Shannon Keith 5/21/12 SIS 202 AJ Topical Paper Three Making Visible the Invisible: the Power Structure

of Violence In times of violence or hardship, there are many aspects of politics which arent broadcasted. Many of these invisibilities are hidden purposefully because of their illicit nature, such as the political facilitation of illegal economies or the state torture and humiliation of religious groups (Tiktin 2011, Mahmood 1996, Nordstrom 1998). Within these invisibilities of violence, everyday functions of society become integrated into illicit practices. Meanwhile, statebased organizations advertise illusions of peace, which continually cast a shadow over the legal and illegal productions of power among individuals. By looking into these shadows, social scientists can better understand the true power structure of violence in modern politics, which is necessary in directing a more successful resolution towards the most basic levels of power. The cross-over from legal to illegal for most people is a survival response to the pressures of violence, and in effect, illicit shadow operations become integrated into the legitimate needs of society. Nordstroms ethnographic work argues that people rely on the flexibility of illegal economies to navigate hard times of war and to bring them the resources necessary for survival. In effect, so-called victims of the war become perpetrators of illegal economies themselves, exploiting these violent channels for everyday needs. Mahmood examines a similar transformation from victimhood to perpetrator among the Sikh minority in India. She argues that Sikhs were under pressure from the governments structural violence (withholding Sikh political rights) and thus reacted with violent attempts to reclaim political power (Mahmood 1996: 188). In their case, illicit violence becomes integrated into the Sikhs political fight for legal recognition. As more victims with legitimate needs turn into perpetrators of illicit means, the

violence that instigated this integration of legality and illegality is perpetuated (Mahmood 1996, Nordstrom 1998). Violence both feeds the shadow system, and is reproduced through the system. When illegal practices become imbedded in the legal sphere, removing the violence is difficult. Nordstrom confirms this notion with two failed attempts at resolution which were aimed at the illusions of power instead of the source. First, a change of government leaders may officially end war policies, but old habits infuse new systems and people exploiting the criminal markets continue doing so (Nordstrom 1998: 150). Next, peace accords signed by top leaders insist that the war is over in order to persuade soldiers to end fighting. Yet war continually resurfaces because it is the same war, a war that never ended except on paper (Nordstrom 1998: 170). In other words, violence of war runs deep into the veins of society because it underlies the illegal markets to which people have adapted in order to survive. Enforcing power at the upper levels of elite leaders ignores the shadow formations of power and survival on the ground. Humanitarianism is another approach to violence that has found very limited success because it doesnt address the underlying structure. Ticktin criticizes what she calls regimes of care for responding to issues of violence as emergencies, which has render[ed] invisible other forms of suffering and violence (2011: 223). Her views on a better resolution coincide with what Calhoun describes as a larger agenda of human improvement (2008: 74). But in order to approach a structural fix to violent systems, the invisible power exertions of violence must be studied in a stronger political analysis of our times (Mamdani 2004:16). Therefore, to really address the origins of violence, social scientists must understand that the invisible power structure of violence is built into ground-level actions. As individuals navigate illegal markets for the resource benefits, they gain their own political influence and

perpetuate the violent underpinnings of these shadow networks. In effect, change must address the everyday reliance on such illicit networks for political agency. Addressing the most basic level of power is the only way to topple the shadow structure.

Work Cited Calhoun, Craig. (2008). The imperative to Reduce Suffering: Charity, Progress, and Emergencies in the Field of Humanitarian Action. In Humanitarianism in question: Politics, power, ethics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Mahmood, Cynthia K. Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with Sikh Militants. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997. Print. Mamdani, M. (2004). Good Muslim, bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the roots of terror. New York: Pantheon Books. Nordstrom, C. (2004). Shadows of war: Violence, power, and international profiteering in the twenty-first century. Berkeley: University of California Press. Ticktin, M. I. (2011). Casualties of care: Immigration and the politics of humanitarianism in France. Berkeley: University of California Press.