Elizabeth Risch
Research Mentor: Christopher Fariss
Mentor Department: Political Science, LSA
Author(s): Not Available
Session: Session 5 (2:00 PM – 2:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 96
Abstract
How do we define ‘concentration camps’? Is there one specific set of circumstances or can they vary? Is this concept a modern development of war? My research explores these questions, focusing on three instances of confinement to showcase how it is impossible to have one categorization of a ‘concentration camp’, and that they have been used as tools of exploitation throughout history. Utilizing media such as pictures, journal articles, academic resources, and peer-reviewed works, I collected information on the confinement of Irish Republican prisoners in 1970s Ireland, the early twentieth century Boer Wars in South Africa, and the prison camps in France during the second World War. These events all show a strategic use of imprisonment by authorities against a threatening political or influential opponent capable of maintaining or taking power from current or colonialist regimes. The use of confinement was gradual in all instances, arising from violent conflicts that allowed for the justification of punishment against the more inferior group, easily fostering support from neutral parties that allowed this treatment to continue. This analysis suggests that our view of modern concentration camps does not encompass the whole meaning behind their use because of this measured increase of propaganda and animosity towards perceived threats to the authority and control of powerful governments.
