Intersecting perspectives: Video surveillance in urban spaces through surveillance society and security state frameworks

Abstract

The current body of literature allows discerning two predominant approaches for comprehending technology-based surveillance in modern societies: surveillance society and security state, developing within the domains of surveillance studies and security studies, respectively. These perspectives offer diverging explanations for the implementation of video surveillance in urban spaces and rarely engage in dialogue. This paper explores whether applying both approaches might be beneficial for understanding the reasons behind the deployment of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), as constructed in the legislation and perceived by those involved in tackling urban insecurity. The study focuses on two European cities, Budapest and Milan, selected as the most diverse cases, but sharing the problem of urban insecurity. The surveillance society approach offers a vantage point for the analysis of the legal documents, highlighting the positive construction of the technology as a multi-purpose tool, its symbolic role in security provision, and the central role of authorities in security provision. In contrast, the interview data indicates that both approaches might contribute to understanding social constructs existing around the implementation of CCTV in urban spaces. Although theoretical aspects within each approach are shared across contexts, the nuances of their manifestations in these cities are influenced by variations in historical, socio-economic, and political contexts.