Governing through Biometrics: The Biopolitics of Identity

248 Pages·2013·1.307 MB·English

by  Btihaj Ajana (auth.)

Governing through Biometrics
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Governing through
Biometrics
The Biopolitics of Identity
Btihaj Ajana
Lecturer,Culture,DigitalHumanitiesandCreativeIndustries,
King’sCollegeLondon,UK
©BtihajAjana2013
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-0-230-32161-8
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Firstpublished2013by
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Who are you? Tu quis es. That is an abyssal question.
(Schmitt, 1950)
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Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Introduction 1
1 Biometrics:TheRemediationofMeasure 21
2 HomoCarded:ExceptionandIdentitySystems 47
3 RecombinantIdentities:BiometricsandNarrativeBioethics 79
4 IdentitySecuritisationandBiometricCitizenship 108
5 RethinkingCommunityandthePoliticalthrough
Being-with 160
Conclusion 189
Notes 199
Bibliography 211
Index 224
vii
Acknowledgements
In the course of developing this work, I have benefited greatly from
the support and guidance of many people in ways that are hard to
acknowledge appropriately here. Mostly, I would like to express my
appreciation and gratitude to Nikolas Rose for his mentoring, intellec-
tualsupportandgenerosityandtotheresearchcommunityattheBIOS
Centrefortheirassistanceandencouragement.Thanksinparticularto
Joelle Abi-Rached, Megan Clinch, Amy Hinterberger, Caitlin Connors,
LampriniKaftantzi,SaraToccetti,DesFitzgerald,SusannaFinlay,Rachel
Bell,CaitlinCockerton,KerstinKlein,CathyHerbrandandAngelaFilipe
for their humour, emotional support and friendship. I am also thank-
fultomycolleaguesattheDepartmentofMedia,CultureandCreative
Industries and the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s Col-
legeLondon.SpecialthankstoChristinaScharff,OfraKoffman,Bridget
Conor, Tim Jordan, Rosalind Gill and Andy Pratt for their continuous
helpandencouragement.
I thank Howard Caygill and Engin Isin for their extremely help-
ful comments, feedback and suggestions on an earlier version of this
work. The dialogues and exchanges with friends and colleagues from
GoldsmithsCollegeandthestimulatingdiscussionsinHowardCaygill’s
Contemporary Thought seminars and in the Continental Philosophy
Research Group have been a wonderful source of inspiration. Special
thanks to Shela Sheikh for having kept me more or less up to date
withtherelevantinterestingeventsandseminars.Iwishtoexpressmy
appreciation to Joanna Zylinska and Sarah Kember for their great and
inspiring mentoring during my studies at Goldsmiths College. I also
wishtothankmystudentsatKing’sCollegeLondon.
VeryspecialandheartfeltthanksgotoFatima,Zoubida,Dean,Chiara,
Kiarash, Christian and Lesley. Their support, warmth, presence and
laughter have been a great sustenance. I also thank Michelle, Mansor,
Hamid and Rami for their friendship and encouragement, and all the
people the encounter with whom has shaped my thinking in many
profoundways.
IalsowishtothanktheeditorialstaffatPalgraveMacmillanfortheir
interestinthisprojectandassistancewithitspublication.
viii
Acknowledgements ix
Someoftheresearchandwritingofthisbookhavebenefitedfromthe
financialsupportoftheLondonSchoolofEconomicsandPoliticalSci-
ence,LaFondationpourl’InnovationPolitique,agrantfromFundsfor
WomenGraduate,arecognitionawardfromInternationalFederationof
UniversityWomen,andaTravelandResearchGrantfromUniversityof
London Central Research Fund. I wish to thank these institutions for
theirgeneroussupport.
Sections of this work are adapted from the following publications:
Ajana, B. (2010). ‘Recombinant identities: Biometrics and narrative
bioethics’,JournalofBioethicalInquiry,vol.7,no.2andAjana,B.(2012).
‘Biometriccitizenship’,JournalofCitizenshipStudies,vol.16,no.7.