Military-humanitarianism

Abstract

This chapter accounts for the geographies of military-humanitarianism: the spaces through which it operates and, in turn, changes; and the spatial transformations it has undergone in the Mediterranean "of" migrants. Building on the analysis of two recent Mediterranean scenes-the criminalization of acts of solidarity through militaryhumanitarianism and the EU warfare against migrant smuggling networks-we study military-humanitarianism as a spatial process, where neither the "military" nor the "humanitarian" predicaments of this mode of intervention are taken at face value. The chapter develops an approach to the study military-humanitarianism as a flexible technology for migration control. We conclude by sketching a critical geography research agenda on military-humanitarianism that would take into account the different forms of capitalisation over migrants that are at stake in the humanitarian and military government of refugees.Keywords: military-humanitarianism, migration containment, acts of solidarity, search and rescue (SAR) operations, Mediterranean, Libya The Spaces of Military-HumanitarianismMilitary-humanitarianism has long become a key migration management tool Tazzioli, 2016, 2017a andb;Loyd et al, 2016;Pallister-Wilkins, 2015 and 2017Williams, 2015. This has contributed to framing migration crises as situations to forcefully intervene on and, on the other hand, to performing operations of migration containment in the name of saving migrants. Military-humanitarianism in fact describes two intertwined processes: the deployment of military forces for performing humanitarian tasks (e.g., rescuing migrants at sea), and the militarization of humanitarian work (e.g., the use of military technologies by NGOs working in situation of humanitarian crisis).In this chapter we are interested in accounting for the geographies of militaryhumanitarianism: the spaces through which it operates and, in turn, changes; and the spatial transformations it has undergone in the Mediterranean "of" migrants. In other words, our focus is on military-humanitarianism as a spatial process, where neither the "military" nor the "humanitarian" predicaments of this mode of intervention are taken at face value.We start from two recent scenes of military-humanitarianism in the Mediterranean Sea in order to both situate this flexible technology for migration control in the context we are speaking from, historically and politically, while, at the same time, clarifying our methodological approach to it.

The Implications of Migration Governance and Colonial Structures in Humanitarian Organisations in Mexico

“…So, if in a shelter I were to steal something, it would show up in another shelter … so that they [criminals] will not come'. The use of personal information not only raises questions about the governance implication of migrants' registration of data (Pelizza 2020), and the use of military and security technology tools for NGOs' operations (Garelli and Tazzioli 2019), but has also become a normalised practice for migrants. Migrants whom I spoke to usually had to provide a credible story about their journeys, verifiable proof of their travels (e.g., train and bus tickets), specific locations of where they had been and their passport or any official form of identification.…”

Camps and counterterrorism: Security and the remaking of refuge in Kenya

“…Although relief corridors in Northern Kenya had always been made possible by militarized state control, humanitarian priorities guided the way in which this was achieved, creating an "asymmetrical dependency" between militarized and aid interventions (Fassin and Pandolfi, 2010: 15;Garelli and Tazzioli, 2019). Humanitarianism represented a convenient source of income that Kenyan authorities could utilize but not always direct.…”

Rescuing, kidnapping, and criminalising. Migration containment in the Mediterranean

“…Doctors Without Borders and Jugend Rettet refused to sign the Code. The consequences of this rebellion were immediate in the "humanitarian battlefield" (Garelli and Tazzioli, 2019). These organizations' boats were denied access to Italian ports, and a legal investigation was opened against the personnel of the Jugend Rettet: on August 2, 2017, the Iuventa's crew was accused of collusion with Libyan smugglers and the vessel was seized by Italian authorities (Forensic Architecture, 2017).…”