The Department of Political Science Hosts Three Talks on International and Global Security

“Men, Too.” Silencing and Unsilencing in Global Issue Creation

Monday, January 27, 9:00 – 10:15 a.m., Mather House 100

Jenna Norosky

PhD Candidate and Teaching Associate, The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Once referred to as “human rights’ last taboo,” the issue of conflict-related sexual violence against men and boys is now surprisingly prevalent in global advocacy and policy. Utilizing the conceptual framework of silence, this dissertation investigates what made this change possible, arguing that lying at the heart of it are state and organizational preferences for re-articulating wartime sexual violence as a “weapon of war” as opposed to a manifestation of structural gender inequality. It explores the consequences of this recent development, highlighting the potential perils of invoking silence as a rhetorical tool for garnering attention for neglected global issues.

When Impunity Fights Back: International Anti-Corruption Commissions, Elite Manipulation, and Democratic Backsliding in Central America

Monday, February 3, 9:00 – 10:15 a.m., Mather House 100

Rachel A Schwartz

Visiting Fellow, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame

Assistant Professor of International and Area Studies, University of Oklahoma

Amid increasing global concern with corruption, policymakers and civil society organizations have urged the adoption of international anti-corruption commissions (IACCs) to assist in strengthening the rule of law where politicians lack the will and capacity to crack down on corruption themselves. Under what conditions are IACCs granted the autonomy to investigate and prosecute corruption, and when do domestic elites succeed in constraining their authority and capacity? Drawing on comparative analysis of IACCs in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, this presentation will unpack the domestic and transnational determinants of IACC design, offering policy insights on the possibilities and limits of international support for strengthening the rule of law in fragile contexts.

Borders as Colonial Afterlives: Race, Security, and Europe’s Migrant Crisis

Monday, February 10, 9:00 – 10:15 a.m., Mather House 100

Dr. Tarsis Brito

Fellow in International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science

Since the beginning of Europe’s “migrant crisis” in 2015, European states, in association with the EU, have initiated a process of militarization of Europe’s borders. This process has led to an unprecedented escalation in border violence against Global South migrants in the continent. My research addresses the ways in which Europe’s violent response to the crisis is shaped by racial and colonial legacies. Tracing the evolution of border regimes of migration security from white settler colonies to the metropoles, it will offer a novel theorization of border security in the Global North that centers on its historical racial-colonial functions and implications.
The presentation will address these questions through an analysis of contemporary border violence in Calais, France. It will focus specifically on Calais’ “zero-anchor point policy”, a recent border policy that tackles the migrant situation in Calais through a violent and endless cycle of dispersion and property confiscation. Employing mixed qualitative methods (including textual analysis, site-based ethnography, and historical genealogy), the presentation will show how border violence in Calais is not only animated by racial-colonial anxieties and rationales but also operates as a tool to police and remake racial lines.

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