Rafeef Ziadah - "Logistics as Method: Tracing Global Supply Chains of Arms and Oil in Times of War"

Lezione organizzata nell'ambito del seminario "Interdisciplinary Approach to Global Studies", tenuta da Rafeef Ziadah (King's College London)

  • Data: 11 DICEMBRE 2024  dalle 16:00 alle 19:00

  • Luogo: Aula 1, Via Zamboni 33 (Bologna)

  • Tipo: Seminari

This workshop examines logistics as a methodological tool for critical research, particularly in the context of global conflicts. How can we trace and understand the supply chains that move arms and oil across borders, sustaining power dynamics and influencing the course of wars? I will explore the practical challenges involved in gathering and interpreting data on these networks, from satellite imagery and financial flows to journalistic investigations and trade databases. Through methods of tracing, triangulation, and critical analysis, we can gain insights into how logistics infrastructures shape global politics, affect local communities, and contribute to ongoing violence. A key focus will be on the role of logistics workers who are embedded within these systems—what role can they play in disrupting or transforming these supply chains? I will discuss the potential for unions and workers’ collectives to resist the militarised uses of logistics and examine how social movements might collaborate with labour organisations to challenge or slow down the flow of arms and oil. Understanding these dynamics is essential for imagining pathways toward accountability and change in contexts of war and conflict.

 

Suggested readings: 

  • Chua, Charmaine, and Kai Bosworth. "Beyond the chokepoint: Blockades as social struggles." Antipode 55, no. 5 (2023): 1301-1320. 
  • Cowen, Deborah. "Following the infrastructures of empire: Notes on cities, settler colonialism, and method." Urban Geography 41, no. 4 (2020): 469-486. 
  • Mezzadra, Sandro, and Brett Neilson. "Extraction, logistics, finance." Radical philosophy 178, no. March/April (2013): 8-18. 
  • Ziadah, Rafeef. "Logistical landscapes: Corporate power and capital in the maritime industry." Socialist Register 59 (2023).
  • Griffiths, Mark, and Kali Rubaii. "Late modern war and the geos: The ecological ‘beforemaths’ of advanced military technologies." Security Dialogue (2024): 09670106241265636.