Counterinsurgency Urbanism with Ted Rutland

In this episode, recorded mid-2024, we speak with Ted Rutland about the evolution of policing from the mid-20th century's professional model to the counterinsurgency urbanism that emerged in the 1970s and 80s in Canada. Rutland discusses how community policing, initially intended to bring police closer to communities through multicultural training and social services, became a strategy to win over parts of the community while waging a larger war against the rest. 

 

We delve into some of the historical shifts in policing largely as a response to radical movements and urban rebellions. We also examine the role of progressive urban governments in maintaining counterinsurgency policing, the impact of neoliberal policies, and the influence of white nationalism in shaping urban governance. Ted and I further explore the concept of counterinsurgency urbanism, showing how it has become central to not just policing but city-making processes in its entirety where supportive and punitive measures are blended in order to maintain control over urban populations.

Ted Rutland is an associate professor of geography and urban studies at Concordia University in Montreal. His research explores how capitalism and white supremacy intersect in contemporary urban politics, planning, and policing. He is the author of Displacing Blackness: Planning, Power, and Race in Twentieth-Century Halifax and the co-author (with Maxime Aurélien) of Out to Defend Ourselves: A History of Montreal's First Haitian Street Gang.

 

This episode was produced and edited by Aidan Elias & Jared Ware. Music by Televangel.

 

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COUNTER-INSURGENCY URBANISM (Draft chapter from in-progress book) 

Frank Kitson's Low Intensity Operations with Orisanmi Burton

Pacification with Mark Neocleous