US Military Bases and Anti-Military Organizing

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Erin Fitz-Henry

   Pages 1-25

3. A Brief History of Empire

   • Erin Fitz-Henry

   Pages 27-45

4. “But There’s No American Base Here!”: Becoming Domestic in a Foreign Sense

   • Erin Fitz-Henry

   Pages 47-79

5. The Scales of Occupation: Becoming Regional in an International Sense

   • Erin Fitz-Henry

   Pages 81-115

6. Obligatory Charities, Generous Obligations: Becoming Civilian in a Military Sense

   • Erin Fitz-Henry

   Pages 117-147

7. The Return of the City-State? Becoming Autonomous in a Sovereign Sense

   • Erin Fitz-Henry

   Pages 149-181

8. Conclusion

   • Erin Fitz-Henry

   Pages 183-196

9. Back Matter

   Pages 197-231

   PDF

US military presence in twenty-first century in Latin America has recently been characterised by rapidly intensifying militarization alongside under-supported anti-military activism. This book redirects recent debates about twenty-first century social mobilization by taking seriously those who actively resist the social movements in their midst.

• US military base
• US Air Force
• anti-base movement
• militarism
• Ecuador
• Manta
• social movement organizing
• ethnography
• Nation
• Social Movement
• Social movements

The volume is well written, theoretically sophisticated, and full of insights, and it importantly provides the voices of many locals. … The book is written from the perspective of an activist-anthropologist … . to her great credit and disciplinary professionalism, Fitz-Henry does a superb job of bringing out the full complexity of the social and cultural circumstances of Manta. For any anthropologist concerned with global and national issues of militarism and militarization, this is an important and timely volume.” (Eyal Ben-Ari, American Anthropologist, Vol. 118 (4), December, 2016)

"In this highly readable and fascinating ethnographic account of an Ecuadorian community's response to the US military base in Manta, Erin Fitz-Henry presents the often neglected stories of local pro-base supporters and their efforts to counter anti-base activism. Her book turns conventional wisdom about anti-base activism on its head and is a welcome addition to the growing literature in anthropology, political science, and sociology on US military bases and their impact on communities." - Andrew I. Yeo, Associate Professor of Politics, Catholic University of America, USA

"In rich and evocative prose, Erin Fitz-Henry takes us to an "outpost of empire" and identifies the unexpected stories of, and edgy alliances between, US military personnel and the residents of the drug trade and crime-pocked city of Manta, Ecuador. It is centrally a story about transnational social movements and how they work or don't, and about where the US military has established itself and what its personnel make of their tasks. In the process, it provides an original and ethnographically rich sense of how arguments about sovereignty have been diversely configured." - Catherine Lutz, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Family Professor of Anthropology and International Studies, Brown University, USA

Erin Fitz-Henry is Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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