220082 A mere Epilogue of War or the Prologue to Peace? Scrutinizing the Nature of Military Occupations in Modern History (S) (WiSe 2019/2020)

Military occupations are a regular companion of war. Sometimes the harbinger of ensuing wars, sometimes the product of military fighting and oftentimes simultaneously conducted as hostilities go on, occupations are more than a mere byproduct of war itself. They subscribe to different contexts and are orchestrated by political systems of various shades. They mark an intense encounter between the ‘occupiers’ and the ‘occupied’ and have lasting implications for cultures of remembrance and general legacies of wars.
This seminar will inquire into the manifold backdrops against which occupations evolved in the 19th and 20th century. The legal, military, political, social, and everyday ramifications of the occupations are likewise a focal point of the seminar. By means of studying selected examples of military occupations, we will seek to point out structural commonalities, principal actors involved and theories and interpretations of occupations.

Bibliography

Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law of occupation. Princeton 2004.
Susan Carruthers, The good occupation: American soldiers and the hazards of peace. Cambridge / MA, London 2016.
Peter M.R. Stirk, The Politics of Military Occupation. Edinburgh 2009.
Peter M.R. Stirk, A History of Military Occupation from 1792 to 1914. Edinburgh 2016.