Category Archives: Marxism

Althusser, Gramsci and Machiavelli – Us and Us

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Teo Ballvé

Debate in the geograsphere. Jon Beasley-Murray published a riff on Louis Althusser’s Machiavelli and Us saying he detects a post-hegemonic streak in Althusser’s take on Machiavelli with an emphasis on the aleatory, contingent, and the conjunctural rather than a “telos of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antonio Gramsci, Dialectics, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Niccolo Machiavelli, Power, The State | 6 Comments

Zapatistas and Territory

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Teo Ballvé

After their silent and momentary seizure of five municipal plazas on December 21, the Zapatistas issued a new communiqué (in Spanish or English). In sum, it describes how they will continue consolidating their “other way of doing politics.” Among their … Continue reading →

Posted in Henri Lefebvre, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Marxism, Media, Networks, Race & Ethnicity, Spatiality, Territory, The State | 1 Comment

In Conversation: E.P. Thompson and C.L.R. James

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

An interesting conversation recorded sometime around 1982 between two of my favorite historians: EP Thompson and CLR James. The most fascinating part of the 50-minute conversation/interview comes toward the end, beginning at about minute 43′ in which they start talking … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Materialism, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Post-Colonial, Race & Ethnicity | Comments Off on In Conversation: E.P. Thompson and C.L.R. James

Neil Smith and Eric Hobsbawm

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

Like so many others I was saddened to hear about Neil Smith’s untimely passing. People who knew him have all mentioned what a kind, warm, down to earth, and funny person he was—in this, I hope I follow his footsteps. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bandits, Development, Historical Materialism, Illegality, Marxism | Comments Off on Neil Smith and Eric Hobsbawm

Everyday State Formation

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

I have a new article that was just published in the most recent issue of Environment and Planning D: Society and Space titled, “Everyday State Formation: Territory, Decentralization, and the Narco Land-Grab.” The lag between writing and printing, of course, … Continue reading →

Posted in Antonio Gramsci, Development, Drugs, Elites, Everyday Life, Hegemony, Henri Lefebvre, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Karl Marx, Land, Law, Marxism, Primitive Accumulation, Spatiality, Territory, The State, Violence | Comments Off on Everyday State Formation

Jameson: Representing Capital

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

Canadian magazine Rabble has an interview with Frederic Jameson about his new book Representing Capital: A Reading of Volume One. Jameson explains what he means when he writes in the book, “Capital is not a book about politics, and not … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique, Dialectics, Karl Marx, Marxism, Political Economy | Comments Off on Jameson: Representing Capital

The Country and the City

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Williams, Raymond. 1973. The Country and the City. Oxford: Oxford University Press. At the end of The Country and the City, Raymond Williams offers the reader an appendix on the origins of the keyword “country.” The word, he writes, “is … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Boundaries, City, Critique, Land, Marxism, Place | Comments Off on The Country and the City

Violence in Developing Countries

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Cramer, Christopher. 2007. Violence in Developing Countries: War, Memory, Progress. Indiana University Press. Cramer’s book is a strident polemic and methodical critique against widely accepted explanations for contemporary violence. His critique is mainly geared at liberal interpretations of war in … Continue reading →

Posted in Frontiers, Historical Materialism, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Marxism, Political Economy, Violence | Comments Off on Violence in Developing Countries

Guevara: Guerrilla Warfare

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Che Guevara’s manual for guerrilla warfare was published a year after his bearded rebels marched triumphantly into Havana. Rebels across the world have thumbed its pages for tactics and strategies aimed at defeating their much more powerful foes. Unfortunately, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, City, Forests, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Political Ecology, Territory, Violence | Comments Off on Guevara: Guerrilla Warfare

On the Trail of Latin American Bandits

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Joseph, Gilbert M. 1990. “On the Trail of Latin American Bandits: A Reexamination of Peasant Resistance,” Latin American Research Review 25(3): 7-53; & Various Authors. 1991. “Debate on Banditry in Latin America,” Latin American Research Review 26(1): 145-174. Gil Joseph … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Bandits, Boundaries, Dialectics, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Terror, The State, Violence | Comments Off on On the Trail of Latin American Bandits