About Us

In international law, the definition of forced disappearance has three elements: deprivation of liberty, involvement of government officials, including through acquiescence, and concealment of the whereabouts of a disappeared person. The Social Study of Disappearance Lab explores the deep social, political, and economic implications of forced disappearance as both a phenomenon and a method of governance. For the rise of disappearances in various world contexts has deep implications for understanding changing state structures. From the viewpoint of the old “pastoral state,” a disappeared person is neither alive nor dead and so cannot be governed. Moreover, contemporary disappearances are only occasionally carried out directly by state agents. Instead, the role of state “acquiescence” in disappearances has expanded, masking emerging strategies for violently regulating local economies and producing social order.

By analyzing cases of disappearance around the world, our lab investigates how these practices reveal shifting state capacities, the influence of criminal networks, and the socio-political impact on affected communities. Through interdisciplinary research and pedagogy, our lab provides a platform for faculty and students to collaboratively examine the structures enabling disappearances, utilizing diverse methodological approaches—from digital ethnography to historical analysis. We pursue a collective, comparative approach to materialize the social presence of absent, abducted persons as a vital piece of understanding contemporary political life.