Connecting ontological (in)securities and generation through the everyday and emotional geopolitics of Falkland Islanders

Abstract

Debates about the security of British Overseas Territories (OTs) like the Falkland Islands are typically framed through the discourses of formal and practical geopolitics in ways that overlook the perspectives of their citizens. This paper focuses on the voices of two generations of citizens from the Falkland Islands, born before and after the 1982 war, to show how they perceive geopolitics and (in)security in different ways. It uses these empirical insights to show how theorisations of ontological (in)security might become more sensitive to the lived experiences of diverse generational groups within states and OTs like the Falklands. The paper reflects on the complex experiences of citizens living in a postcolonialOT that still relies heavily on the UK government and electorate for assurances of security, in the face of diplomatic pressure from Argentina. While Islander youth reflected on how their views about geopolitics and security might be considered marginal, relative to those who directly experienced geopolitical events in the Falklands during the second half of the twentieth century, the paper illustrates the multiple ways they can act as agents of (in)security.

Gibraltarians’ attitudes towards Brexit and the Gibraltar-Spain frontier

“…Second, we have aligned ourselves with Benwell's (2019) argument around the monolithic portrayal of Overseas Territory populations, but we have argued that the events that produce generational cohorts are not so easily delineated in terms of their effects.…”

Inclusive recovery planning for incremental systemic change: A methodology, early outcomes, and limitations from the Falkland Islands' Covid‐19 recovery planning experience

“…Informed by the fluid and nonlinear perspective outlined above, that recovery is not a 'final stage' of emergency management, but an ongoing and complex practice, the community recovery working group (CRWG) was convened during April 2020, holding its first meeting on April 30, 2020. The group explicitly recognised that Covid-19 was only one in a series of emergencies that Falkland Islanders had experienced, and recovery planning had to take into consideration how some people were already sensitised to co-existing with perceived external threats (Benwell, 2019).…”

Everyday invasions: Fuckland, geopolitics, and the (re)production of insecurity in the Falkland Islands

“…Our intrigue in the film emerged having conducted lengthy periods of research in Argentina and the Falkland Islands with different communities, exploring a range of topics related to the geopolitics of the sovereignty dispute (see Benwell, 2016Benwell, , 2019Benwell, , 2020Pinkerton, 2008). Interviewees in the Falklands often recalled previous unexpected 'intrusions' including the landing of Argentine aircraft in the Islands in 1964Islands in , 1966Islands in and 1968; the planting of flags on outlying islands from Argentine-registered boats; and, more recently, the release in 2012 of a secretly-filmed advertisement starring an Argentine athlete training for the London Olympics on the streets of Stanley (Pinkerton and Benwell, 2014).…”

“…Slow violence draws attention to temporal registers but in this paper we explore Fuckland through its insidiousness. Our use of insidious here recognises the gradual and subtle layering of violence (see Nixon, 2011), by casting a particular light on its covert qualities, the insecurities it can produce and the emotional and psychological effects and after-effects on the bodies that unevenly experience it (see Benwell, 2019;Botterill et al, 2016;Fluri, 2009;Sjoberg, 2015).…”