Political and legal anthropology review, May 1, 2000
Recharting the Caribbean: Land, Law, and Citizenship in the British Virgin Islands. Bill Maurer. ... more Recharting the Caribbean: Land, Law, and Citizenship in the British Virgin Islands. Bill Maurer. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997).
Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 2023
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified a lack of “political will” by nat... more The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified a lack of “political will” by national leaders as the main obstacle to mitigating the climate emergency in its 2022 report. However, the report makes no mention that contributing to this political deficiency has been rising antidemocracy over the past two decades, furthered by the support of the powerful fossil fuel industry. This article explores the synergy between antidemocratic leaders embracing anti-climate agendas that prioritize oil and gas companies over the rights of their citizens. I conclude by reflecting on possible responses to this bleak reality from members of the global environmental movement. This involves acknowledging the deep complicity of liberal democratic states in extractive capitalism, while also rethinking democratic principles of social equality and political inclusion to ensure that historically underrepresented communities can engage in emancipatory pro-climate political mobilization.
THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES postcolonial theories of law that today are more widely recognised than eve... more THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES postcolonial theories of law that today are more widely recognised than ever before amongst scholars, political theorists and legal practitioners.1 Concerns with the postcolonial dimensions of legal engagement have been present in some academic circles for over three decades. However, the terms of the conversation have shifted over the years to apply more aptly to current global geopolitical realities. Whereas the language of earlier postcolonial theorists was framed by the parameters of nation-state histories and interests and primarily focused on the dialectic between colonising nations and the colonised, contemporary scholars talk in terms of the relations between what is commonly referred to as the global North and global South. This shift in terminology is important. It expands the lens of analysis from state-centred law in the context of specific national colonial enterprises to a more global post-Westphalian worldview that takes into account the postcolo...
This chapter argues for the need to decolonize global studies, particularly as it is emerging as ... more This chapter argues for the need to decolonize global studies, particularly as it is emerging as a new field of inquiry in the Global North. This entails decolonizing the basic building blocks that have dominated the past three centuries of Western thought. For global studies scholars, this means decentering the dominance of a White privileged world view that naturally assumes that such a world view leads the rest at home and abroad. It also means actively seeking to understand social and political relations from the standpoint of non-Western communities. The chapter argues for the need to decolonize Western thinking precisely because histories of marginalization and being “cut out” of the positive impacts of global capitalism have long been the experience among many non-Western peoples of the world..
1. Introduction: socio-legal scholarship in the twenty-first century 2. Interconnected themes and... more 1. Introduction: socio-legal scholarship in the twenty-first century 2. Interconnected themes and challenges 3. Producing legal knowledge 4. Re-imagining legal geographies 5. Securing peoples 6. Re-racializing the world 7. Conclusion: the enduring relevance of law?
Review(s) of: William Cooper gentle warrior: Standing up for Australian Aborigines and persecuted... more Review(s) of: William Cooper gentle warrior: Standing up for Australian Aborigines and persecuted Jews, by Barbara Miller, 368 pp, Xlibris, 2012, ISBN 9781477155943 (pbk), $29.99.
This essay explores the idea of dying for the economy that has been a proposition supported by Pr... more This essay explores the idea of dying for the economy that has been a proposition supported by President Trump and the Republican Party in discussions about how to reopen the economy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and massive lockdowns. While to most of us this seems like crazy talk, I argue that the loss of some peoples' lives in order to sustain a buoyant economy is a rationale acceptable to many in the corporate sector as well as their pro-business political partners. I first explore theoretical discussions about biopolitics, necropolitics, and the long historical relationship between capitalism and death. I then point to an emerging literature on “economies of death” and apply that to the opioid epidemic in the United States as an illustrative case of a “necroeconomy”. I reflect upon parallels between the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, turning to current debate in the United States about reopening the economy versus the associated public health risks of furthe...
THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES postcolonial theories of law that today are more widely recognised than eve... more THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES postcolonial theories of law that today are more widely recognised than ever before amongst scholars, political theorists and legal practitioners.1 Concerns with the postcolonial dimensions of legal engagement have been present in some academic circles for over three decades. However, the terms of the conversation have shifted over the years to apply more aptly to current global geopolitical realities. Whereas the language of earlier postcolonial theorists was framed by the parameters of nation-state histories and interests and primarily focused on the dialectic between colonising nations and the colonised, contemporary scholars talk in terms of the relations between what is commonly referred to as the global North and global South. This shift in terminology is important. It expands the lens of analysis from state-centred law in the context of specifi c national colonial enterprises to a more global post-Westphalian worldview that takes into account the postcol...
Political and legal anthropology review, May 1, 2000
Recharting the Caribbean: Land, Law, and Citizenship in the British Virgin Islands. Bill Maurer. ... more Recharting the Caribbean: Land, Law, and Citizenship in the British Virgin Islands. Bill Maurer. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997).
Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 2023
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified a lack of “political will” by nat... more The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified a lack of “political will” by national leaders as the main obstacle to mitigating the climate emergency in its 2022 report. However, the report makes no mention that contributing to this political deficiency has been rising antidemocracy over the past two decades, furthered by the support of the powerful fossil fuel industry. This article explores the synergy between antidemocratic leaders embracing anti-climate agendas that prioritize oil and gas companies over the rights of their citizens. I conclude by reflecting on possible responses to this bleak reality from members of the global environmental movement. This involves acknowledging the deep complicity of liberal democratic states in extractive capitalism, while also rethinking democratic principles of social equality and political inclusion to ensure that historically underrepresented communities can engage in emancipatory pro-climate political mobilization.
THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES postcolonial theories of law that today are more widely recognised than eve... more THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES postcolonial theories of law that today are more widely recognised than ever before amongst scholars, political theorists and legal practitioners.1 Concerns with the postcolonial dimensions of legal engagement have been present in some academic circles for over three decades. However, the terms of the conversation have shifted over the years to apply more aptly to current global geopolitical realities. Whereas the language of earlier postcolonial theorists was framed by the parameters of nation-state histories and interests and primarily focused on the dialectic between colonising nations and the colonised, contemporary scholars talk in terms of the relations between what is commonly referred to as the global North and global South. This shift in terminology is important. It expands the lens of analysis from state-centred law in the context of specific national colonial enterprises to a more global post-Westphalian worldview that takes into account the postcolo...
This chapter argues for the need to decolonize global studies, particularly as it is emerging as ... more This chapter argues for the need to decolonize global studies, particularly as it is emerging as a new field of inquiry in the Global North. This entails decolonizing the basic building blocks that have dominated the past three centuries of Western thought. For global studies scholars, this means decentering the dominance of a White privileged world view that naturally assumes that such a world view leads the rest at home and abroad. It also means actively seeking to understand social and political relations from the standpoint of non-Western communities. The chapter argues for the need to decolonize Western thinking precisely because histories of marginalization and being “cut out” of the positive impacts of global capitalism have long been the experience among many non-Western peoples of the world..
1. Introduction: socio-legal scholarship in the twenty-first century 2. Interconnected themes and... more 1. Introduction: socio-legal scholarship in the twenty-first century 2. Interconnected themes and challenges 3. Producing legal knowledge 4. Re-imagining legal geographies 5. Securing peoples 6. Re-racializing the world 7. Conclusion: the enduring relevance of law?
Review(s) of: William Cooper gentle warrior: Standing up for Australian Aborigines and persecuted... more Review(s) of: William Cooper gentle warrior: Standing up for Australian Aborigines and persecuted Jews, by Barbara Miller, 368 pp, Xlibris, 2012, ISBN 9781477155943 (pbk), $29.99.
This essay explores the idea of dying for the economy that has been a proposition supported by Pr... more This essay explores the idea of dying for the economy that has been a proposition supported by President Trump and the Republican Party in discussions about how to reopen the economy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and massive lockdowns. While to most of us this seems like crazy talk, I argue that the loss of some peoples' lives in order to sustain a buoyant economy is a rationale acceptable to many in the corporate sector as well as their pro-business political partners. I first explore theoretical discussions about biopolitics, necropolitics, and the long historical relationship between capitalism and death. I then point to an emerging literature on “economies of death” and apply that to the opioid epidemic in the United States as an illustrative case of a “necroeconomy”. I reflect upon parallels between the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, turning to current debate in the United States about reopening the economy versus the associated public health risks of furthe...
THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES postcolonial theories of law that today are more widely recognised than eve... more THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES postcolonial theories of law that today are more widely recognised than ever before amongst scholars, political theorists and legal practitioners.1 Concerns with the postcolonial dimensions of legal engagement have been present in some academic circles for over three decades. However, the terms of the conversation have shifted over the years to apply more aptly to current global geopolitical realities. Whereas the language of earlier postcolonial theorists was framed by the parameters of nation-state histories and interests and primarily focused on the dialectic between colonising nations and the colonised, contemporary scholars talk in terms of the relations between what is commonly referred to as the global North and global South. This shift in terminology is important. It expands the lens of analysis from state-centred law in the context of specifi c national colonial enterprises to a more global post-Westphalian worldview that takes into account the postcol...
Deploying interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives that speak to interconnected global dimensio... more Deploying interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives that speak to interconnected global dimensions is critical if one’s work is to remain relevant and applicable to the emerging global-scale issues of our time. The Global Turn is a guide for students and scholars across all areas of the social sciences and humanities who wish to embark upon global-studies research projects. The authors demonstrate how the global can be studied from a local perspective and vice versa. Global processes manifest at multiple transnational, regional, national, and local levels—interconnected dimensions that are mutually constitutive. This book walks the reader through the steps of thinking like a global scholar in theoretical, methodological, and practical terms, explaining the implications of global perspectives for research design.
This innovative handbook provides a comprehensive, and truly global, overview of the main approac... more This innovative handbook provides a comprehensive, and truly global, overview of the main approaches and themes within law and society scholarship or social-legal studies. A one-volume introduction to academic resources and ideas that are relevant for today’s debates on issues from reproductive justice to climate justice, food security, water conflicts, artificial intelligence, and global financial transactions, this handbook is divided into two sections. The first, ‘Perspectives and Approaches’, accessibly explains a variety of frameworks through which the relationship between law and society is addressed and understood, with emphasis on contemporary perspectives that are relatively new to many socio-legal scholars. Following the book’s overall interest in social justice, the entries in this section of the book show how conceptual tools originate in, and help to illuminate, real-world issues. The second and largest section of the book (42 short well-written pieces) presents reflect...
In a study that is original and timely, Eve Darian-Smith uses the Channel Tunnel between England ... more In a study that is original and timely, Eve Darian-Smith uses the Channel Tunnel between England and France to explore the shifting geographies of nationalism, postcolonialism, and legal autonomy in the formation of the European Union. Conducting ethnographic research in Kent, the county at the English mouth of the Tunnel, she looks at regional differences in feelings about Europe and at the vocabulary used in discussing the Tunnel. Visual representations - political cartoons, photographs, etchings - regarding the Tunnel are also examined. Two hundred years after Napoleon planned to invade England via a tunnel, the completion in 1994 of a fast rail link between Great Britain and the European mainland symbolizes the disintegration of conventional state borders. While the Tunnel precariously affirms the ideal of a united Europe, it also brings to the fore questions of boundaries between the first and third worlds, colonizers and colonized, and the 'East' and the 'West.'...
Introduction: Connecting Religion, Race and Rights I: Moving toward Separation of Church and Stat... more Introduction: Connecting Religion, Race and Rights I: Moving toward Separation of Church and State Chapter 1: Martin Luther and the Challenge to the Catholic Church (1517) Religion: Protest and Reform Race: The Infidel Turk Rights: Demanding Secular Law Conclusion Chapter 2: Executing the King: The Trial of Charles I (1649) Religion: Protestant and Catholic Violence Race: Religious Intolerance and Legalizing Racism Rights: Defining the Rights of King, Parliament and Subject Conclusion Chapter 3: Revolution and Thomas Paine's Rights of Man (1791) Religion: The Age of Reason and the Challenge of Science Race: Questioning Slavery and Discrimination Rights: Law's Coming of Age in Rights of Man Conclusion II: Capitalism, Colonialism and Nationalism Chapter 4: Sugar, Slaves, Rebellion, Murder (1865) Religion: The 'Divine Institution' of Slavery Race: Scientific Racism Rights: Empire's Right to Massacre Conclusion Chapter 5: Demanding the Eight-Hour Workday (1886) Religion: Law as Faith Race: Racializing Labor 161 Rights: Workers versus Laissez-Faire Capitalism Conclusion Chapter 6: Civilizing Native Americans-The Dawes Act (1887) Religion: Missionaries and Heathens Race: Determining the Race Within Rights: Limiting Native Sovereignty Conclusion III: Religion, Race and Rights in a Global Era Chapter 7: Nuremberg's Legacy (1945-49) Religion: Confronting Religious Pluralism Race: Rethinking Race Rights: Implementing Human Rights Conclusion Chapter 8: Democracy, Neoliberalism, and the New Crusades Religion: Exploiting God Race: 'Saving Brown Women' Rights: The Challenges of Neoliberalism Conclusion Conclusion: The Resurgence of Faith
Routledge Handbook of Law and Society on 2021-03-04, available online: http://www.routledge.com/... more Routledge Handbook of Law and Society on 2021-03-04, available online: http://www.routledge.com/9780429293306
Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis, 2022
How extreme-right antidemocratic governments around the world are prioritizing profits over citiz... more How extreme-right antidemocratic governments around the world are prioritizing profits over citizens, stoking catastrophic wildfires, and accelerating global climate change.
Recent years have seen out-of-control wildfires rage across remote Brazilian rainforests, densely populated California coastlines, and major cities in Australia. What connects these separate events is more than immediate devastation and human loss of life. In Global Burning, Eve Darian-Smith contends that using fire as a symbolic and literal thread connecting different places around the world allows us to better understand the parallel, and related, trends of the growth of authoritarian politics and climate crises and their interconnected global consequences.
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Papers by Eve Darian-Smith
Recent years have seen out-of-control wildfires rage across remote Brazilian rainforests, densely populated California coastlines, and major cities in Australia. What connects these separate events is more than immediate devastation and human loss of life. In Global Burning, Eve Darian-Smith contends that using fire as a symbolic and literal thread connecting different places around the world allows us to better understand the parallel, and related, trends of the growth of authoritarian politics and climate crises and their interconnected global consequences.