Category Archives: Land

Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Moore, Barrington. 1966. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press.  Barrington Moore’s classic study seeks to understand the role of landed upper classes and peasants in the makings … Continue reading →

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Coffee and Power

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Paige, Jeffery M. 1997. Coffee and Power: Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Jeffrey Paige’s book Coffee and Power is an exemplary piece of comparative research. In addressing three Central American countries tortured … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Elites, Historical-Geographies, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Political Economy, Post-Colonial, Power, Terror, The State, Violence | Comments Off on Coffee and Power

Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Wolf, Eric. 1969. Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. Eric Wolf surveys the histories of six different cases of peasant involvement in rebellions and revolutions in the twentieth century. In the final chapter, he draws … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Bandits, Frontiers, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Scale, Territory, The State, Violence | 1 Comment

States of Violence

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Coronil, Fernando and Julie Skurski, eds. 2006. States of Violence. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. [Ch. 1-3] This brilliant collection edited by Fernando Coronil and Julie Skurski critiques one of the main stories that modernity likes to tell … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Bandits, Boundaries, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Gender, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Nation/Nationalism, Post-Colonial, Sovereignty, Spatiality, The State, Violence | 1 Comment

What Makes Peasants Revolutionary?

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Skocpol, Theda. 1982. “What Makes Peasants Revolutionary?” Comparative Politics 14(3): 351-375. In this review essay, Theda Skocpol basically argues that studies of peasant-based revolutions have focused too narrowly on the peasants themselves. She argues for a more holistic approach that … Continue reading →

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On the Postcolony

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Mbembe, Achille. 2001. On the Postcolony. Berkeley: University of California Press. [Intro, Ch. 1-2] In On the Postcolony, Achille Mbembe writes against the making of Africa (and Africans) as a monstrous place, a timeless netherworld suspended from the forward march … Continue reading →

Posted in Boundaries, City, Drugs, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Nation/Nationalism, Political Economy, Post-Colonial, Power, Sovereignty, Spatiality, Territory, The Body, The State, Violence | 2 Comments

Insurgent Collective Action

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Wood, Elisabeth J. 2003. Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Elisabeth Jean Wood’s book explores why some Salvadoran peasants decided to collectively thrust themselves toward that country’s insurgency in the 1970s-1990s. Through a … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Boundaries, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Maps, Nation/Nationalism, Peace, Place, Political Ecology, Power, Sovereignty, Spatiality, Terror, The State, Violence | Comments Off on Insurgent Collective Action

Fighting for the Rain Forest

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Richards, Paul. 1996. Fighting for the Rainforest: War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone. Oxford: James Currey. Paul Richards main aim in Fighting for the Rain Forest is to argue against what he calls the “New Barbarism” thesis, which presents … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Bandits, Boundaries, Drugs, Everyday Life, Forests, Frontiers, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Nation/Nationalism, Peace, Place, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Post-Colonial, Power, Primitive Accumulation, Scale, Sovereignty, Spatiality, Territory, Terror, The Body, The State, Violence | 1 Comment

Inside Rebellion

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Weinstein, Jeremy M. 2007. Inside Rebellion: The Politics of Insurgent Violence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jeremy Weinstein’s Inside Rebellion seeks to reveal why some insurgencies are far more violent against civilian populations than others. In other words, why are some … Continue reading →

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A Century of Revolution

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Grandin, Greg and Gilbert M. Joseph, Eds. 2010. A Century of Revolution: Insurgent and Counterinsurgent Violence During Latin America’s Long Cold War. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. [Selections] I wish I’d had more time to devote to A Century of … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Materialism, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Nation/Nationalism, Peace, Post-Colonial, Power, Scale, Sovereignty, Terror, The State, Violence | 1 Comment