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This paper offers a theorization of how the state touches. Through an analysis of the extensive 2011 protests over Wisconsin Senate Bill 11, we interrogate the relatively non-violent interactions between police and protesters during the 17-day occupation of the Wisconsin State Capitol building. On display there were diverse police deployments of 'soft' force and haptic touching, technologies that enabled officers to subtly affect the movements and relations of protester crowds without resorting to familiar coercion- and consent-based politics. We offer a pair of concepts, cathexis and l'esprit de l'escalier, to diagram how statist touches were mobilized to catch individuals unawares and momentarily co-opt their bodily affects. These modes of control suggest much greater savvy regarding touch, force, and affect than is often granted in representations of the state apparatus. In light of this, we close with a reflection on the changing tactical grounds for struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interviews English professor Anthony Swofford about his views on U.S. wars in the Gulf in the contexts of the emergence of globalization, the transformation of nations and national identities, and the changing social and political characteristics of the soldier. Speculations about the possible changing contexts for the Jarhead; Legitimacy of military commanders to enter into the democratic race; Desire of the U.S. for war due to post-war alienation.