Seizing the Means of Circulation: Choke Points and Logistical Resistance in Coco Solo, Panama

Danyluk, Martin

Abstract

Recent studies of logistics have embraced the “choke point” thesis: the notion that a strategically positioned group of workers or insurgents can exercise outsize power by disrupting the circulation of goods through the supply chain. This article examines this proposition through the case of Coco Solo, Panama, an informal community situated at the epicentre of Panama’s transit economy but persistently excluded from its benefits. Between 2001 and 2014, as part of a protracted struggle over housing, Coco Solo residents repeatedly blockaded key ports and logistics facilities. Despite their location at a critical node in global capitalist commodity circuits, the community’s actions met with limited success. I draw on the case to refine existing theorisations of logistical resistance, emphasising the contingent factors that influence the effectiveness of such tactics, the diverse contexts in which they are mobilised, and the value of going beyond workerist and insurrectionist accounts of supply chain disruption.

Citation

Danyluk, M. (2023). Seizing the Means of Circulation: Choke Points and Logistical Resistance in Coco Solo, Panama. Antipode, 55(5), 1368-1389. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12836

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 21, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 26, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-09
• Deposit Date: Mar 22, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 27, 2023
• Journal: Antipode
• Print ISSN: 0066-4812
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-8330
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1368-1389
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12836
• Keywords: Earth-Surface Processes, Geography, Planning and Development
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7644997
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/anti.12836