The imagined island

Colonialism and constructed remoteness on Diego Garcia

Bibliographic Data

ID4661502
AuthorsKate Motluk (0009-0008-6057-7377, Balsillie School of International Affairs Waterloo Ontario Canada, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume190
Issue4
Publication date2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7398 • E-ISSN: 1475-4959
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/geoj.12587
OpenAlexW4394753447
LanguageEN
References cited29

Colonial powers have long used islands and island forms for imperial projects, including military bases, weapons testing, resource mining and migrant detention. In order to pursue these interests, colonial powers have often sought geographically remote sites, but they further rely on the construction of remoteness. This article reflects on the colonial construction of remoteness by analysing the case study of Diego Garcia. The militarised atoll of Diego Garcia is one in a chain of islands that make up the British Indian Ocean Territory, the last colony created by the British government. While Diego Garcia is now under British sovereign control, the island was brutally cleared of its Indigenous inhabitants to make way for a joint British-American military base. By detailing the ways in which 'remoteness' has affected the Indigenous Chagossians, 'war on terror' detainees, asylum-seekers and migrant workers, this article demonstrates how colonial powers deploy remoteness as a way of distancing groups deemed 'other' from rights. Additionally, colonial powers use 'remoteness' to paradoxically protect their own proximity to colonial interests, including geopolitically significant sites for military installations

Archaeology · Colonialism · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Distancing · Ethnology · Garcia · Geography · Government (linguistics · Humanities · Indigenous · Political science · Politics · Refugee · Sovereignty · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration · History · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics

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