State Violence, Hazards, and Disasters: Interrogating Colonialism/Coloniality and Militarism

• In Event: 40414 - Disaster and Inequality

Abstract

Disaster research has moved beyond paradigms that guided early research in the field, which viewed disasters as discrete events, originating in external natural forces that impinge upon social systems, to conceptualizing disasters as originating within the social systems in which they take place. Framing environmental hazards as products of the global political economy, this analysis highlights the importance of two global-level processes—colonialism/coloniality and militarism—in producing environmental hazards and disasters. The emphasis here is on hazards and disasters produced by the actions of hegemonic powers in the Global North and their impacts on colonies and post-colonial societies in the Global South. With respect to colonialism and its legacies, I have focused on catastrophic disasters in Haiti and Puerto Rico. Additionally, colonialism and militarism are inextricably linked, as demonstrated in research on weapons development and deployment. Case studies discussed here focus on the impacts of nuclear and other weapons testing in the Marshall Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Focusing empirically on the colonialism, militarism, and disaster nexus on a global scale is a tall order, requiring the collection and analysis of extensive historical and cross-national comparisons. These discussions are meant to encourage such investigations.

Author

• Kathleen J. Tierney, University of Colorado System Office