In the aftermath of World War Two, as the United States consolidated its position as a global superpower, it was confronted with significant challenges from below and shifting political terrain — anti-colonial struggles around the world and civil rights struggles domestically. To handle both, the U.S state turned to the police, who were sent overseas to assist in counterinsurgency and brought back to quell domestic unrest. As Stuart Schrader argues, the link between foreign counterinsurgency and domestic repression casts a long shadow on the present. (Full-length interview.)
Resources:
Stuart Schrader, Badges Without Borders: How Global Counterinsurgency Transformed American Policing UC Press, 2019