6 - The Airport Geography of Power as Site and Limit of NEPAD’s Transnational African Assemblage
Corresponding Author(s) : Kgomotso Michael Masemola
Africa Development,
Vol. 43 No. 3 (2018): Africa Development
Abstract
This article mobilises the Deleuzian analytical category of ‘assemblage’ to distinctly bring to view how racial profiling in South African airport spaces operationalises a paradoxical discourse of invidious visibility and invisibility that flies in the face of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) as articulated in the vision embraced by the member states of the African Union, of which South Africa is part. The said discourse, this article argues, runs counter to the spirit of NEPAD as it becomes an inscribing socius in a territorial machine that is geared towards not only processing entries and exits of African migrants into the airport. It recolonises the African airport into a zone of exception, reterritorialising the African assemblage into a space definable by the particularities of race and nation. The airport becomes a veritable zone of exception: no recognition of movement rights for African migrants despite proclamations of priorities of regional integration in Africa. Over South African airports now hover signature meta-narratives that are at variance with NEPAD. Nothing exemplified this more than the unfair detention of Wole Soyinka in a South African airport, especially because the Nobel Laureate was officially invited to give an address in honour of Nelson Mandela.
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- Abeyratne, R., 2010, ‘The use of forged passports of foreign nationals in international criminal activity’, Journal of Transportation Security 3 (2): 127–45.
- Adepoju, A., 2006, ‘Leading issues in international migration in sub-Saharan Africa’, in C. Cross, D. Gelderblom, N. Roux and J. Mafukidze eds, Views on Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa: Proceedings of an African Migration Alliance Workshop, Pretoria: HSRC Press.
- Bigo, D., 2006, ‘Globalized (In)security: The Field and the Ban-opticon’, in D. Bigo and A. Tsoukala, eds, Illiberal Practices of Liberal Regimes: The (In)security Games, Paris: L’Harmattan.
- Black, D. and Van der Westhuizen, J., 2004, ‘The allure of global games for “semi- peripheral” polities and spaces: a research agenda’, Third World Quarterly 25 (7): 1195–214.
- Blain, N. and Boyle, R., 1998, ‘Sport as Real Life: Media Sport and Culture’, in A. Briggs and P. Cobley, eds, The Media: An Introduction, Harlow: Longman.
- Cross, C. and Omoluabi, E., 2006, ‘Introduction’, in C. Cross, D. Gelderblom, N. Roux and J. Mafukidze, eds, Views on Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa: Proceedings of an African Migration Alliance Workshop, Pretoria: HSRC Press.
- Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F., 2004 [1984]. Anti-capitalism and schizophrenia. Trans. R. Hurley, M. Seem, H.R. Lane and M. Foucault. London: Continuum Press.Deleuze,
- G. and Parnet, C., 1987, Dialogues, New York: Columbia University Press.
- Dingley, J., 2001, ‘The terrorist – developing a profile’, International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime Prevention, 24–34.
- Dunning, E., 2000, ‘Towards a sociological understanding of football hooliganism as a world phenomenon’, European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 8: 141–62.
- Ellison, R., 1952, Invisible Man, London: Penguin.
- Fanon, F., 1963, The Wretched of the Earth, translated by Constance Farrington, New York: Grove Press.
- Gilroy, P., 1987, There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation, London: Hutchinson.
- Gilroy, P., 1993, The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness, London: Verso. Gunner, L., 2010 ‘Reconfiguring diaspora: Africa on the rise and the radio voices of Lewis Nkosi and Bloke Modisane’, Social Dynamics 36 (2): 256– 71.
- Haggerty, K.D. and Ericson, R.V., 2000, ‘The surveillant assemblage’, British Journal of Sociology 51: 605–22.
- Hempel, L. and Töpfer, E., 2009, ‘The surveillance consensus: reviewing the politics of CCTV in three European countries’, European Journal of Criminology 6: 157–77.
- Hofmeyr, I., 2007, ‘The Black Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean: forging new paradigms of transnationalism in the Global South: literary and cultural Perspectives’, Social Dynamics 33 (2): 3–32.
- Jameson, F., 2003, ‘The end of temporality’, Critical Inquiry 29 (4): 695–718.
- Jenkins, M., 1980, The Study of Terrorism: Definitional Problems, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
- Mandela, Nelson R., 1994, Long Walk to Freedom, Randburg: Macdonald Purnell.
- Masemola, M.K. & Chaka, P.M., 2011, ‘(T)races of terrorism beyond ports of entry: a retrospective assessment of the limits of profiling in the regulation of airport passenger traffic during the 2010 FIFA World Cup’, Social Dynamics, 37(1): 178-192.
- Masemola, M.K., 2014, ‘The Complicated Memory of Obama’s Middle Ground Rhetoric: The Silent Return of ‘Race’ in the aftermath of Treyvon Martin’s Shooting in the USA’, African Journal of Rhetoric 6: 53-72.
- Mayaki, I.A., 2011, ‘Interview with Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD agency’, Trade Negotiations Insights 7 (10): 4–7.
- Menkiti, I.A., 1984, ‘Person and Community in African Traditional Thought’, In African Philosophy: An Introduction, edited by Wright, Richard, 171-82. . Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
- Meyer, W., 2010, ‘Boland Arms Cache Found’, Cape Times, 17 April.
- Miller, J., Gounev, P., Pap, A.L., Wagman, D., Balogi, A, Bezlov, T., Bori Simonovits, B. and Vargha L., 2008, ‘Racism and police stops: adapting US and British debates to continental Europe’, European Journal of Criminology 5: 161–89.
- Müller, F, van Zoonen, L and de Roode, L., 2007, ‘Accidental racists: experiences and contradictions of racism in local Amsterdam soccer fan culture’, Soccer and Society 8 (2/3): 335–50.
- Seekings, J., 2008, ‘The continuing salience of race: discrimination and diversity in South Africa’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 26 (1): 1–25.
- Steyn, M., 2005, ‘White Talk’: White South Africans and the Management of Diasporic Whiteness’, in A.J. Lopez, ed., Postcolonial Whiteness: A Critical Reader on Race and Empire, Albany: State University of New York Press.
- Viscusi, W.K. and Zeckhauer, R.J., 2003, ‘Sacrificing civil liberties to reduce terrorism risks’, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 6: 99–120.
- Vito, G.M. and Holmes, R.M., 1994, Criminology: Theory, Research and Policy, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
- White, J.R., 1991, Terrorism: An Introduction, California: Brooks Publishing. Wilkinson, P., 1994, ‘Terrorism’, in Michael Foley, ed. Ideas that Shape Politics, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
References
Abeyratne, R., 2010, ‘The use of forged passports of foreign nationals in international criminal activity’, Journal of Transportation Security 3 (2): 127–45.
Adepoju, A., 2006, ‘Leading issues in international migration in sub-Saharan Africa’, in C. Cross, D. Gelderblom, N. Roux and J. Mafukidze eds, Views on Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa: Proceedings of an African Migration Alliance Workshop, Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Bigo, D., 2006, ‘Globalized (In)security: The Field and the Ban-opticon’, in D. Bigo and A. Tsoukala, eds, Illiberal Practices of Liberal Regimes: The (In)security Games, Paris: L’Harmattan.
Black, D. and Van der Westhuizen, J., 2004, ‘The allure of global games for “semi- peripheral” polities and spaces: a research agenda’, Third World Quarterly 25 (7): 1195–214.
Blain, N. and Boyle, R., 1998, ‘Sport as Real Life: Media Sport and Culture’, in A. Briggs and P. Cobley, eds, The Media: An Introduction, Harlow: Longman.
Cross, C. and Omoluabi, E., 2006, ‘Introduction’, in C. Cross, D. Gelderblom, N. Roux and J. Mafukidze, eds, Views on Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa: Proceedings of an African Migration Alliance Workshop, Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F., 2004 [1984]. Anti-capitalism and schizophrenia. Trans. R. Hurley, M. Seem, H.R. Lane and M. Foucault. London: Continuum Press.Deleuze,
G. and Parnet, C., 1987, Dialogues, New York: Columbia University Press.
Dingley, J., 2001, ‘The terrorist – developing a profile’, International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime Prevention, 24–34.
Dunning, E., 2000, ‘Towards a sociological understanding of football hooliganism as a world phenomenon’, European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 8: 141–62.
Ellison, R., 1952, Invisible Man, London: Penguin.
Fanon, F., 1963, The Wretched of the Earth, translated by Constance Farrington, New York: Grove Press.
Gilroy, P., 1987, There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation, London: Hutchinson.
Gilroy, P., 1993, The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness, London: Verso. Gunner, L., 2010 ‘Reconfiguring diaspora: Africa on the rise and the radio voices of Lewis Nkosi and Bloke Modisane’, Social Dynamics 36 (2): 256– 71.
Haggerty, K.D. and Ericson, R.V., 2000, ‘The surveillant assemblage’, British Journal of Sociology 51: 605–22.
Hempel, L. and Töpfer, E., 2009, ‘The surveillance consensus: reviewing the politics of CCTV in three European countries’, European Journal of Criminology 6: 157–77.
Hofmeyr, I., 2007, ‘The Black Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean: forging new paradigms of transnationalism in the Global South: literary and cultural Perspectives’, Social Dynamics 33 (2): 3–32.
Jameson, F., 2003, ‘The end of temporality’, Critical Inquiry 29 (4): 695–718.
Jenkins, M., 1980, The Study of Terrorism: Definitional Problems, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
Mandela, Nelson R., 1994, Long Walk to Freedom, Randburg: Macdonald Purnell.
Masemola, M.K. & Chaka, P.M., 2011, ‘(T)races of terrorism beyond ports of entry: a retrospective assessment of the limits of profiling in the regulation of airport passenger traffic during the 2010 FIFA World Cup’, Social Dynamics, 37(1): 178-192.
Masemola, M.K., 2014, ‘The Complicated Memory of Obama’s Middle Ground Rhetoric: The Silent Return of ‘Race’ in the aftermath of Treyvon Martin’s Shooting in the USA’, African Journal of Rhetoric 6: 53-72.
Mayaki, I.A., 2011, ‘Interview with Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD agency’, Trade Negotiations Insights 7 (10): 4–7.
Menkiti, I.A., 1984, ‘Person and Community in African Traditional Thought’, In African Philosophy: An Introduction, edited by Wright, Richard, 171-82. . Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Meyer, W., 2010, ‘Boland Arms Cache Found’, Cape Times, 17 April.
Miller, J., Gounev, P., Pap, A.L., Wagman, D., Balogi, A, Bezlov, T., Bori Simonovits, B. and Vargha L., 2008, ‘Racism and police stops: adapting US and British debates to continental Europe’, European Journal of Criminology 5: 161–89.
Müller, F, van Zoonen, L and de Roode, L., 2007, ‘Accidental racists: experiences and contradictions of racism in local Amsterdam soccer fan culture’, Soccer and Society 8 (2/3): 335–50.
Seekings, J., 2008, ‘The continuing salience of race: discrimination and diversity in South Africa’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 26 (1): 1–25.
Steyn, M., 2005, ‘White Talk’: White South Africans and the Management of Diasporic Whiteness’, in A.J. Lopez, ed., Postcolonial Whiteness: A Critical Reader on Race and Empire, Albany: State University of New York Press.
Viscusi, W.K. and Zeckhauer, R.J., 2003, ‘Sacrificing civil liberties to reduce terrorism risks’, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 6: 99–120.
Vito, G.M. and Holmes, R.M., 1994, Criminology: Theory, Research and Policy, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
White, J.R., 1991, Terrorism: An Introduction, California: Brooks Publishing. Wilkinson, P., 1994, ‘Terrorism’, in Michael Foley, ed. Ideas that Shape Politics, Manchester: Manchester University Press.