TY - JOUR
T1 - The politics of (non-)knowledge at Europe's borders
T2 - Errors, fakes, and subjectivity
AU - Aradau, Claudia
AU - Perret, Sarah
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2022/7/7
Y1 - 2022/7/7
N2 - From statistical calculations to psychological knowledge, from profiling to scenario planning, and from biometric data to predictive algorithms, International Relations scholars have shed light on the multiple forms of knowledge deployed in the governing of populations and their political effects. Recent scholarship in critical border and security studies has drawn attention to 'the other side of knowledge' and has developed a vibrant conversation with the emergent interdisciplinary field of ignorance studies. This article proposes to advance these conversations on governing through non-knowledge by nuancing the analysis of power/(non-)knowledge/subjectivity relations. Firstly, we expand the analysis of non-knowledge by attending to the problematisation of errors and fakes in controversies at Europe's borders. Errors have emerged in relation to border actors' practices and technologies, while migrant practices, documentation, and narratives are deemed to be potentially 'fake', 'fraudulent', or 'false'. Secondly, we explore how different subjectivities are produced through regimes of error/truth and fake/authenticity. We argue that there are important epistemic differences between 'fake' and 'error', that they are entangled with different techniques of power and produce highly differentiated subjectivities. Finally, we attend to how these subjectivities are enacted within racialised hierarchies and ask whether non-knowledge can be mobilised to challenge these hierarchies.
AB - From statistical calculations to psychological knowledge, from profiling to scenario planning, and from biometric data to predictive algorithms, International Relations scholars have shed light on the multiple forms of knowledge deployed in the governing of populations and their political effects. Recent scholarship in critical border and security studies has drawn attention to 'the other side of knowledge' and has developed a vibrant conversation with the emergent interdisciplinary field of ignorance studies. This article proposes to advance these conversations on governing through non-knowledge by nuancing the analysis of power/(non-)knowledge/subjectivity relations. Firstly, we expand the analysis of non-knowledge by attending to the problematisation of errors and fakes in controversies at Europe's borders. Errors have emerged in relation to border actors' practices and technologies, while migrant practices, documentation, and narratives are deemed to be potentially 'fake', 'fraudulent', or 'false'. Secondly, we explore how different subjectivities are produced through regimes of error/truth and fake/authenticity. We argue that there are important epistemic differences between 'fake' and 'error', that they are entangled with different techniques of power and produce highly differentiated subjectivities. Finally, we attend to how these subjectivities are enacted within racialised hierarchies and ask whether non-knowledge can be mobilised to challenge these hierarchies.
KW - Asylum
KW - Borders
KW - Ignorance Studies
KW - Non-Knowledge
KW - Power/Knowledge
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126751066&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0260210522000080
DO - 10.1017/S0260210522000080
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85126751066
SN - 0260-2105
VL - 48
SP - 405
EP - 424
JO - Review of International Studies
JF - Review of International Studies
IS - 3
ER -