Pub Date : 2024-02-08DOI: 10.1177/23996544241230958
Jacob P. Chamberlain
This paper analyzes the work of the powerful migrant rights organization Migrant Justice, as they exemplify ways in which migrant activists in the U.S. today are challenging the socio-political confines of bordered state territory and are pushing the landscape of rights access in new directions. This work utilizes a year-long ethnography conducted with Migrant Justice as they faced intense targeting and surveillance from immigration authorities, including the use of a covert informant, in response to their successful labor and human rights organizing in the state of Vermont. This work in particular details Migrant Justice’s First Amendment rights lawsuit against the federal government in response to this targeting. Here, Migrant Justice directly challenged the federal government in a groundbreaking lawsuit that saw federal immigration authorities forced to acknowledge constitutional rights for undocumented migrant activists. In this confluence of opposing forces, we of course see egregious abuses against migrant actors, but we also see exemplifications of new and progressively powerful forms of resistance that are posing a specific challenge to the state’s bordered and territorially based limitations on human and civil rights. This work utilizes Stuart Elden’s conception of territory—as a process and a praxis of control—to understand migrant resistance to state-sanctioned exclusion and exploitation and the ways in which these challenges to state power are creating new spaces for political belonging. An analysis in this way allows us to see the work of Migrant Justice as that which increasingly deterritorializes relationships between residents and state power—an undoing of spatial limitations on rights and belonging. Throughout this work, the concept of deterritorialization as a form of migrant resistance is unpacked and defined to understand the full potentials of migrant activism today.
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Pub Date : 2024-02-08DOI: 10.1177/23996544241230958
Jacob P. Chamberlain
This paper analyzes the work of the powerful migrant rights organization Migrant Justice, as they exemplify ways in which migrant activists in the U.S. today are challenging the socio-political confines of bordered state territory and are pushing the landscape of rights access in new directions. This work utilizes a year-long ethnography conducted with Migrant Justice as they faced intense targeting and surveillance from immigration authorities, including the use of a covert informant, in response to their successful labor and human rights organizing in the state of Vermont. This work in particular details Migrant Justice’s First Amendment rights lawsuit against the federal government in response to this targeting. Here, Migrant Justice directly challenged the federal government in a groundbreaking lawsuit that saw federal immigration authorities forced to acknowledge constitutional rights for undocumented migrant activists. In this confluence of opposing forces, we of course see egregious abuses against migrant actors, but we also see exemplifications of new and progressively powerful forms of resistance that are posing a specific challenge to the state’s bordered and territorially based limitations on human and civil rights. This work utilizes Stuart Elden’s conception of territory—as a process and a praxis of control—to understand migrant resistance to state-sanctioned exclusion and exploitation and the ways in which these challenges to state power are creating new spaces for political belonging. An analysis in this way allows us to see the work of Migrant Justice as that which increasingly deterritorializes relationships between residents and state power—an undoing of spatial limitations on rights and belonging. Throughout this work, the concept of deterritorialization as a form of migrant resistance is unpacked and defined to understand the full potentials of migrant activism today.
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Pub Date : 2024-02-06DOI: 10.1177/23996544241230189
Lucrezia Canzutti, Claudia Aradau
This article proposes to understand the ‘invisible data work’ that asylum seekers must do to put together a ‘credible’ asylum application. While the intersections between asylum and work have typically been analysed in relation to access to employment and labour conditions, we attend to the work of collecting, assembling, and ordering different forms of analogue and digital data inherent to the asylum process. Building on feminist interdisciplinary debates on work and drawing on a selection of asylum appeals from Italy and the UK, we argue that seeking asylum entails extensive and continual invisible work that requires significant resources, effort, skills and time. Attending to these forms of invisible work is crucial to understanding the challenges of seeking asylum beyond the migration journey and the implications of performing ‘invisible data work’ unaided and unequipped. It also counters problematic depictions of asylum seekers as passive subjects who are ‘just waiting’ for a decision to be made. Finally, rendering the collection and assemblage of data as ‘invisible work’ rather than just ‘doings’ has political implications for understanding the resources, responsibilities and resistance to the border politics of making precarious subjects.
{"title":"Collecting, assembling, ordering: Border politics and the invisible data work of asylum","authors":"Lucrezia Canzutti, Claudia Aradau","doi":"10.1177/23996544241230189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544241230189","url":null,"abstract":"This article proposes to understand the ‘invisible data work’ that asylum seekers must do to put together a ‘credible’ asylum application. While the intersections between asylum and work have typically been analysed in relation to access to employment and labour conditions, we attend to the work of collecting, assembling, and ordering different forms of analogue and digital data inherent to the asylum process. Building on feminist interdisciplinary debates on work and drawing on a selection of asylum appeals from Italy and the UK, we argue that seeking asylum entails extensive and continual invisible work that requires significant resources, effort, skills and time. Attending to these forms of invisible work is crucial to understanding the challenges of seeking asylum beyond the migration journey and the implications of performing ‘invisible data work’ unaided and unequipped. It also counters problematic depictions of asylum seekers as passive subjects who are ‘just waiting’ for a decision to be made. Finally, rendering the collection and assemblage of data as ‘invisible work’ rather than just ‘doings’ has political implications for understanding the resources, responsibilities and resistance to the border politics of making precarious subjects.","PeriodicalId":507957,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space","volume":"16 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139860801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-06DOI: 10.1177/23996544241230189
Lucrezia Canzutti, Claudia Aradau
This article proposes to understand the ‘invisible data work’ that asylum seekers must do to put together a ‘credible’ asylum application. While the intersections between asylum and work have typically been analysed in relation to access to employment and labour conditions, we attend to the work of collecting, assembling, and ordering different forms of analogue and digital data inherent to the asylum process. Building on feminist interdisciplinary debates on work and drawing on a selection of asylum appeals from Italy and the UK, we argue that seeking asylum entails extensive and continual invisible work that requires significant resources, effort, skills and time. Attending to these forms of invisible work is crucial to understanding the challenges of seeking asylum beyond the migration journey and the implications of performing ‘invisible data work’ unaided and unequipped. It also counters problematic depictions of asylum seekers as passive subjects who are ‘just waiting’ for a decision to be made. Finally, rendering the collection and assemblage of data as ‘invisible work’ rather than just ‘doings’ has political implications for understanding the resources, responsibilities and resistance to the border politics of making precarious subjects.
{"title":"Collecting, assembling, ordering: Border politics and the invisible data work of asylum","authors":"Lucrezia Canzutti, Claudia Aradau","doi":"10.1177/23996544241230189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544241230189","url":null,"abstract":"This article proposes to understand the ‘invisible data work’ that asylum seekers must do to put together a ‘credible’ asylum application. While the intersections between asylum and work have typically been analysed in relation to access to employment and labour conditions, we attend to the work of collecting, assembling, and ordering different forms of analogue and digital data inherent to the asylum process. Building on feminist interdisciplinary debates on work and drawing on a selection of asylum appeals from Italy and the UK, we argue that seeking asylum entails extensive and continual invisible work that requires significant resources, effort, skills and time. Attending to these forms of invisible work is crucial to understanding the challenges of seeking asylum beyond the migration journey and the implications of performing ‘invisible data work’ unaided and unequipped. It also counters problematic depictions of asylum seekers as passive subjects who are ‘just waiting’ for a decision to be made. Finally, rendering the collection and assemblage of data as ‘invisible work’ rather than just ‘doings’ has political implications for understanding the resources, responsibilities and resistance to the border politics of making precarious subjects.","PeriodicalId":507957,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space","volume":"74 s1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139801039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.1177/23996544241231683
Pablo I Ampuero-Ruiz
Ecological Civilisation has been China’s policy concept to frame its environmental sustainability strategy. While it lacks a clear definition, its multiple practices show a reliance on the development and implementation of technologies that reduce pollution levels and beautify the country. One of those technologies are New Energy Vehicles (NEV), which stand at the centre of an e-mobility transition across urban China. I engage with the growing debate on China’s Ecological Civilisation and e-mobility transition by reflecting on the critical junctions between this policy concept and the NEV industry. I suggest that the New Energy requirements of China’s Ecological Civilisation rely on power relations that enhance state capacity domestically and transnationally. In this sense, the pursuit of New Energy to build China’s Ecological Civilisation relies on moral and sovereign forms of power. In a context of increasing tensions between China and countries in the North Atlantic, my contribution shows that these forms of power enhance China’s state capacity through its economic infrastructure, re-producing old dependencies and inequalities.
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Pub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.1177/23996544241231684
Francesca Savoldi
This article examines the increasingly conflictual relationship between ports and their surrounding communities at a time of wide-reaching infrastructural expansion. It highlights how the centralization of power and logistical gigantism produce deterritorializing frictions, decoupling inhabitants from their territories and creating the conditions for social contestation. It calls for a rethinking of the role of communities in contemporary port-city governance, with an emphasis on imaginaries of re-territorialization produced through social mobilization. I frame the increasing contestation in port cities through a critical approach to logistics, arguing that citizen engagement holds the potential to drastically readdress the port-city relationship. It examines the cases of Genoa and Venice using ethnographic methods and reconstructs a historically in-depth counter-narrative of interactions between port, city and citizen. I contextualize specific frictions between port and city through the rise in social mobilizations. The article shows how social mobilization challenges the status quo in different ways, producing changes and illuminating pathways toward more sustainable forms of coexistence between ports and cities.
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Pub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.1177/23996544241231683
Pablo I Ampuero-Ruiz
Ecological Civilisation has been China’s policy concept to frame its environmental sustainability strategy. While it lacks a clear definition, its multiple practices show a reliance on the development and implementation of technologies that reduce pollution levels and beautify the country. One of those technologies are New Energy Vehicles (NEV), which stand at the centre of an e-mobility transition across urban China. I engage with the growing debate on China’s Ecological Civilisation and e-mobility transition by reflecting on the critical junctions between this policy concept and the NEV industry. I suggest that the New Energy requirements of China’s Ecological Civilisation rely on power relations that enhance state capacity domestically and transnationally. In this sense, the pursuit of New Energy to build China’s Ecological Civilisation relies on moral and sovereign forms of power. In a context of increasing tensions between China and countries in the North Atlantic, my contribution shows that these forms of power enhance China’s state capacity through its economic infrastructure, re-producing old dependencies and inequalities.
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Pub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.1177/23996544241231684
Francesca Savoldi
This article examines the increasingly conflictual relationship between ports and their surrounding communities at a time of wide-reaching infrastructural expansion. It highlights how the centralization of power and logistical gigantism produce deterritorializing frictions, decoupling inhabitants from their territories and creating the conditions for social contestation. It calls for a rethinking of the role of communities in contemporary port-city governance, with an emphasis on imaginaries of re-territorialization produced through social mobilization. I frame the increasing contestation in port cities through a critical approach to logistics, arguing that citizen engagement holds the potential to drastically readdress the port-city relationship. It examines the cases of Genoa and Venice using ethnographic methods and reconstructs a historically in-depth counter-narrative of interactions between port, city and citizen. I contextualize specific frictions between port and city through the rise in social mobilizations. The article shows how social mobilization challenges the status quo in different ways, producing changes and illuminating pathways toward more sustainable forms of coexistence between ports and cities.
{"title":"Contested port cities: Logistical frictions and civic mobilization in Genoa and Venice","authors":"Francesca Savoldi","doi":"10.1177/23996544241231684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544241231684","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the increasingly conflictual relationship between ports and their surrounding communities at a time of wide-reaching infrastructural expansion. It highlights how the centralization of power and logistical gigantism produce deterritorializing frictions, decoupling inhabitants from their territories and creating the conditions for social contestation. It calls for a rethinking of the role of communities in contemporary port-city governance, with an emphasis on imaginaries of re-territorialization produced through social mobilization. I frame the increasing contestation in port cities through a critical approach to logistics, arguing that citizen engagement holds the potential to drastically readdress the port-city relationship. It examines the cases of Genoa and Venice using ethnographic methods and reconstructs a historically in-depth counter-narrative of interactions between port, city and citizen. I contextualize specific frictions between port and city through the rise in social mobilizations. The article shows how social mobilization challenges the status quo in different ways, producing changes and illuminating pathways toward more sustainable forms of coexistence between ports and cities.","PeriodicalId":507957,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139805262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-02DOI: 10.1177/23996544241230961
Mark Davidson
Cities now commonly engage with financial actors, tools, and markets to manage their budgets and associated activities. The growing significance of finance within urban governance is connected by some scholars to the latter’s increasingly speculative character. One area of urban governance where financial tools are now commonly used for speculative ends are public pensions. Across the United States, many state and local governments face large unfunded pension liabilities. In some cases, this has led them to issue pension obligation bonds to reduce their unfunded liabilities. This paper examines the extent of recent pension obligation bond issuance and develops a comparative case study of three Massachusetts municipalities. The research results show that the speculative content of pension obligation bonds varies, even across three Massachusetts municipalities. By using pension obligation bonds, all three case study cities have exposed themselves to different levels of financial risk and have given themselves a long-term governance challenge by installing a speculative financial tool within their budgeting.
{"title":"Is it worth a punt on pensions? A case study of three municipalities’ use of pension obligation bonds","authors":"Mark Davidson","doi":"10.1177/23996544241230961","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544241230961","url":null,"abstract":"Cities now commonly engage with financial actors, tools, and markets to manage their budgets and associated activities. The growing significance of finance within urban governance is connected by some scholars to the latter’s increasingly speculative character. One area of urban governance where financial tools are now commonly used for speculative ends are public pensions. Across the United States, many state and local governments face large unfunded pension liabilities. In some cases, this has led them to issue pension obligation bonds to reduce their unfunded liabilities. This paper examines the extent of recent pension obligation bond issuance and develops a comparative case study of three Massachusetts municipalities. The research results show that the speculative content of pension obligation bonds varies, even across three Massachusetts municipalities. By using pension obligation bonds, all three case study cities have exposed themselves to different levels of financial risk and have given themselves a long-term governance challenge by installing a speculative financial tool within their budgeting.","PeriodicalId":507957,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space","volume":"54 13","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139810900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-02DOI: 10.1177/23996544241230961
Mark Davidson
Cities now commonly engage with financial actors, tools, and markets to manage their budgets and associated activities. The growing significance of finance within urban governance is connected by some scholars to the latter’s increasingly speculative character. One area of urban governance where financial tools are now commonly used for speculative ends are public pensions. Across the United States, many state and local governments face large unfunded pension liabilities. In some cases, this has led them to issue pension obligation bonds to reduce their unfunded liabilities. This paper examines the extent of recent pension obligation bond issuance and develops a comparative case study of three Massachusetts municipalities. The research results show that the speculative content of pension obligation bonds varies, even across three Massachusetts municipalities. By using pension obligation bonds, all three case study cities have exposed themselves to different levels of financial risk and have given themselves a long-term governance challenge by installing a speculative financial tool within their budgeting.
{"title":"Is it worth a punt on pensions? A case study of three municipalities’ use of pension obligation bonds","authors":"Mark Davidson","doi":"10.1177/23996544241230961","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544241230961","url":null,"abstract":"Cities now commonly engage with financial actors, tools, and markets to manage their budgets and associated activities. The growing significance of finance within urban governance is connected by some scholars to the latter’s increasingly speculative character. One area of urban governance where financial tools are now commonly used for speculative ends are public pensions. Across the United States, many state and local governments face large unfunded pension liabilities. In some cases, this has led them to issue pension obligation bonds to reduce their unfunded liabilities. This paper examines the extent of recent pension obligation bond issuance and develops a comparative case study of three Massachusetts municipalities. The research results show that the speculative content of pension obligation bonds varies, even across three Massachusetts municipalities. By using pension obligation bonds, all three case study cities have exposed themselves to different levels of financial risk and have given themselves a long-term governance challenge by installing a speculative financial tool within their budgeting.","PeriodicalId":507957,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space","volume":"41 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139870616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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