The War Machines

Young Men and Violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book The War Machines by Danny Hoffman, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Danny Hoffman ISBN: 9780822394488
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: September 16, 2011
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Danny Hoffman
ISBN: 9780822394488
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: September 16, 2011
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In The War Machines, Danny Hoffman considers how young men are made available for violent labor both on the battlefields and in the diamond mines, rubber plantations, and other unregulated industries of West Africa. Based on his ethnographic research with militia groups in Sierra Leone and Liberia during those countries’ recent civil wars, Hoffman traces the path of young fighters who moved from grassroots community-defense organizations in Sierra Leone during the mid-1990s into a large pool of mercenary labor.

Hoffman argues that in contemporary West Africa, space, sociality, and life itself are organized around making young men available for all manner of dangerous work. Drawing on his ethnographic research over the past nine years, as well as the anthropology of violence, interdisciplinary security studies, and contemporary critical theory, he maintains that the mobilization of West African men exemplifies a global trend in the outsourcing of warfare and security operations. A similar dynamic underlies the political economy of violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, and a growing number of postcolonial spaces. An experienced photojournalist, Hoffman integrates more than fifty of his photographs of young West Africans into The War Machines.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In The War Machines, Danny Hoffman considers how young men are made available for violent labor both on the battlefields and in the diamond mines, rubber plantations, and other unregulated industries of West Africa. Based on his ethnographic research with militia groups in Sierra Leone and Liberia during those countries’ recent civil wars, Hoffman traces the path of young fighters who moved from grassroots community-defense organizations in Sierra Leone during the mid-1990s into a large pool of mercenary labor.

Hoffman argues that in contemporary West Africa, space, sociality, and life itself are organized around making young men available for all manner of dangerous work. Drawing on his ethnographic research over the past nine years, as well as the anthropology of violence, interdisciplinary security studies, and contemporary critical theory, he maintains that the mobilization of West African men exemplifies a global trend in the outsourcing of warfare and security operations. A similar dynamic underlies the political economy of violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, and a growing number of postcolonial spaces. An experienced photojournalist, Hoffman integrates more than fifty of his photographs of young West Africans into The War Machines.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Tango Lessons by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book The Beautiful Generation by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Africanizing Anthropology by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Love, H by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Reckoning with Pinochet by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Ambassadors of the Working Class by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book A Tale of Two Murders by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Governing Indigenous Territories by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Broadcasting Modernity by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book The Blood of Guatemala by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Writing Culture and the Life of Anthropology by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Indian Given by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book The Revolution Has Come by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book The Need to Help by Danny Hoffman
Cover of the book Orientalism's Interlocutors by Danny Hoffman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy