Occupied Intimacies: Borderization in Palestine, Georgia and Western Sahara
Events
Abstract
In this paper, the authors explore and compare three different cases of military occupation: the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, and the Russian occupation of Georgia’s South Ossetia. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2022 and 2023, we argue that these modern military occupations are not only maintained through direct military force but also through deep intrusions into the everyday and intimate lives of the occupied populations. Power is exercised through various acts of “borderization,” creating separation and fragmentation by placing people on opposite sides of physical and bureaucratic borders. As the authors show, this process fundamentally disrupts people’s ability to maintain family life and kinship ties.
About the Speaker
The lecture will be delivered by Katrine Bendtsen Gotfredsen, Lecturer in Caucasus Studies at Malmö University and PhD in Anthropology from the University of Copenhagen. Dr. Gotfredsen has conducted extensive ethnographic research in the Republic of Georgia. Her research interests include political transformation and uncertainty, religion, history and identity, morality, and political forms and practices.
More about the speaker
Organized by:
The Research Center for Anthropology and the Doctoral Program in Anthropology at Ilia State University
Event Details:
Location: 32 Chavchavadze Avenue, Ilia State University, Building A, Room A103
Time: April 15, 17:00
Language: English
Organizers: Research Center for Anthropology and the Doctoral Program in Anthropology at Ilia State University
2025