April Newsletter
Security in Context
Security in Context is an interdisciplinary research & pedagogy initiative promoting critical research & policy analysis
Included in this edition:
Research Papers
Articles
Events
Research Papers
New SIC Report: Global South In An Era Of Great Power Competition
Security in Context is pleased to announce the publication of its first SiC Report "The Global South in an Era of Great Power Competition". The Report is the result of a collaboration between SiC and The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South at Northwestern University Qatar. SiC Reports are edited collections of research based articles that advance our understanding of a specific theme under one of SiC’s research tracks. You can read the introduction to the Report and download the full pdf of all articles below.
Edited by: Firat Demir, Van Jackson
Introduction
By Van Jackson and Firat Demir
Policymakers, pundits, and intellectuals have increasingly come to see our historical conjuncture as one defined by “great-power competition” – euphemistic language referring to geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States, and to a lesser extent between the United States and Russia. Such a signifier is important because, in generations past, politicians have wielded geopolitical competition between great powers to justify prioritizing military concerns over democratic ones, secrecy over liberty, and jingoism over policies of solidarity, care, repair, or caution.
International rivalries invoke rally-round-the-flag nationalist consolidations, subverting transborder movements for peace and equal rights while persecuting those who do not meet the criteria of belonging – whether Japanese in World War II, socialists during America’s multiple red scares, Muslims amid the War on Terror, or Chinese Americans today.
But no two rivalries are entirely alike, and geopolitical competition always plays out in the concrete circumstances of an ever-changing world. The threats, opportunities, and constraints of great-power competition depend not only on the prevailing trends of the age, but also positionality in the world system.
In that spirit, Security in Context, in collaboration with the Northwestern University Qatar Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South, and the Center for Peace and Development at the University of Oklahoma, is publishing the following special collection of essays analyzing what great-power competition means for the Global South. The authors answer wide-ranging questions: How does great-power competition produce insecurity in the Global South? What role is there for small, middle, or rising South countries to exercise agency? What do the geopolitics and political economy of multipolarity and insecurity look like when viewed from different locations? Who speaks on behalf of whom, including vulnerable populations, regions, and countries in the Global South? If multinational institutions are increasingly ineffective and being challenged for representing the interests of the Global North countries, based on their own rules of the game, how will global governance be managed? In what order? Are all countries equal in the global rules of engagement, be that trade, finance, human rights, or rules of war?
Locked-In Conflict: #Israel’s Repressive Carceral System And The Criminalisation Of #Palestinians Was One Of The Catalysts For October 7
Mandy Turner
Western media and politicians ignore the main reason why Hamas undertook its 7 October 2023 attack on Israel – to capture Israeli soldiers to use as bargaining chips for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Hostage-taking in the region has a history stretching back to 1968 and has been used by many political factions, not just Hamas. Israel’s mass incarceration of Palestinians – one million since 1967 – is one of the reasons why Palestinian prisoners play such a central role in the Palestinian collective psyche and in the national movement, across all political factions…
Articles
Unravelling ‘Security Studies’ In/About MENA
Mekia Nedjar
This paper explores how security studies in/about the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) divulges that the region is mostly studied as a security-oriented construct, which reduces the MENA world to a security problematique. Most of the security studies literature relies on structural gatekeeping mechanisms which recode and rearrange meanings and narratives that perpetuate a predominantly Eurocentric character triggering modes of mis/reading security in MENA…
Shooting The Messenger (2): Journalism And The Israel Assault On Gaza - Follow-Up Article
The Israeli war on Gaza stands out as the deadliest conflict for journalists, encountering abuse from the Israeli army and significant obstacles in their work that put their ability to inform - as well as their lives - at risk.
Illegal Roadblocks, Terrorism And A Shadow Economy: Unveiling The Fractured State Narrative In Nigeria
Opeyemi Adewale
Regional violence beleaguers Nigeria. Armed groups and terror organizations in the north of the country are the chief perpetrators. Locally, the armed groups are called ‘bandits’ while the terror organizations are Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), or any of their other amorphous splinter groups.?
British Arms Sales And War-Making From Yemen To Gaza
Anna Stravrianakis
领英推荐
The British government's response to the genocidal Israeli assault on Gaza and to the war in Yemen illustrate the reflexive support for and recourse to violence on the part of the British state. Politicians pay lip service to international law while gaslighting the country about the causes and consequences of violence, supplementing this with absurd but chilling attempts at suppressing dissent. This article explores the similarities in support and justification for Israel and the Saudi-led coalition and notes some of the civil society-led resistance to this. ?
Shooting The Messenger: Journalism And The Israeli Assault On Gaza
The Israeli assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023 has killed and injured tens of thousands of Palestinians, while also placing the lives of journalists in danger. This marks the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history, with plenty of instances already as to how this has been the case.
Critical Texts On Security - Palestine And Israel Post-October 7th
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian political and military organization Hamas launched a coordinated operation against multiple targets in Israel resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths of both civilian and military personnel. In response, Israel launched an enormous military operation in Gaza, purportedly targeting Hamas in retaliation. As of early April 2024, OCHA reports 32, 957 Palestinians killed and the displacement of over 75% of the population of Gaza.
Emissions Within The Military Industrial Complex: Arms Manufacturers
There is an issue within the issue of military greenhouse gas emissions: those of arms manufacturers. While complete disarmament may not be politically viable in the short term, arms manufacturers must be held to a higher standard when it comes to reporting and cutting their emissions.
Security In Context Media Roundup: March 2024
This is a roundup of news articles, reports, and other materials focusing on (in)security issues and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of Security in Context.
Events
EVENT - April 23, 2024: Academia In The Shadow Of Genocide
Security in Context and the Mada al-Carmel Arab Center for Applied Social Research Present: "Academia in the Shadow of Genocide".
The upcoming webinar aims to discuss the role of academics and intellectuals, particularly those working in institutions outside Israel, in denouncing the Israeli crackdown on the academic freedom of the Palestinian academic community. Furthermore, we seek to discuss the role of the Israeli academia in legitimizing flagrant violations of international law, including the complete destruction of the Palestinian educational institutions and infrastructure in Gaza.
WHEN: April 23, 2024, 1:30 PM?EST?(19:30 Gaza Time)
EVENT: April 25, 2024 - Chinas Rise In The Global South: The Middle East, Africa, And Beijings Alternative World Order
China's Rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing's Alternative World Order. A lunch and talk with Dawn Murphy, Associate Professor of National Security Strategy, National War College. An event co-sponsored by Security in Context, the OU?Institute for US-China Issues, the David L. Boren College of International Studies, and the OU Center for Peace and Development.
WHEN: Thursday, April 25, 12-1:15 PM?CST?(1-2:15 PM?EST)
WHERE: Zarrow Hall 145
EVENT: April 25, 2024 - Democracy, Authoritarianism amp; Neoliberalism: The Middle East In The Context Of Regional And Global Balance Of Power
Democracy, Authoritarianism & Neoliberalism: The Middle East in the Context of Regional and Global Balance of Power. A Center for Peace and Development, Center for Middle East Studies, and Security in Context panel discussion with:
Dr. Omar Dahi - Professor of Economics, Hampshire College, Dr. Bassam Haddad - Associate Professor, Schar School of Policy & Government, George Mason University, Dr. Samer S Shehata - Colin Mackey and Patricia Molina de Mackey Associate Professor of Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma, Discussant: Dr. Natalie Letsa - Wick Cary Assistant Professor of Political Economy, University of Oklahoma, Moderator: Dr. Firat Demir - L.J. Semrod Presidential Professor of Economics, University of Oklahoma.