Abstract 

According to some estimates, 40% of Bahrain's police, paramilitary and military forces are of South Asian descent, with a significant number hailing from the Baloch areas of Iran and Pakistan. Despite being overlooked by their home states as military recruitment grounds, these young Baloch men are hired by Bahrain, not due to colonial 'martial-race' beliefs, but because they can subsist on low wages by opening supplementary income opportunities. This talk draws on observations and conversations about Baloch soldiers' side businesses and post-contract commercial exploration to reimagine the boundary between the barrack and bazaar. This reduced-scale exploration offers new perspectives on how the private military and security industry's mushrooming will reshape both the market and the military.

Biography 

Dr Ameem Lutfi is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and History at LUMS. His research specializes in transnational mobility and military-labor markets. His current book project, ‘Conquest Without Rule: Baloch Portfolio-Mercenaries in the Indian Ocean’ looks at state-building in the Indian Ocean region from the perspective of a diasporic group that has maintained a strong presence in the military infrastructure of various states since at least the 16th century despite not having a state of their own. Dr Lutfi holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University. Prior to joining LUMS, he held postdoctoral positions at NUS and the Oriental Institute at the Czech Academy of Sciences. His work has most recently been published in History and Anthropology and South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies.