UK – ZERO ANTHROPOLOGY

The False Pandemic and the Great Reset: Day 1 of an Online Interdisciplinary Symposium

A brief note before the main content for this report: since last publishing to this site I have been occupied with preparing a long and detailed series of articles which will begin to appear here within a few more weeks. Articles posted here will deal with the so-called “pandemic” from a perspective rooted in Political […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Brexit, the Uncivil War: Watering Myths with the Teardrops of the Ruling Class

What have been billed as momentous EU Parliament elections are taking place this week (May 23–26), and it seemed like the right time to review some Brexit films—one is entertainment, the other is a documentary. The reason for the Brexit theme has to do more with 2019 than with 2016, especially since the Brexit Party, […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Immigration and Capital

Immigration, rightly or wrongly, has been marched to the frontline of current political struggles in Europe and North America. Whether exaggerated or accurate, the role of immigration is situated as a central factor in the Brexit referendum in the UK, and the rise of the “America First” Trump movement in the US. It seems impossible […]

by Donnchadh Mac an Ghoill

Scotland Needs a Cultural Revolution

The Queen of England has welcomed the Scottish referendum results from her castle in Balmoral, and Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, has resigned. Violent clashes have already occured on the streets between Unionists and Nationalists. London media organs, such as the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express have been refused entry to […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Encircling Empire: Report #6, 09-16 October 2010

EE: Report #6, 09—16 October 2010 Encircling Empire Reports is a selection of essays, blog posts, and news reports covering a given time period. They are intended to be useful for those interested in: ● contemporary and critical political anthropology ● public anthropology ● imperialism and imperial decline ● militarism/militarization ● the political economy of […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

More European Press Coverage of the Human Terrain System

Continuing from the last item on this topic, the following are more examples of recent European press coverage of the U.S. Army’s Human Terrain System and its embedding of civilian social scientists in counterinsurgency missions. One thing that immediately stands out from most of these articles is the emphasis not on “civilian social scientists,” but […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

McFate: “Does good anthropology contribute to better killing?”

Anthropology, Human Terrain’s Prehistory, and the Role of Culture in Wars Waged by Robots: From “Gentle Pursuasion” to “Better Killing” David Price CounterPunch, vol. 16, no. 17, Oct. 1-15, 2009, pages 1, 4-6. In the current print edition of CounterPunch, distributed to subscribers, David Price provides us with a very valuable in-depth look at the […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

The Political Economy of the Bullet in Afghanistan

“Tactics or Strategy?“ is an article by Francis J. “Bing” West (referred to me by a correspondent in Twitter — apologies for not noting the name for the appropriate thanks). In that piece, West makes a series of critical points that deserve wider, and focused, attention. The first point he makes is that there is […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Sex Beats Money, Hitler Beats Gandhi: More Google Insights

Unlike my previous post on Google Insight statistics for anthropology searches, this time I am not making the mistake of closing the pages without preserving a link so that others can investigate the searches. Having conducted a number of queries using Google Insights, I realize that I risk becoming addicted to this service, with the […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Current (Anti)Colonialist Discussions in the News: African Focus

I meant to mention previously that we can observe, after a decline and almost dismissal of ideas of imperialism, dependency, and colonialism in the 1990s academic and anthropological literature to be specific, one can see a return of the terms “imperialism,” “empire,” and “colonialism” in the titles of mainstream journal articles. It’s nice to see […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

“You can’t shoot kids … but you can pound them” — How insurgents are made

The last video in this series, “Why can’t we shoot these kids?” upset some people, in different ways, some against what they witnessed, and some trying to understand the troops, and some against me for what was perceived as unfair commentary on the troops. I am not aiming for a rerun, but I do think […]