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Feminist Affective Solidarity in Times of Simultaneous Genocide
Abstract
The official dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh on January 1, 2024 reminds us that genocidal and ethnic cleansing campaigns are very real; the annihilation of existing political, social, and communal entities is very, very possible. The U.S. position in all of this was to "express concern" over 9 months of blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh during which the Lachin corridor was closed and no food, medicine, or other supplies could make it into the region. After a military assault on the region by Azerbaijan in September 2023, the U.S. decided to work with the Armenian government to provide aid for displaced persons, which essentially amounts to working to make an ethnic cleansing campaign somewhat smoother and less violent. Some Armenians in the U.S. have raised issue with the fact that while there are marches of thousands across the U.S. in support of Palestinians, the ethnic cleansing of the Nagorno-Karabakh region was swift and with little to no attention. Through relationships built on what Ather Zia calls "affective solidarity," or a mode of solidarity that is inspirational and cathartic and lends itself to one's own movement (2020) - established on feeling, empathy, and aesthetic productions that are also sometimes co-produced - Armenian feminists have been clear that competition between oppressions does not lead to anyone's liberation. Zia, Ather. 2020. "'Their wounds are our wounds': a case for affective solidarity between Palestine and Kashmir." Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power no 27(3): 357-375.
Discipline
Anthropology
Geographic Area
Armenia
Sub Area
None