Category Archives: militaries

Sinews of War and Trade website

Posted on 15 April 2020 by Laleh Khalili

The brilliant Rafeef Ziadah and Katy Fox-Hodess were instrumental in researching and building the project website, http://sinewswartrade.com/ The project website provides a wealth of information about maritime transportation and the surrounding infrastructures in the Arabian Peninsula. It mines both historic … Continue reading →

Posted in construction, environment, free ports/zones, infrastructure, Middle East, militaries, political economy, ports, transport, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Publication: The infrastructural power of the military

Posted on 15 April 2020 by Laleh Khalili

Drawing on extensive research in the archives of the US Army Corps of Engineers, this article again draws on my concomitant interest in militaries and infrastructure. “The infrastructural power of the military: The geoeconomic role of the US Army Corps … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, construction, empire, empire, imperialism & colonialism, infrastructure, labour, logistics, Middle East, militaries, political economy, transport, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Publication: The Roads to Power: The Infrastructure of Counterinsurgency

Posted on 15 April 2020 by Laleh Khalili

It has been years since I posted here, but I am going to quickly provide some links to various publications related to the project here. The first is an article that conjugates my research on transport infrastructures with my counterinsurgency … Continue reading →

Posted in construction, empire, empire, imperialism & colonialism, imperialism & colonialism, infrastructure, logistics, militaries, transport, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Logistic Routes and the Détente

Posted on 28 March 2017 by Laleh Khalili

Reading an interesting article on the alignment of USSE with Siad Barré’s regime in Somalia from 1969 onwards and it has some interesting tidbits having to do with military logistics and transport.  The article by Gary Payton is standard Cold … Continue reading →

Posted in logistics, Middle East, militaries, Uncategorized, war | Leave a comment

Playing with trains in the sand: reflections on the MENA Cargo show

Posted on 22 March 2015 by Laleh Khalili

GUEST POST BY R.Z. Having spent the last couple of years researching Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs), attending their industry gatherings and military expos, I was very excited to shift gears to a new project and curious what differences … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, finance and insurance, infrastructure, logistics, Middle East, militaries, political economy | Leave a comment

About Today: Steaming the security seas

Posted on 1 March 2015 by Laleh Khalili

10 February 2015 Everything anticipated our entry into what I can only call security seas. There are ships that do not send signals: they turn out to be warships of a sort, small, compact, going only at 7 knots with … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015 Trip, empire, imperialism & colonialism, militaries, piracy, seafaring, transport, Travels, war | Leave a comment

Shim El-Yasmine: Suez Canal

Posted on 24 February 2015 by Laleh Khalili

8 February 2015 “the great current of human inclination is to enjoyment.”  Karl Marx, Capital Vol. II I want to be more jaded.  After all, my nautical venture is an all-expenses-paid research trip – the best of both worlds: doing … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015 Trip, Allan Sekula, Middle East, militaries, readings, transport, Travels | Leave a comment

Une Année Sans Lumiere: Encounters before Suez Canal

Posted on 23 February 2015 by Laleh Khalili

7 February 2015 15.00 Last night I was invited by the Filipino crew members to one of the crew members’ birthday party. He is an engine -fitter and he will be turning 40 tomorrow.  The crew recreation room unsurprisingly had … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015 Trip, labour, Middle East, militaries, the sea, Travels | Leave a comment

Peace Frog: Conquest by infrastructure

Posted on 22 February 2015 by Laleh Khalili

6 February 2015 I have to admit that I prefer Braudel’s longue durée over his histoire événtmentielle: Perhaps his influence runs through all the great historical accounts written since 1949, where explanations and theoretical framings are comfortably married to historiographic … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015 Trip, infrastructure, logistics, militaries, readings, war | Leave a comment

Areia de Salamanca: The Razzia in the 16th century

Posted on 20 February 2015 by Laleh Khalili

5 February 2015 I borrowed Braudel’s discussion of the presidios on the North African coast yesterday to reflect on logistics… But as I read on, there was also the counterinsurgency element against the colonials (about which Braudel seems remarkably sanguine; … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015 Trip, empire, imperialism & colonialism, militaries, ports, readings, the sea, war | Leave a comment