Category Archives: The State

Caliban and the Witch

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Federici, Silvia. 2004. Caliban and the Witch: Women, The Body, and Primitive Accumulation. Brooklyn, NY: Autonomedia. It’s become almost cliché to say that taking into account gender—and other forms of social difference—makes a real difference for how we build our … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Gender, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Karl Marx, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Economy, Primitive Accumulation, Race & Ethnicity, Science & Tech., The Body, The State, Violence | 2 Comments

The New Imperialism

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Harvey, David. 2003. The New Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. This is the last of David Harvey’s books that I’ll read (or re-read) for a while, and I’ve already reviewed some of his other books here, so I’ll pretty much … Continue reading →

Posted in David Harvey, Dialectics, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Karl Marx, Marxism, Political Economy, Power, Primitive Accumulation, Spatiality, Territory, The State, Violence | Comments Off

Frontiers: Civil Society and Nature

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Redclift, Michael. 2006. Frontiers: Histories of Civil Society and Nature. Boston: MIT Press. Through a series of brief case studies, Michael Redclift explores the meanings, practices, and imaginaries associated with frontiers, which he analyzes through the mutually interacting interfaces of … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Boundaries, Frontiers, Henri Lefebvre, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Place, Power, Sovereignty, Spatiality, Territory, The State, Violence | Comments Off

Thread of Blood on the Frontier

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Alonso, Ana María. 1995. Thread of Blood: Colonialism, Revolution, and Gender on Mexico’s Northern Frontier. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press. Ana María Alonso traces the “thread of blood” that links frontier settlers’ warfare in Chihuahua against indigenous groups to … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Boundaries, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Gender, Hegemony, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Nation/Nationalism, Post-Colonial, Power, Race & Ethnicity, Spatiality, Territory, The Body, The State, Violence | 1 Comment

How the Indians Lost their Land

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Banner, Stuart. 2005. How the Indians Lost their Land: Law and Power on the Frontier. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Stuart Banner’s main thesis is that the loss of U.S. Indian land cannot be reduced to a story of violent dispossession. … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Boundaries, Frontiers, Land, Law, Post-Colonial, Power, Race & Ethnicity, Sovereignty, Spatiality, Territory, The State, Violence | 1 Comment

Elements for a Theory of the Frontier

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

I had planned on discussing some texts on what I like to call “actually existing primitive accumulation,” but due to the exigencies of something I’m writing, I’m first going to plow through some stuff on frontiers—slippery little things. Raffestin, Claude. … Continue reading →

Posted in Boundaries, Frontiers, Land, Law, Maps, Power, Primitive Accumulation, Sovereignty, Spatiality, The State | Comments Off

Some Aspects of the Southern Question

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Gramsci, Antonio. 1926. “Some Aspects of the Southern Question.” From Antonio Gramsci: Pre-Prison Writings (1994), edited by Richard Bellamy and translated by Virgina Cox. “Some Aspects of the Southern Question” is an incredible essay. Antonio Gramsci was arrested as he … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Antonio Gramsci, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Land, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Power, Spatiality, The State | Comments Off

A Scale Debate

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Marston, Sallie. 2000. “The Social Construction of Scale.” Progress in Human Geography 25: 219-42. Brenner, Neil. 2001. “The Limits to Scale? Methodological Reflections on Scalar Structuration.” Progress in Human Geography 25(4): 591–614. Marston, Sallie and Neil Smith. 2001. “States, Scales … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender, Henri Lefebvre, Nation/Nationalism, Networks, Place, Power, Scale, Spatiality, Territory, The Body, The State | 3 Comments

The Great Arch

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Corrigan, Philip, and Derek Sayer. 1985. The Great Arch: English State Formation as a Cultural Revolution. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. I had high hopes for this book. First, because I’m a big fan of Derek Sayer’s other work and, secondly, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique, Gender, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Law, Max Weber, Nation/Nationalism, Political Economy, Power, The State | Comments Off

Politics as Vocation

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Weber, Max. 2004. “Politics as Vocation,” in The Vocation Lectures, edited by David Owen and Tracy B. Strong, translated by Rodney Livingstone. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company. Lets face it, Max Weber was sort of a downer. On January 28, … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Max Weber, Nation/Nationalism, Power, The State | 7 Comments