Work

The Violence of Logistics, the Logistics of Violence: The Territorialization of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT In supply chain capitalism, logistics operates as a spatial power, reorganizing territories according to imperatives of circulation, efficiency and control. Focusing on the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, this article argues that logistics can only materialize in territory through violence. It conceptualizes this as logistical violence —a form of coercion constitutive of logistical rationality, taking structural, functional, colonial and militarized forms. Drawing on Critical Logistics Studies and fieldwork in the Isthmus, the article demonstrates how logistics' territorialization depends on this violence, here manifested through imposition, repression, criminalization and dispossession. Materialized in the spatial form of the corridor, logistics neutralizes practices, relations and lifeways that resist or slow its operations. The article contributes to debates on the power, rationality and violence of logistics, revealing how contemporary infrastructure enforces colonial continuities and violent spatial regimes central to global circulation.

Source: Antipode

DOI: 10.1111/anti.70200

Author: Giorgio Sebastiani

Institution: University of Padua

Language: English

Topic: Anthropological Studies and Insights

Subfield: Anthropology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,520