Topology, scene and asymmetries in security provision in a small South African city

IF 1.8 Q2 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Critical Studies on Security Pub Date : 2022-04-18 DOI:10.1080/21624887.2022.2060062
Gideon van Riet
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper builds on the notions of topology, scene and relationality in this special edition by highlighting asymmetries following from overdependence on private security companies (PSCs) in a settler colonial context. The locus is the JB Marks Municipality in South Africa. This municipality includes the historically white and middleclass town of Potchefstroom and the historically black township of Ikageng. These two scenes differentially address the gap left by an under-resourced state police. In Potchefstroom, PSCs, social media platforms and other infrastructures are intertwined with the sociality of daily life. In Ikageng, a ‘vigilante group’, the Peri Peri, has attempted to fill a similar gap. While reliance on racist and classist state policing has been pointed out as problematic globally, this paper suggests that reliance on non-state policing may not be any less problematic. The paper argues that tacit and provisional acceptance, which can be withdrawn, of the technically extra-legal activities by non-state security providers, might, in the interim, be a pragmatic way to allow effective security provision by non-state actors. However, tacit approval is no substitute for addressing a broader topology of inequality and insecurity through macroeconomic and spatial transformation.
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南非一个小城市安全保障的拓扑、场景和不对称性
摘要本文以本特刊中的拓扑、场景和关系概念为基础,强调了在定居者殖民背景下过度依赖私人安保公司所带来的不对称性。地点是南非的JB Marks市。该市包括历史上的白人和中产阶级城镇Potchefstroom和历史上的黑人城镇Ikageng。这两个场景不同地解决了资源不足的州警察留下的空白。在Potchefstroom,PSC、社交媒体平台和其他基础设施与日常生活的社会性交织在一起。在Ikageng,一个名为Peri-Peri的“治安维持组织”试图填补类似的空白。尽管对种族主义和古典主义国家警务的依赖在全球范围内被指出是有问题的,但本文表明,对非国家警务的信任问题可能不会减少。该文件认为,非国家安全提供者对技术上的法外活动的默许和临时接受(可以撤回)可能是允许非国家行为者有效提供安全的一种务实方式。然而,默许不能替代通过宏观经济和空间转型来解决更广泛的不平等和不安全拓扑。
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CiteScore
3.30
自引率
0.00%
发文量
18
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