The Anthropology of Security Perspectives from the Frontline of Policing, Counter-Terrorism and Border Control

In a post-Cold War world of political unease and economic crisis, processes of securitisation are transforming nation-states, their citizens and non-citizens in profound ways.

This book shows how contemporary Europe is now home to a vast security industry which uses biometric identification systems, CCTV and quasi-military techniques to police migrants and disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This is the first collection of anthropological studies of security with a particular but not exclusive emphasis on Europe.

The Anthropology of Security draws together studies on the lived experiences of security and policing from the perspective of those most affected in their everyday lives. The anthropological perspectives in this volume stretch from the frontlines of policing and counter-terrorism to border control.

Mark Maguire is Head of Anthropology at the National University of Ireland Maynooth.

Catarina Frois is Assistant Professor at the Department of Anthropology, Lisbon University, Portugal.

Nils Zurawski is Visiting Professor in Security, Social Conflicts and Regulation at the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Introduction; Mark Maguire, Catarina Frois and Nils Zurawski
1. Sarkozy and the Roma: Performing Securitization; Marion Demossier
2. The Politics of Security in Portugal; Catarina Frois
3. The Power Emptiness of Security Policy; Gregory Feldman
4. Compensating (In)Security. Anthropological Perspectives on Internal Security; Alexandra Schwell
5. A Petty State of Exception: Security Policies and Police Intervention in the French Banlieues; Didier Fassin
6. Counter-terrorism in European Airports; Mark Maguire
7. Paradoxes of Visibility. Securitizing Immigrant Behaviour and Controlling Police Activity in a French Immigration Detention Center; Nicolas Fischer
8. Grey Zones of Illegality: Degrading and Inhuman Condititions in a Greek Detention Center for Irregular Migrants; Jutta Lauth Bacas
Afterword; Didier Bigo
Conclusions; Mark Maguire, Catarina Frois and Nils Zurawksi