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Occupied Intimacies : Borderization in Palestine, Georgia and Western Sahara

Gren, Nina LU ; Padrón Hernández, Maria LU and Gotfredsen, Katrine (2025) In Kritisk etnografi - Swedish journal of anthropology 8(1). p.9-25
Abstract
In this article we explore and compare three different cases of military occupation:
the Israeli occupation of Palestine; the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara; and the Russian occupation of Georgian South Ossetia. Building on ethnographic fieldworks carried out in 2022 and 2023, we show that these contemporary military occupations manifest themselves as evolving processes of dominance which extend beyond direct military force and violence and into the intimate social relationships of their subjects. Control is exercised through multiple acts of ‘borderisation’, which causes separation and rupture by placing people on different sides of physical and bureaucratic borders. This, we demonstrate, effectively disrupts occupied peoples’... (More)
In this article we explore and compare three different cases of military occupation:
the Israeli occupation of Palestine; the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara; and the Russian occupation of Georgian South Ossetia. Building on ethnographic fieldworks carried out in 2022 and 2023, we show that these contemporary military occupations manifest themselves as evolving processes of dominance which extend beyond direct military force and violence and into the intimate social relationships of their subjects. Control is exercised through multiple acts of ‘borderisation’, which causes separation and rupture by placing people on different sides of physical and bureaucratic borders. This, we demonstrate, effectively disrupts occupied peoples’ ability to do family. Being unable to take your elderly relative to a doctor’s appointment or to visit the grave of your deceased brother are not only practical obstacles, but they also have moral and
existential implications. The disruption of kinship practices should therefore not be taken lightly. Rather, this is revealed as a core mode of domination and control, which threatens intimate aspects of life. Ultimately, the effects of this go beyond individual tragedies and unfulfilled kinship obligations. As the occupations become protracted, social divisions as well as cultural transformations are cemented (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
borders, military occupation, Palestine, Georgia, Western Sahara, family life, violence, military occupation, Georgia, Palestine, Western Sahara, borders, family
in
Kritisk etnografi - Swedish journal of anthropology
volume
8
issue
1
article number
1
pages
9 - 25
ISSN
2003-1173
DOI
10.33063/diva-572774
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2d6a0c64-2057-4c34-b071-73cc0011952d
date added to LUP
2024-12-16 11:51:36
date last changed
2026-02-05 15:21:58
@article{2d6a0c64-2057-4c34-b071-73cc0011952d,
  abstract     = {{In this article we explore and compare three different cases of military occupation:<br/>the Israeli occupation of Palestine; the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara; and the Russian occupation of Georgian South Ossetia. Building on ethnographic fieldworks carried out in 2022 and 2023, we show that these contemporary military occupations manifest themselves as evolving processes of dominance which extend beyond direct military force and violence and into the intimate social relationships of their subjects. Control is exercised through multiple acts of ‘borderisation’, which causes separation and rupture by placing people on different sides of physical and bureaucratic borders. This, we demonstrate, effectively disrupts occupied peoples’ ability to do family. Being unable to take your elderly relative to a doctor’s appointment or to visit the grave of your deceased brother are not only practical obstacles, but they also have moral and<br/>existential implications. The disruption of kinship practices should therefore not be taken lightly. Rather, this is revealed as a core mode of domination and control, which threatens intimate aspects of life. Ultimately, the effects of this go beyond individual tragedies and unfulfilled kinship obligations. As the occupations become protracted, social divisions as well as cultural transformations are cemented}},
  author       = {{Gren, Nina and Padrón Hernández, Maria and Gotfredsen, Katrine}},
  issn         = {{2003-1173}},
  keywords     = {{borders; military occupation; Palestine; Georgia; Western Sahara; family life; violence; military occupation; Georgia; Palestine; Western Sahara; borders; family}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{9--25}},
  series       = {{Kritisk etnografi - Swedish journal of anthropology}},
  title        = {{Occupied Intimacies : Borderization in Palestine, Georgia and Western Sahara}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.33063/diva-572774}},
  doi          = {{10.33063/diva-572774}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}