Document

Invisible veterans : defeated militants and enduring revolutionary social values in Dhufar, Oman.

Identifier
DOI: 10.3167/arcs.2019.050109
Source
Conflict and Society. v. 5, 1, p. 132-149
Country
United Kingdom.
City
Oxford
Publisher
Berghahn Journals.
Gregorian
2019-01-01
Language
English
English abstract
Those who have participated in organized political violence oft en develop distinctive identities as veteran combatants. But what possibilities exist to produce a veteran identity for "invisible" veterans denied public recognition or mention, such as politically repressed defeated insurgents? Everyday socializing during or aft er political violence can help restore social worlds threatened or destroyed by violence; an examination of "invisible" veteran defeated revolutionaries in Dhufar, Oman, shows how everyday socializing can help reproduce a distinctive veteran identity despite political repression. Ethnographic fi eldwork with veteran militants from the defeated revolutionary liberation movement for Dhufar reveals that while veterans (who are a diverse group) no longer publicly reproduce their political and economic revolutionary ideals, some male veterans-through everyday, same-sex socializing-reproduce revolutionary ideals of social, especially tribal and ethnic, egalitarianism. Th ese practices mark a distinctive veteran identity and indicate an "aft erlife" of lasting social legacies of defeated revolution.
ISSN
2164-4543
Category
Journal articles