Violence as usual : policing and the colonial state in German Southwest Africa

Slaps in the face, kicks, beatings, and other forms of run-of-the-mill violence were a quotidian part of life in German Southwest Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century. Unearthing this culture of normalized violence in a settler colony, __Violence as Usual__ uncovers the workings of a powerful state that was built in an improvised fashion by low-level state representatives. Marie A. Muschalek's fascinating portrayal of the daily deeds of African and German men enrolled in the colonial police force called the __Landespolizei__ is a historical anthropology of police practice and the normalization of imperial power. Replete with anecdotes of everyday experiences both of the policemen and of colonized people and settlers, __Violence as Usual__ re-examines fundamental questions about the relationship between power and violence. Muschalek gives us a new perspective on violence beyond the solely destructive and the instrumental. She overcomes, too, the notion that modern states operate exclusively according to modes of rationalized functionality. __Violence as Usual__ offers an unusual assessment of the history of rule in settler colonialism and an alternative to dominant narratives of an ostensibly weak colonial state.

Slaps in the face, kicks, beatings, and other forms of run-of-the-mill violence were a quotidian part of life in German Southwest Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century. Unearthing this culture of normalized violence in a settler colony, Violence as Usual uncovers the workings of a powerful state that was built in an improvised fashion by low-level state representatives.

Marie A. Muschalek's fascinating portrayal of the daily deeds of African and German men enrolled in the colonial police force called the Landespolizei is a historical anthropology of police practice and the normalization of imperial power. Replete with anecdotes of everyday experiences both of the policemen and of colonized people and settlers, Violence as Usual re-examines fundamental questions about the relationship between power and violence. Muschalek gives us a new perspective on violence beyond the solely destructive and the instrumental. She overcomes, too, the notion that modern states operate exclusively according to modes of rationalized functionality. Violence as Usual offers an unusual assessment of the history of rule in settler colonialism and an alternative to dominant narratives of an ostensibly weak colonial state.

Slaps in the face, kicks, beatings, and other forms of run-of-the-mill violence were a quotidian part of life in German Southwest Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century. Unearthing this culture of normalized violence in a settler colony, this text uncovers the workings of a powerful state that was built in an improvised fashion by low-level state representatives. The work begins by providing a background on the power of everyday violence in the settler colony of German Southwest Africa. It explores the violent acts orchestrated by the police force (Landespolizei). Instead of being built primarily on formal, legal, and bureaucratic processes, the colonial state was produced by improvised, informal practices of violence. The volume concludes with reflections on the nature of everyday violence in colonial Africa Violence as Usual 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Everyday Violence and the Colonial State 16 1. Honor, Status, Masculinity: Violent Identity Formations 29 2. Soldier-Bureaucrats: The Primacy of Proper Bearing 58 3. Of Whips, Shackles, and Guns: Tools and Technologies of Policing 89 4. Police Work: Daily Routines and the Art of Making Do 113 5. Policing Work: Violent Regulation of the Labor Market 145 Conclusion: Histories of Colonial Violence 173 Notes 180 Bibliography 242 Index 266 A 266 B 266 C 266 D 266 E 267 F 267 G 267 H 267 I 267 J 268 K 268 L 268 M 268 N 268 O 268 P 268 S 269 T 269 U 270 V 270 W 270 Z 270 This book is a historical anthropology of the daily deeds of African and German men enrolled in the colonial police force called the Landespolizei. Exploring first their sociocultural backgrounds and mindsets, as well as their practical habits, the book then describes how these men came to be the key regulators of normalized, functional violence.--description provided by publisher