had ineffectual containment, denial
- china had denial at first, then strong centralized containment
- most successful regardless of regime type (Singapore, SK)
- some advanced democracies failed to contain (Spain, Italy)
- Trump also denial
87
Case Study of Kerela in India and response to COVID
- State has historically had left-leaning governments
- These have implemented socialist land reform and welfare programs
- Promoted gender equality
- Very strong state-funded schools and medical infrastructure
- Among the highest literacy rates in India
- Prioritized renewable energy initiatives
- Gave rise to term “Kerala Model”
- closed schools which left many children without lunch that they would have had in school, organized rice provisions
- improved internet and contact-tracing to combat virus
88
defining poverty
- monetary measures to define poverty
- adjustment with inflation in 2015 rate at 1.90USD
- poverty line is arbitrary; millions living above it are also poor, vulnerable to price shocks and household disasters
89
GDP and limits
- modernization era led to wealth measurement in GDP
- equitable resource distribution but ignores inequality
- growing economy = growing inequality
- leads to ultra-rich class
- have growing economy but more food insecurity
limits
- high-inequality societies need to grow a lot more quickly to reduce same amount of poverty compared to low-inequality societies
- focus on GDP led to promotion of policies boosting industrial output and sidelined subsistence agriculture
- threatens food security and traditional ways of life
90
UN Sustainable development goal
- access to banking for women
- women are good money managers
- UN has emphasized the mobile banking using biometric ID to provide the rural poor with financial inclusion
- programs succeeded in Kenya and India
91
Poverty Alleviation: Brazil's Bolsa Familia
- poverty is transgenerational
- under Lula, the family subsidy was implemented in 2003
- Bolsa is a conditional cash transfer program that provides financial aid to poor families, requires in exchange that children are sent to school and vaccinated
92
path dependency
histories of colonization, war, and development policy play key roles in determining levels of wealth and inequality
93
human vs natural capital
- Human capital: people’s skills and capabilities, related to their education, which shape their economic productivity
- Natural capital: soils, forests, and fisheries on which people’s livelihood depends, and which are connected to broader ecosystems
94
SA colonization
- white colonizers arrived from Holland in 1652
- british colonized in 1815, discovered diamonds in 1870s, then gold
- fought white Afrikaners (Dutch descendants) in Anglo-Boer War in 1899-1902
- laws restricted black rights in land ownership
- UK grant independence in 1910 under white minority rule
95
roots of apartheid
- apartheid = separateness
- state-sanctioned racism encoded in laws and norms of state and society
- 1948 = apartheid came into law
- Broederbon, secret society of Afrikaans leaders
- every pres until Mandela was member
- architect of apartheid = Henrik Verwoerd, said they should never have been educated and left in their station
96
African National Congress
- 1912: founded to promoted african human rights
- 1950s protested racist laws
- 1960: peaceful resistance futile after unarmed protesters are killed
97
armed struggle emerges in SA
- ANC leader mandela said submit or fight
- ANC founded armed wing known as MK
- based in neighboring countries like Angola and Mozambique
98
ideology of ANC/MK
- strict ideology of non-racialism
- framed apartheid as a class problem of the rich exploiting the poor, with racial discrimination as a subsidiary
- multi-ethnic combatants
- received weapons and training from the Soviets
- got diplomatic support from Nordic countries and Canada
99
challenges to MK
- based in northern Angola
- no common border with SA
- hardly any liberated zones for bases
- formidable apartheid war machine always on the attack
100
MK armed struggle from 1960s to 70s
- 1967-68: MK attempts to infiltrate guerrillas from Zambia across Rhodesia into SA; guerrillas never made it past Rhodesia
- 1976 Soweto Uprising: regime massacred hundreds of students protesting; youth SA took up arms
- MK wanted to avoid civilian casualties
101
1980s: MK struggle itensifies
- 1980-85: operations against oil refineries, power plants, military bases
- 1983: rise of United Democratic Front (UDF) protest movement in SA, launching demonstrations and labor strikes
- 1985-89: UDF protests and MK attacks make SA ungovernable, regime responds by escalating violence
- oil refinery burns after MK attack 1981
- 1988 highest MK actions
102
apartheid and international system
- UK had economic and strategic interest
- NATO countries cultivated ties with apartheid during Cold War
- sold SA weapons and kept apartheid afloat via trade and loans
103
apartheid counterinsurgency
- when portugal lost its colonies, many special forces personnel came and joined SA forces
- there was a surveillance system called the Joint Management System
- death squad used to assassinate violent and non-violent insurgents
- recruitment of african spies
- rebels captured and turned into colonial special forces
104
key apartheid strategy: black on black
- tribal african nationalism to support ANC
- turned ethnic Zulus against ANC
- SA secretely trained Zulu and formed the nucleus of their nationalist party, then waged war against ANC, leader recruited by the CIA
105
Negotiations between ANC and SA gov
- 1990L unbanning of ANC, repeal of apartheid laws, Mandela released from prison
- 1990-94: most violent period
- most violence attributed to Third Force apartheid special forces undercover
- massacres of blacks on trains etc,
- gov denied responsibility, but police appears complicit
106
Total strategy of SA
- black on black appearing to be the reason of violence
- outsourcing violence and coercion
- plausible deniability
107
Greed vs Grievance debate
- relates to what starts a civil war and what perpetuates it
- first emphasis on grievance as rebel motivation
- grievance: rebels motivated against gov they viewed as oppressive
- after cold war, scholars say rebels did it for greed, opportunity to profit like exploiting natural resources or looted (stole)
- looting is easier, employment prospects were scarce
- Kalashnikov lifestyle: weapons as a means to survive by robbing
- competing control of natural resources
- some sources easily looted like timber, cocaine, easily mined
108
case of colombia: how individuals joined armed groups
- Colombia has forest and mountains, terrain favorable for military movement
- there was guerrilla warfare with hit-and-run
- natural resources
- paramilitary groups
- violence targeting civilians and peace negotiations
109
Colombia's La Violencia
- 1948 assassination of left-wing Bogota Mayor Gaitan, leads to massive urban riots and period of civil strife, until 1957
- crackdown on anyone who tried to oppose the gov
110
emergence of rebel groups Colombia
- 1964-66: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) emerge, along with the smaller leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) and Maoist People’s Liberation Army (EPL)
- M-19 formed in 1970
- grievance vs poverty framed in leftist ideology was original motivation
- ecosystem of rebel groups: grievance against inequality and disparities
- by 1980s, rebel groups profited off drug trade
111
gender and colombia's FARC rebels
- claimed to find on behalf of rural poor
- women prominence in ranks
- pro-poor platform to advocate for rights of women, indigenous groups
- 30-40% women combatants
112
government-sponsored paramilitaries
- army troops defeat rebels in battles but can't hold territory
- paramilitaries composed of right-wing armed units fought guerrillas and punished civilians for supporting them, operated in one area
113
why use paramilitaries?
- army could outsource a key aspect of its war against the rebels
- paramilitaries afforded colombian gov plausible deniability for massacres of civilians (pretended to not know what was happening)
- most were powerful land-owners (Arjona)
- formed by states or private state actors interested in maintaining status quo to exploit resources
- colonizing the Americas
114
US role in Colombia
- US Army Gen. Yarborough commanded a Special Forces team sent to train Colombian forces in 1962 by the US Special Warfare Center
- he was the earlies US proponents of using paramilitary and/or terrorist activities against communists
- targeting them to be killed extra-judicial way, complementing forces of government with other one
- using secret warfare strategy
- 2000: US implements Plan Colombia, economic military strategy to combat drug gangs and leftist rebels
- critics say it was to increase military presence and corporate interests
115
motivation to joining Colombia guerrilla and paramilitary groups, author
- Arjona and Kalyvas
- interviewed 400 ex-guerrillas
- most joined under 25
- some said better life and/or fighting for a just cause
- greed and grievance not mutually exclusive, humans have different motivations
- one third of interviewees thought joining was a small commitment (contingent choice made with poor info) not a rational actor
-there is not only one motivation for recruitment
116
theories of human-decision making
contingent choice: people make decisions as situations evolve, based on specific circumstances or conditions that may have been unknown or unforeseen at time of decision-making
rational choice: people are risk-averse utility-maximizers who make decisions based on a logical assessment of costs and benefits to achieve a desired outcomes (game theory)
117
rebel recruitment
- absence of state control over certain areas
- if a state does not develop a presence, more likely for rebels to rise
- armed groups presence being established becomes a driver for local individuals to join these groups
- many people who join have been victimized by the war
- threats, killings, displacements contribute to recruitment (common feature in colombian civil war)
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2016 Colombian Peace Deal
- 2016: after 57 years of fighting, Colombian gov and FARC reached a peace deal
- deal was put to a referendum but failed at first bc people did not want to give rebels the opportunity for a peace deal
- it was revised and then passed
- deals ended hostilities, ensured amnesty (no sentence) and lower sentences for rebels accused of crimes, guarantees the FARC congressional seats
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post-transition violence in Colombia
- post-accord violence continued
- FARC accused gov of failing to protect them
- violence from ELN continued with setting off bombs, shootings etc they want to show they have the means to kill
- paramilitary violence persisted in resource-rich areas
- targetting anyone who threatens economic status quo
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violence and insecurity, author and dynamics
- Moser
- violence in developing countries exists along a continuum
- political violence between state and non-stater actors (guerrilla warfare, targeted assassinations, civil war)
- institutional violence by the state, informal institutions, and private sector
- Economic and Economic/Social violence: Organized crime, drug trafficking, robbery, theft
- Social violence: intimate partner violence and family violence (often gendered)
- conflict leaves violent legacies
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global leadership by southern countries
- sought more political integration
- southern countries do not have the burden of a history of colonization
- when trying to preach democracy, global north has negative view of colonial past that can undermine its ideas
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visions of south-south relations: Brazil
- has sought a greater international profile, including seat on UN Security Council, and WTO greater voice
- create path between US market capitalism and new socialism promoted by such countries as Venezuela
- brazil wants a path between both extremes
- also promoted global development vision built around human security
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visions of south-south relations: India
- India PM Nehru founded the Non-alignment movement launched in 1955
- sought to chart a path for newly-independent nations that would steer clear of either superpower
- goal was to promote policy for direction of countries neither pro US or pro Soviets
- founders were Egypt, India and Yugoslavia
- India a creditor of the IMF, no longer taking loans, has a vote in the IMF policies
- contributed to the World Food Programme
- major contributor of troops to UN forces around the globe (Blue Helmets)
- india projects soft power
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BRICS countries
- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa
- all developing or newly-industrialized countries with growing intl influence
- account for 40% of world population and 22% GDP, economies growing faster than global average
- equality among nations, non-interference, mutual benefit
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BRICS economic outlook
- 2009: BRICS countries held first annual summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, discussed the need for a new global reserve currency to replace USD
- 2012: BRICS pledged to $75B to boost IMF lending power, in return for giving them more sway, Shape the terms of loans being given to Global South countries
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what is the New Development Bank, author for brazil highway
- 2013: BRICS founded New Development Bank (NDB), launched in 2015 as alternative to IMF and WB
- the NDB’s assists southern countries with development, focusing on renewable energy resources and infrastructure projects
- NDB has been criticized for lack of transparency and for funding ecologically harmful projects (Trans-Amazon Highway in Brazil; coal power in SA)
- McCoy reading
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BRICS and Ukraine war
- march 2022: 15 african countries abstained in UN vote to condemn Russia's invasion
- saw potential alliance with Russia as valuable
- South African FM Naledi Pandor said it would have been “simplistic and infantile” to demand Russia’s withdrawal and alluded to the “massive transfer of arms” from Western powers to support Ukraine’s military
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Climate change as security threat
- reducing availability of water
- accelerates desertification, soil erosion and loss of arable land
- new wars on competition for food prediction
- increasing challenges ensuring populations' access to food
- food-exporting countries have domestic food shortages
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accelerating climate change impacts: distributional to existential climate politics
- distributional: Addressing climate change within states’ current economy; relates to climate change as a future threat, ex is carbon tax
- existential: present danger, ex combatting forest fires, rising sea levels, worsening storm patterns
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climate change as accelerant of instability
- “We’re already seeing migration of large numbers of people around the world because of food scarcity, water insecurity and extreme weather, and this is set to become the new normal”
- food insecurity in Brazil
- food production could be wiped-out
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Brazil's Bolsonaro 2019-2022
- forest fires increased 80%
- encouraged logging, burning of rainforest for pasture
- rejected intl aid package to fight forest fires
- created parralel body to gather data after the delivery of unwanted facts
- increases in environmentalist murders
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impacts of Amazon burning
- Up to 10% more carbon in the global atmosphere
- A chunk of Amazon rainforest the size of a soccer field disappears every second
- Already leading to more drought, higher temperatures
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amazon deforestation what does it bring?
- Building highways through the Amazon deliver promise of development for isolated communities
- But they also facilitate illegal deforestation by armed gangs that kidnap and murder environmentalists
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Berta Canceres, author
- Lakhani
- indigenous human rights activist in Honduras
- faced many death threats from shadowy forces connected to the state and private corporations
- was a covert green light for using targeted deadly violence for people who stood in the way
- she was murdered
- shows the routine kills of environmentalists around the global south
