Babylon's Ashes

The conflict in Babylon’s Ashes mirrors historical patterns of colonialism and revolutionary warfare. The relationship between the powerful “inner planets” of Earth and Mars and the resource-rich but politically marginalized Asteroid Belt reflects the dynamic between a colonizing entity and an exploited territory. For generations, the Belters have provided raw materials and labor for the Inner Planets while enduring poor living conditions and political disenfranchisement. The novel frames the Free Navy’s uprising as an anti-colonial revolution, a violent struggle for sovereignty and identity. When conventional warfare is impossible, such movements often turn to asymmetric tactics (unconventional strategies that a weaker force uses against a stronger one). A historical example is the Algerian War (1954-1962), in which Algeria’s National Liberation Front (FLN) used urban bombings and guerrilla warfare against the technologically superior French army. The FLN’s strategy aimed not only to inflict damage but also to provoke a disproportionate French response that would erode France’s political will.

Similarly, Marco Inaros’s asteroid bombardment of Earth is an act of mass-scale terrorism designed to cripple a planetary superpower that the Free Navy could never defeat in a direct military confrontation. His goal is to shatter the illusion of Earth’s invincibility and galvanize Belter support for what one character calls “the greatest statement of independence and freedom the human race had ever made” (18). This context frames the Free Navy not merely as “pirates” but as a radical revolutionary force using historically recognizable, albeit brutal, tactics of liberation.

In addition, Babylon’s Ashes explores how tribalism, or intense loyalty to one’s own social group, can be weaponized to justify extreme violence. The solar system’s human population has fractured into three distinct “tribes”: Earthers, Martians, and Belters. Generations of living in different gravitational and social environments have produced unique cultures and physiologies, creating deep-seated divisions. Belters are often taller and more fragile due to life in microgravity and speak a distinct creole language. The novel exploits these differences to create hostile out-groups. Characters use derogatory slurs to dehumanize their enemies, reinforcing a narrative of irreconcilable difference. The conflict is fueled by this in-group loyalty, where violence against outsiders is seen as a defense of one’s own people. Filip Inaros’s character initially exemplifies this worldview: He resents James Holden as an Earther who corrupted his Belter mother and represents the “oppressors” (22) who left Belters to die.

These attempts to dehumanize other groups have real-world parallels, such as in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Hutu extremists used state-controlled media, particularly Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, to broadcast propaganda that portrayed the Tutsi minority as “cockroaches” and a threat to the nation, inciting ordinary citizens to participate in mass slaughter. Similarly, the Free Navy’s followers celebrate its destruction of Earth because they have been conditioned to see Earthers not as fellow humans but as a monolithic enemy, making their annihilation seem necessary and just.