Food Fight- War Narratives and Identity Reproduction in Evolving Conflicts
Abstract
The 2018 National Defense Strategy acknowledges the increasingly complex global security environment characterized by...strategic competition between nation yet there is a gap in acknowledging the rise of cultural and national conflicts in the world. American hegemony often ignores culture as a course of power. However, the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia is moving the world toward embracing a cultural past free from American hegemony. Culture remains central to power and distinguishes one nation, or group, from another. As the international system transitions from American unipolarity to multipolar competition, culture will become a new battlespace as people seek to defend against the power and influence of other actors. Culture is central to understanding these conflicts and cultural theories of security will assist the United States in developing security strategies given the changing international order. By understanding the crucial importance of cultural symbols like food, the United States will be better prepared to adapt to the changing political landscape. Promoting spaces for dialogue and discussion between conflicting groups may assist in the sharing of common cultural symbols and forestall conflict. As a multicultural melting pot, the United States is well-positioned to foster intercultural dialogue, thereby maintaining its leadership in a rapidly changing world. The 2022 Minerva grant explicitly calls for transferable decolonized approaches in examining the distribution of power and influence. Existing Eurocentric theories of international security hold culture aside and are thus difficult to translate to the developing world. This decolonized approach reintroduces culture into global politics and creates a richer theoretical perspective in a field long dominated by western cultural biases and materialist explanations of nation and nationhood. The rise of China and the resurgence of Russia challenges existing theoretical approaches. China and Russia seek prestige and status over western-American domination. This project recenters attention to non-western states, incorporating culture into formulations of state behavior. Defending culture from external forces through national identity constructs notions of self and other. Far from Eurocentric notions of the nation-state, competition over cultural symbols remains significant to non-western states. The argument of the proposed book is as follows- if a nationalist conflict exists, then common symbols may become part of the conflict only serving to solidify divides. Control over food ownership is at the center of these struggles. Once developed and tested, the proposed theory can then be applied to other cultural variables, as cultural identities jump to the forefront of international politics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 06, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310516
Entities
People
- Hanna Kassab
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- East Carolina University
- United States Air Force