The Bases of Empire: The Global Struggle against U.S. Military Posts

by Catherine Lutz, Cynthia Enloe

Overview

A quarter of a million U.S. troops are massed in over seven hundred major official overseas airbases around the world. In the past decade, the Pentagon has formulated and enacted a plan to realign, or reconfigure, its bases in keeping with new doctrines of pre-emption and intensified concern with strategic resource control, all with seemingly little concern for the surrounding geography and its inhabitants.
The contributors in The Bases of Empire trace the political, environmental, and economic impact of these bases on their surrounding communities across the globe, including Latin America, Europe, and Asia, where opposition to the United States’ presence has been longstanding and widespread, and is growing rapidly.
Through sharp analysis and critique, The Bases of Empire illuminates the vigorous campaigns to hold the United States accountable for the damage its bases cause in allied countries as well as in war zones, and offers ways to reorient security policies in other, more humane, and truly secure directions.
Contributors: Julian Aguon, Kozue Akibayashi, Ayse Gul Altinay, Tom Engelhardt, Cynthia Enloe, Joseph Gerson, David Heller, Amy Holmes, Laura Jeffery, Kyle Kajihiro, Hans Lammerant, John Lindsay-Poland, Catherine Lutz, Katherine McCaffrey, Roland G. Simbulan, Suzuyo Takazato, and David Vine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814752449
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	03/01/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	378
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Catherine Lutz is Professor of Anthropology at Brown University, where she has a joint appointment with the Watson Institute for International Studies. Her books include Homefront: A Military City and the American 20th Century.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Foreword – Cynthia Enloe
Introduction: Bases, Empire, and Global Response
Catherine Lutz
Part I: Mapping U.S. Power
1. U.S. Foreign Military Bases and Military Colonialism: Personal and Analytical Perspectives
Joseph Gerson
2. U.S. Military Bases in Latin America and the Caribbean
John Lindsay-Poland
3. U.S. Nuclear Weapons Bases in Europe
David Heller and Hans Lammerant
4. Iraq as a Pentagon Construction Site
Tom Engelhardt
Part II: Global Resistance
5. People’s Movement Responses to Evolving U.S. Military Activities in the Philippines
Roland G. Simbulan
6. “Give Us Back Diego Garcia”: Unity and Division among Activists in the Indian Ocean
David Vine and Laura Jeffery
THE BASES OF EMPIRE
7. Environmental Struggle after the Cold War: New Forms of Resistance to the U.S. Military in Vieques, Puerto Rico
Katherine T. McCaffrey
8. Okinawa: Women’s Struggle for Demilitarization
Kozue Akibayashi and Suzuyo Takazato
9. Opposition to the U.S. Military Presence in Turkey in the Context of the Iraq War
Ays¸e Gül Altinay and Amy Holmes
10. Resisting Militarization in Hawai‘i
Kyle Kajihiro
Afterword: Down Here
Julian Aguon
List of Contributors
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Lutz makes a real contribution to the study of the American empire of bases."
-Chalmers Johnson at Truthdig.com

,

"These fascinating case studies provide a powerful assessment of the worldwide network of U.S. military bases and the burgeoning anti-base campaign, and analyze the changing nature of empire building and the re-mapping of the sociopolitical terrain within the context of the 'global war on terror.' A major contribution to understanding the causes and consequences of U.S. military bases at home and abroad."
-—Kimberly Theidon,Harvard University

"A real contribution to the study of the American empire of bases. . . This book is an antidote to parochialsim."-Truthdig,

“The authors, primarily anthropologists, have written a series of essays demonstrating the ills of American military bases in various parts of the world, especially Latin America, the Middle East, and the Pacific Basin. Much of what they have written is accurate. American military bases and forces deployed overseas very often have been sources of insecurity and problems rather than promoting democracy, economic development, and stability.”
-Hal M. Friedman,Henry Ford Community College

“This book contains a powerful set of ideas and well referenced information to help inform the world of the reality of U.S. militarization of the global community.”
-The Palestine Chronicle

Editorial Reviews

"These fascinating case studies provide a powerful assessment of the worldwide network of U.S. military bases and the burgeoning anti-base campaign, and analyze the changing nature of empire building and the re-mapping of the sociopolitical terrain within the context of the 'global war on terror.' A major contribution to understanding the causes and consequences of U.S. military bases at home and abroad."

Kimberly Theidon

"Lutz makes a real contribution to the study of the American empire of bases."

Chalmers Johnson at Truthdig.com

"A real contribution to the study of the American empire of bases. . . This book is an antidote to parochialsim."

Truthdig

"Catherine Lutzs The Bases of Empire is a must-read for every American and peace activist. . .Lutz does an extraordinary job distilling the history of U.S. bases and debunking common myths of why theyre needed."

The Fellowship of Reconciliation

"Lutz makes a real contribution to the study of the American empire of bases."
-Chalmers Johnson at Truthdig.com

“Catherine Lutz’s The Bases of Empire is a must-read for every American and peace activist. . .Lutz does an extraordinary job distilling the history of U.S. bases and debunking common myths of why they’re needed.

-The Fellowship of Reconciliation

From the Publisher