(Dis)abling Sacrifice

Veterans' Classification in Iran

Bibliographic Data

ID3609719
AuthorsAhmad Moradi (0000-0002-0508-0420, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume71
Issue2
Pages129-151
Publication date2021-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociologus (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0377 • E-ISSN: 1865-5106
PublisherDuncker & Humblot GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.3790/soc.71.2.129.v2
OpenAlexW4317459971
LanguageEN
References cited50

This paper examines how disabled Iranian and Afghan ex-combatants oppose hierarchies among veterans and demand welfare benefits in Iran by mobilising a state-propagated sacrificial reasoning that defies economic calculations and encourages pan-Islamic solidarity. I show how the scope of veterans’ benefits are conditioned by the biometric assessment of disability and migration policies, which in turn produce different classifications of war veterans and perpetuate civic inequalities. I address how struggles to secure benefit entitlements, which involves questioning the multiple ‘ordering’ of disability in state institutions, have made it possible for both Iranian and Afghan ex-combatants to contest the state’s exclusionary care practices. Building on the anthropological literature on biological citizenship, I contribute to an understanding of the relation between disability and citizenship acts, in which appealing to sacrificial reasoning provides a counterweight to legal, medical, and national boundaries of deservingness, and enables both citizens and non-citizens to stake claims to social equity

Ancient history · Sacrifice · Theology · Gender, Security, and Conflict · History · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Psychology

Tools

Open DOI