Atmospheric Violence examines the aftermath of environmental disasters and armed conflict, focusing on how individuals strive to thrive amidst ongoing violence. Omer Aijazi’s ethnography diverges from traditional studies of Kashmir, instead envisioning alternative possibilities for life in a violence-ridden environment. Through extensive fieldwork in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and its mountainous regions, the narrative unfolds in two remote valleys shaped by environmental calamities and the oppressive landscape of military presence along the India/Pakistan border. Aijazi shares interconnected stories of five protagonists, each precariously positioned within their families and communities, often lacking the expected protections from state and society. He reveals the movements and connections fostered by a landscape that supports alternative ways of living. By merging story, theory, and activism, Aijazi explores what arises when theory is approached from the non-normative perspectives of those who resist conventional understandings of the world. Integrating disaster studies with radical humanist anthropology and affect theory, while being accountable to Black and Indigenous studies, Aijazi offers a decolonial perspective on disaster. He emphasizes repair over trauma, highlighting the social efforts of communities living with disaster as they challenge imposed conditions of death and create sustainable lives amidst ongoing a
