State Violence Research Articles

Creation of a mechanism for managing the system of countering the terrorism ideology in the Russian Federation

In the modern world, in the countries of the so-called “golden billion,” an interesting phenomenon has arisen, which has led to the fact that the ruling elites began to use the resources of their own states for the purpose of personal enrichment and imposing their will on underdeveloped states. In the world political lexicon, such a stable concept as “state terrorism” has emerged. The study of these features of the current stage of development of the countries of the golden billion is an urgent global problem and requires detailed research. It has been established that in the modern world there is a merging of the interests of individual terrorists and the ruling elites of the leading Western countries. Terrorist activities have acquired a systemic character, transforming into the ordered activities of the political superstructure of the ruling elites. It has been proven that terrorism is closely structured in the world processes of globalization and manifests itself depending on the political and economic processes in a particular country, having a negative impact on the process of mutually benefi cial cooperation between states. It has been established that new tools of the current electronic technological world such as the Internet, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, distributed registry technologies, etc., which make it possible to control the flow of digital information at the speed of thought and are the basis for the future development of humanity, have become available to everyone, including terrorists. In Russia, in order to protect the population from the influence of aggressive states, a system has been created to counter the ideology of terrorism, which at this stage is imposed by NATO countries. To counteract the ideology of terrorism, it is planned to use the potential of educational institutions, youth policy structures, and culture. In order to counter the ideology of terrorism and prevent extremism on the territory of the Chechen Republic, the Coordination Center of the A.A.Kadyrov Chechen State University was created. It addresses a range of issues related to the formation of an active civic position among young people, the prevention of interethnic and interfaith conflicts, countering the ideology of terrorism, and the prevention of extremism.

Say Yes to Dams? Negotiating Development and Uncertainty in a Large Dam Project in the Philippines

ABSTRACT This paper explores local actors’ responses to the Alimit Dam project in Ifugao Province of the Philippines. Despite intense debates over environmental and social uncertainties, representatives of local Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations proposed in 2017 a conditional yes during the consultation process, while demanding infrastructure and social services from the project proponent. This response challenges the anti-dam stance and “land is life” narrative of local Indigenous movements, reflecting global trends of dam resurgence amidst claims of sustainable development and modernization. The study reveals the complex responses of local communities, shaped by history, internal dynamics, and negotiations with state power, highlighting the nuanced realities that inform development visions in Indigenous communities. Despite limited space to express their voices due to state violence and manipulation, local actors assert their agency by adopting strategic and ambiguous positions to navigate power dynamics and uncertainty in a polarized political landscape. By analyzing intra-ethnic politics among local actors, this paper demonstrates how differing historical experiences and social relations shape development visions. Additionally, it highlights the continuously negotiated and contested meanings of land among Indigenous groups as they navigate their histories, identities, and future aspirations in the face of ongoing development challenges and uncertainties.

Use of drones in Indo‐Pak cross border terrorism: Challenges, regulations and evolving responses

AbstractThe proliferation of drones to states and non‐state actors has created newer challenges for national security & border management. Globally, drones are being used by security forces as force multipliers in military operations, while non‐state actors are employing drones for carrying out terror strikes, smuggling arms, narcotics, and by citizen journalists and other groups for disseminating information on government crackdown on public protests. The paper traces the increasing usage of drones in India, especially since 2019, while also analyzing the multifarious challenges faced by Indian security forces and law enforcement agencies from the use of drones by non‐state actors. It analyses the rules and regulations that have been put in place in India to manage the spread of UAS/drones in the country while not stifling the domestic manufacturing. Finally, the paper explores the possible systems that have been explored by India and other countries to counter UAS/drones and the challenges posed in effectively countering drones in border regions.

Studying Kurdishness in Turkey: A review of existing research.

Knowledge production on marginalized identities is frequently shaped by epistemic violence, which limits both the scope and methodologies of research. One example of this is the case of Kurdish identity in Turkey, where we find that methodological and epistemic problems are evident particularly in social psychological research. To summarize social psychological studies on Kurdishness, Kurdish identity and conflict in Turkey we've conducted a systematic review that includes a total of 63 studies on topics related to Kurdishness. We utilize qualitative content analysis (Schreier, 2012) to address: (1) whether samples in the studies in our review represent Kurds, (2) which topics the studies mostly focus on, (3) how Kurdish identity and Kurds as a group are conceptualized and (4) how the Kurdish issue is conceptualized. We discuss our findings in light of epistemic violence and methodological nationalism and identify the key gaps in the literature and offer a critical, inclusive understanding of the social psychological studies on Kurdish identity and state violence in Turkey.

State Violence and Uncommon Death in Contemporary Mexico

State Violence and Uncommon Death in Contemporary Mexico

State-sponsored terrorism as a component of international conspiracy and political engineering

State-sponsored terrorism refers to supporting, financing, or sponsoring terrorist activities by a government or state entity. The United States Department of State (DoS) designates countries that contend to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism as state sponsors of terrorism. As of 2023, the list consists of five countries namely; Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Previously, countries on the list included Iraq, Libya, South Yemen, and Sudan (dos, 2023). State sponsorship of terrorism although not as hegemonic as in past decades. The concept remains a multifaceted phenomenon faced in the international system which the superpower countries are yet to adequately mitigate, despite its threat to national and global security. This paper adopts the desk research approach by reviewing relevant and extant literature gleaned from secondary sources such as published and unpublished materials, journal articles, and the internet. It also examines the notion that state-sponsored terrorism is an act of international conspiracy, as well as political engineering. Findings show that some superpower countries are guilty of being tagged as sponsors of state terrorism as they also use violence as an instrument to protect their national interest, attain their foreign policy dictates, and survive the internal system. Therefore, recommended that Nigeria should effect major changes in its foreign policy towards the development of robust counter-terrorism measures against states capable of sponsoring terrorism within the West African sub-region strengthen its military base, and improve border security to protect its territorial sovereignty.

The Elusive Pivot: An Analysis of India's Regional Diplomacy and its Strategic Limitations

This article offers an in-depth analysis of India's "Neighbourhood First" policy, exploring its regional diplomatic efforts alongside notable achievements and persistent challenges. Using game theory, international relations frameworks, and case studies, it identifies key obstacles hindering India’s pursuit of regional leadership. These include internal constraints such as political instability, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and limited funding; external challenges like China’s expanding influence, cross-border terrorism, and unresolved historical disputes; and strategic shortcomings characterized by reactionary diplomacy, over-reliance on hard power, and underutilization of soft power tools. The study concludes by advocating for a recalibrated regional approach, focusing on confidence-building measures, cooperative frameworks to address shared challenges, and strategic use of soft power to strengthen India’s leadership in South Asia.

“Thanatopolitics” in the Socio-Political Discourse in the 2000s and 2020s: between the “Living Dead” and “Necrosociality”

Introduction. Over the past twenty years, the terms “thanatopolitics”, “necropolitics”, “necroeconomics”, etc. have been actively used in socio-political discourse. But the definitions of these meanings remain blurred. In the last 4–5 years, they can be found in Russian-language articles, as well as in the public space of blogs and YouTube channels. Often, the use of these terms is associated with biased statements by authors from a nonacademic environment. The purpose of this article is to identify the area of use of the term “thanatopolitics” in the academic literature of recent years.Methodology and sources. The study was carried out in the logic of the genealogical approach. The main subject of interest is gaps in discourse, when the same or similar terms are filled with new content or receive new interpretations. The analysis of English-language articles in the fields of political philosophy, critical theory, literary studies, gender studies, history and economics was carried out. It is in this linguistic and problematic field that the term has acquired definitions that are relevant today.Results and discussion. Two approaches can be distinguished in English-language academic literature: 1) thanatopolitics – institutionalized state violence, unethical management technologies that allow the sovereign to convert death on his territory into resources and legitimacy. The authors who adhere to this approach to the problem use the concept of “necropolitics” instead of “thanatopolitics”, but there are exceptions. They rely on the essay of the same name by A. Mbembe and engage in leftist criticism of specific examples of neocolonialism; 2) thanatopolitics – the creation of social connections through the production of knowledge about threats to immanent life. The phenomenon when a community is formed due to the fact that it can disappear at any moment. This approach to the problem of thanatopolitics is typical for researchers of artistic culture and modern digital media.Conclusion. The authors who use the term “thanatopolitics” and other terms related in their work study the power-death-knowledge dispositif. But its presence in the text cannot be an unambiguous marker of the researcher's position. Sometimes the choice of this term is a marker of critical attacks against specific political decisions of the state. But the authors who study the horizontal social connections generated by knowledge about death also write about “thanatopolitics”.

Studying terrorism through the lens of public actions: A pragmatic state-centered approach

In this article we argue that terrorism should no longer be studied as a phenomenon completely exogenous to modern societies, but rather as endogenous, that is, as a part and product of symbiotic dynamics linking terrorism to particular “socio-state configurations.” This thesis leads us to propose a new research program focused on the central question of what governments do or don’t do to combat the terrorism(s) that strike human societies governed by these same public authorities. In other words, this article discusses “public anti-terrorism action” (PATA) and its variants. We conclude with a singular approach to the study of terrorism, a “state-centered” approach that departs from research focused solely on terrorist actors or groups that have emphasized the notion of “radicalization” or the narrow realities of official counter-terrorism or state terrorism.

Del periodismo interpretativo e innovador de los años sesenta y setenta al periodismo de resistencia frente a la dictadura militar (1976-1983)

The article aims to reconstruct the reconfigurations that political journalism underwent between the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on the roles of the profession and the journalism models that became legitimate throughout the analyzed period. To achieve this, it first concentrates on the emergence of analytical, interpretive, and committed journalism associated with the "new journalism" movement, which found its most representative expressions in the political-intellectual magazine Primera Plana, the newspaper La Opinión, and the figure of Rodolfo Walsh. Secondly, it explores how this innovative project was shut down by the censorship of the last military dictatorship. The analysis examines how a journalism of resistance and denunciation of state terrorism was configured from exile or ostracism—by those who remained in the country. Methodologically, the research focuses on a qualitative inquiry strategy centered on the main journalistic institutions and actors that formed those intellectual formations and dissemination networks during the dictatorship.

Climate Justice Perspectives and Experiences of Nurses and Their Community Partners.

The global climate crisis is an immediate threat, causing inequitable health impacts across different populations. Climate justice connects the causes and effects of climate change to structural injustices in society. Nurses and community-based organizations (CBOs) partner in promoting justice and health equity. The purpose of this article is to describe how nurses and their CBO partners envision, perceive, and experience climate justice in the communities they serve. Participants were recruited via a screening survey sent to nursing and public health organizations in the United States. This descriptive mixed-methods study utilized participatory photo mapping (i.e., combined participatory photography, community mapping, and interviews) to capture participants' understanding and experiences of climate justice. Recruitment methods identified eight partnerships across six states. Participants depicted how climate injustice is reinforced by colonial severance from Nature. Participants noted that state violence and corporate climate pollution degraded the public's health. Climate justice was described as a long struggle to regain spiritual relationships within Nature, fostering belonging, abundance, and protected communities of care. Planetary health and well-being were central to participants' experiences with climate justice. Future research could explore barriers and facilitators to addressing climate injustice and promoting climate justice in diverse settings.

Play as Liberatory Practice

Though it is often said in early childhood circles, it bears repeating for all children, youth, and adults: play is a basic human right. 'Basic' suggests something easily accessible, but the reality is far from the ideal. While play has been elevated to the same essential status as nutrition, sleep, and other fundamental needs, society is structured to privilege some and deny others the physical, social, and intellectual dimensions of play. This is not to mention the inner life and sense of self and place within society that play affords us. This issue of TCSE—edited by Templeton, Keenan, Gross, and Fox—highlights long-standing and contemporary threats to children’s play. The authors in this issue present the ways that adults interpret—and at times limit—play for children. Adult interpretations are situated within larger social forces such as settler colonialism, developmentalism, militarization, state violence, and white supremacy, discourses that are no doubt entangled with each other. Juxtaposed with these articles are works produced by children, reminders of what is still possible despite the adult gaze. This issue is one of a double issue; the second (forthcoming) offers more ways forward toward collective liberation through honoring children’s play in its myriad forms.

Removing and Rehabilitating the Burangin: South Korean Newspapers' Vagrancy Discourse in Support of State Violence

The South Korean government used the burangin [vagrants] label to justify their massive wave of forced institutionalizations in the 1980s that resulted in countless abuses and many hundreds of deaths. The survivors' legal battles continue as the state, while no longer arresting so-called "vagrants," has never rectified the crimes of that period. Universal deinstitutionalization remains a controversial proposition in South Korea as the public is generally unaware of fundamental problems inherent in the practice of institutionalization itself. This paper uses critical discourse analysis to examine the discourse of vagrants in South Korean newspapers in the 1980s. While police cracked down on alleged vagrancy, the news media constructed the vagrant as an unsightly object, a threatening figure, and a target for rehabilitation. This article also discusses oppressive power mechanisms around this discourse which connects to issues of ableism and disability.

The Defiant Faces: Intersectionality in Arundhati Roy’s Resistance Narratives

This study examines the multilayered concept of resistance in Arundhati Roy’s novels The God of Small Things (1997) and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017). By foregrounding the voices of marginalized individuals, Roy critically examines systemic inequalities, caste discrimination, and state violence. While existing literary scholarship acknowledges the victimization and marginalization of subaltern women under traditional gender roles, caste systems, politics, and religion, this research highlights how these women actively resist such injustices. Utilizing theoretical frameworks from Guha, Spivak, Gramsci, and Crenshaw, the paper explores the intersectionality of personal and political resistance. It discusses Roy’s critique of power structures and her advocacy for justice and human dignity. Thus, the study unveils the layers of defiance in Roy’s unique portrayal of varied resistance strategies in her narratives.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Conditions and Health Outcomes: A Comparative Study Between Rohingya Refugees and Local People in Southeastern Bangladesh

Bangladesh is now the home to 1.3 million Rohingya refugees living in the southeastern part of the country, specially following the massive violence in Rakhine state, Myanmar since August 2017. Water, sanitation, and an unhygienic situation have left the entire region the worst affected and most vulnerable, ultimately placing pressure on the health sector. This study assessed water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions; and explored associated health outcomes, drawing empirical data from Kutupalong-Balukhali Rohingya refugee camp and its surrounding areas in south-eastern Bangladesh. To determine the WASH condition and associated health outcomes, we conducted 200 structured interviews (with both refugees and local residents), three focus group discussions, and two informal interviews with local physicians. The values of drinking water, sanitation, and hand washing ladders indicate that WASH conditions in both refugee camps and surrounding localities were basic to limited. Respondents believed that due to increasing heat and basic to limited WASH conditions, people suffer from many diseases such as diarrhea, heat rash, dehydration, dysentery, and pneumonia. As reported diseases are related to WASH, it is important to increase awareness among people about the significance of WASH. The Dhaka University Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vol. 13(1), 2024, P 47-58

Punitiveness and atrocity: Why do some Filipinos support mass violence?

Amidst the aftermath of the controversial war on drugs during Duterte's presidency in the Philippines, this study seeks to understand characteristics of Filipino punitiveness. The institutionalization of state violence, historical context of authoritarian rule, and societal acceptance of extreme measures prompt an examination of public attitudes toward crime, punishment, and violence in the Philippines. This study used survey data on Filipino respondents and identified five distinct punitiveness clusters using latent class analysis. This study employed Kruskal–Wallis (KW) tests and chi-squared tests to explore factors associated with differences in cluster characteristics. The analysis found that the extremely punitive group exhibited significantly higher levels of satisfaction with President Marcos Jr., a strong preference for authoritarian detachment, and lower trust in institutions compared to the other clusters. They support harsher penal policies including informal or extralegal methods such as torture, social cleansing, and use of violence to attain social progress. This study confirms the convergence of punitiveness and penal populism, where highly punitive citizens endorse strong leaders and extralegal measures that result in atrocities.

No safe place: Black women, state violence and Black cultural production

This article explores the intersection of state violence, race and gender in the context of Black women's creative practice. Drawing on a range of examples from Black cultural production, including AI and theatre, the article demonstrates the ways in which Black women are both witnesses and victims of state-sponsored violence and offers a close examination of how Black artists are creating from this space of danger to Black life. The article ultimately argues for an intersectional approach to performance studies, one that takes seriously the experiences and perspectives of Black women and that recognises the ways in which state violence operates as a tool of oppression and control that is intimately tied to race and gender.

State of exception, neoliberalism, and militarization of public security in Brazil

Brazil has historically employed a militarized strategy for public security, using violence as a means of social control over subordinate groups and repressing social and labor movements. The involvement of military personnel and state police in justice administration and politics reflects a distortion within the Brazilian state, which the 1988 Federal Constitution did not alleviate. Instead, since re-democratization, militarization has shifted from being an extraordinary measure to becoming the norm, representing an expansion of the state of exception. This trend has culminated in the military’s return to the political scene and the presidency. This article examines the complex relationship between the militarization of public security and the recent trend of radicalization in far-right political positions. The analysis centers on the theoretical debate regarding the relationship between a state of exception and neoliberalism. The research hypothesis posits a convergence between the militarization of politics, a state of exception, and state violence, which collectively impose limits on the rights enshrined in the country’s legal system.

Affect, Repetition, and Eroticized State Violence in El Salvador's Prisons

This article examines images taken inside El Salvador’s prisons and released in April 2020, just as the then-new president, Nayib Bukele, was making drastic changes to Salvadoran social policy and further concentrating power in the presidency and military. It investigates the social qualities of these staged images, of nude prisoners forced into large blocks, and what affective resonances the Bukele administration is exploiting and producing through them. The author argues that these images focalize the trauma and anxiety of years of dispersed violence in El Salvador and grant their audiences conditional access to the death making they perform while also threatening them with inclusion. The article proposes that attendant affective responses and media circulation constitute a form of infrastructure essential to rationalizing the expanding carceral project in El Salvador, which has seen its prison population more than double, and to the eroticization of that project’s structural and personal violence, of which these images are an extreme and informative example. It proposes these images are in dialogue with other archives of sexualized carceral violence and a history of the representation of El Salvador through death, while also indicative of new techniques of image production and circulation in settings of confinement in the twenty-first century. Using theories of hierarchies of the flesh and being from Black studies, as well as the critical geography work of Ruth Wilson Gilmore, the author argues that, within the space of the images, disease, chaos, and criminalized land and body converge.

긴급조치 발령행위의 통치행위성과 불법행위성에 관한 고찰 - 부마민주항쟁 피해사건으로 본 과거사에서 사법의 역할

In South Korea, there have been too many and too diverse types of state violence to list, and innocent people have lost their lives or suffered irreparable damage as a result. The suffering of the victims of state crimes against human rights cannot be undone, and as Nobel laureate Han Kang wishes, we must forever remember the tragic history. However, from a legal perspective, we should say “goodbye” to the past as soon as possible to avoid repeating unfortunate cases. And to do so, it is imperative that the past faults are clearly corrected. Since the Korean Supreme Court consensus decision on August 30, 2022, the state's liability for damages to victims of emergency measures under the Yushin Constitution has been recognized, thus establishing the “tort of a series of state actions” theory of emergency measures. However, apart from the overall and systemic actions of the state, the proclamation of the state of emergency by the president at the time is a civil law tort against individual victims, and the court should clearly present this legal theory in the judgment. This would be the truth that the victims of past human rights violations have been seeking, and it would be a message of peace for us today.