New Books in Sociology

Noam Leshem, "Edges of Care: Living and Dying in No Man's Land" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

Mar 1, 2025

Noam Leshem, author of "Edges of Care: Living and Dying in No Man's Land," examines the urgent political reality of abandoned spaces across the globe. He discusses the complexities of caregiving and isolation in these no man’s lands, highlighting personal narratives from places like Gaza and Syria. Leshem challenges traditional views on abandonment by showcasing how resilient communities thrive despite neglect. The conversation explores identity, responsibility, and reimagines no man’s land as spaces of potential rather than emptiness, urging a deeper understanding of their significance.

01:15:06

Episode guests

Noam Leshem

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Quick takeaways

No Man's Land symbolizes not only historical desolation but also regions of state abandonment inhabited by resilient communities fostering survival and innovation.

The personal experiences shared by Noam Leshem highlight the emotional complexities of living in politically charged No Man's Lands, emphasizing the need for recognition and care.

Deep dives

Understanding No Man's Land

The term 'No Man's Land' often carries historical imagery of desolation, typically associated with war zones. However, it can also represent spaces radically abandoned by the state, lacking sovereign care for the inhabitants. This concept extends beyond traditional battlefield examples into various parts of the world, revealing that No Man's Lands are not empty but occupied by resilient communities. In this light, No Man's Land becomes a site of survival and sometimes innovation, offering insights into how neglected areas can foster unique social and cultural dynamics.

Intro

2min

Exploring No Man's Land

17min

Sheikh Saad: A Village at the Crossroads of Care and Isolation

2min

Life and Isolation: The Struggles of Sheikh Sa'id

4min

Gaza: Care, Abandonment, and Historical Echoes

17min

Exploring Identity and Responsibility in No Man's Land

4min

Reimagining No Man's Land

25min

“No man’s land” invokes stretches of barren landscape, twisted barbed wire, desolation, and the devastation of war. But this is not always the reality. According to Noam Leshem in Edges of Care: Living and Dying in No Man's Land (U Chicago Press, 2025), the term also reveals radical abandonment by the state. From the Northern Sahara to the Amazon rainforests, people around the world find themselves in places that have been stripped of sovereign care. Leshem is committed to defining these spaces and providing a more intimate understanding of this urgent political reality.

Based on nearly a decade of research in some of the world’s most challenging conflict zones, Edges of Care offers a profound account of abandoned lives and lands, and how they endure and sometimes thrive once left to fend for themselves. Leshem interrogates no man’s land as a site of radical uncaring: abandoned by a sovereign power in a relinquishment of responsibility for the space or anyone inside it. To understand the ramifications of such uncaring, Leshem takes readers through a diverse series of abandoned places, including areas in Palestine, Syria, Colombia, Sudan, and Cyprus. He shows that no man’s land is not empty of life, but almost always inhabited and, in fact, often generative of new modes of being.

Roberto Mazza is currently a visiting scholar at the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University. He is the host of the Jerusalem Unplugged Podcast and to discuss and propose a book for interview can be reached at robbymazza@gmail.com. Blusky and IG: @robbyref Website: www.robertomazza.org

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