- How do people live in a country that has experienced rebellions and state-organised repressions for decades?
- How do people move on in societies that are still marked by routine forms of violence and impunity?
- What do combatants do when they are not mobilised for war?
PRIO has the pleasure of inviting you to a lunch seminar with Marielle Debos, associate professor in Political Science at the Université Paris Nanterre, and member of the Institute for Social Sciences of Politics (ISP). Based on her recent book Living by the Gun in Chad; Combatants, Impunity and State Formation, Debos will address how living by the gun has become both an acceptable form of political expression and an everyday occupation in Chad.
In her book, contrary to the popular association of violence and chaos, Debos shows that these fighters continue to observe rules, frontiers and hierarchies, even as their allegiances shift between rebel and government forces, and as they drift between Chad, Libya, Sudan and the Central African Republic. Going further, Debos explores the role of the globalised politico-military entrepreneurs and highlights the long involvement of the French military in the country. Ultimately, the book demonstrates that ending the war is not enough. The issue is ending the 'inter-war' which is maintained and reproduced by state violence.
The seminar will be introduced and chaired by PRIO Researcher, Nicholas Marsh.
A light lunch will be served from 11.30
This seminar is organised by the Non-state Conflict Actors Research Group.
