Anthropology in the Margins

of the State

Edited, by Veena Das and Deborah Poole

OU N IXV E RFS I OT Y RP R EDS S

 OXFORD
U N I V E 11vSIT V I 'l l F.SS

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 Contents

A cknow ledgm ents vii

1 State a n d Its M argins: C om parative E th n o g rap h ies 3

Veena Das and Deborah Poole

2 B etw een T h re a t an d G u aran tee: Justice a n d C om m unity

in the M argins o f the P eruvian State 35
Deborah Poole

3 C heckpoint: A nthropology, Identity, a n d th e State 6 ?

Pradeep Jeganathan

4 D eterritorialized C itizenship an d the R esonances

of the S ierra L eo n ean S tate 81
M ariane C. Ferme

5 A n th ro p o lo g ist Discovers L egendary Tw o-Faced

Indian! M argins, the S tate, an d D uplicity in
Postw ar G uatem ala 117
Diane Af. Nelson

6 AIDS a n d W itchcraft in Post-A partheid S o u th Africa 141

A dam Ashforth

7 O perability: Surgery at th e M argin of th e State 165

Lawrence Cohen

v
 C ontents

8 Productivity in the M argins: T h e R econstitution

o f State P ow er in the C had Basin 91
Janet Roitm an

9 T h e S ignature o f ihe State: T h e Paradox o f Illegibility 225

Veena Das

10 C ontesting D isplacem ent in Colom bia: C itizenship

and State Sovereignty at th e M argins 253
Victoria Sanford

11 W here A re th e M argins o f th e State? 279

Talal A sad

R eferences 289
Index 321

vi
 Acknowledgments

It is a p le a su re to o ffe r o u r thanks to th e staff o f th e S ch o o l o f

A m erican R esearch, Santa Fe, an d especially Leslie S hipm an, for their
m arvelous h o sp itality d u rin g th e ad v an ced sem in ar in w hich these
papers w ere discussed. O u r colleagues an d stu d en ts at Johns H opkins
U niversity c o n tin u e to p ro v id e a stim u la tin g in tellectu al e n v iro n ­
m en t— we th a n k them for th e m any discussions that have seep ed into
o u r w riting. We are g ratefu l to Becky D an iels, w ho c h e e rfu lly com ­
pleted the final task o f fo rm attin g and co n so lid atin g the re feren ce list.
A nd we th a n k Ja n ie s B rooks a n d C a th e rin e C ocks at SAR Press for
efficiently ste e rin g the m an u scrip t thro u g h publication.

Veen a Das
Deborah Poole

Ml
Anthropology in the Margins
o f the State
 1

State and Its Margins

Comparative Ethnographies
Veena Das and Deborah Poole

T h is b o o k is a b o u t m argins, th e places fro m w hich we seek to

u n d e rsta n d w hat co u n ts as th e study o f th e state in anthropology. T h e
c h a p te rs co llected h e re began as p a rt o f a S c h o o l o f A m e ric a n
R esearch advanced sem inar. T h ere w e asked an th ro p o lo g ists w orking
on d ifferen t regions to reflect on w h at w ould c o n stitu te the e th n o g ra ­
phy o f th e state as e m b e d d e d in practices, places, a n d languages c o n ­
sid ered to be at th e m arg in s o f th e nation-state. A lth o u g h we in v ited
an th ro p o lo g ists whose w ork focused o n regions th a t have been d ra m a t­
ically affected by re c e n t political a n d eco n o m ic refo rm s, we w ere in te r­
ested in m oving away fro m the id ea th a t these refo rm s h a d som ehow
p ro d u c e d a w eak en in g o r sh rin k in g o f th e fo rm s o f re g u la tio n a n d
b e lo n g in g th a t su p p o sed ly c o n stitu te th e m o d e rn n atio n -state. O u r
analytical an d d escriptive strategy w as to distance ourselves from th e
e n tre n c h e d im age o f th e state as a rationalized adm inistrative fo rm o f
political o rg an izatio n th a t becom es w eakened o r less fully a rticu lated
along its territo rial o r social m argins. In stead , we ask ed sem inar p a rtic ­
ipants to reflect o n how th e practices a n d politics o f life in these areas
sh ap ed th e political, regulatory, an d disciplinary p ractices that co n sti­
tute, som ehow , th at th in g we call “th e state.”

3
 V ee na D as and D eborah P o o le

As a d isc ip lin e th at itself has often b e e n co n sid ered to o ccu p y a

m arginal voice in W estern political theory, an th ro p o lo g y offers an ideal
p o in t o f d e p a rtu re fo r th e ra d ic a l re th in k in g o f th e state th a t a view
from the m arg in s requires. A n th ro p o lo g y is freq u en tly c o n fig u re d as a
discipline th a t speaks for (o r at tim es w ith) th o se p o p u latio n s th a t have
b een m arg in alized |by th e political an d eco n o m ic strictures o f colonial
an d p o stco lo n ial rule. M oreover, e th n o g ra p h y is a m o d e o f k n o w in g
th a t privileges ex p erien ce— o fte n going in to realm s o f th e social th at
are n o t easily d iscern ib le w ith in th e m o re fo rm a l p ro to c o ls u s e d by
m any o th e r disciplines. As su ch , eth n o g rap h y offers a u n iq u e p ersp ec­
tive on th e so rts o f practices th a t seem to u n d o th e state at its te rrito ria l
an d co n cep tu al m argins. T h e reg io n al o r local perspectives o f a n th ro ­
pology are also im p o rta n t h e re , a lth o u g h fo r som ew hat d iffe re n t rea­
sons from th o se usually im plied w hen an th ro p o lo g ists speak o f regional
co m p ariso n s. T h e a n th ro p o lo g ists in this v o lu m e all w ork in states
a n d regions th a t are freq u en d y ch aracterized in com parative political
th eo ry as “new n a tio n s” w ith “fa ile d ,” “w eak,” o r “p artial” states, an d
th e ir w ork sp eak s in m any ways to th e p a rtic u la r m o d alities o f ru le
in Africa, L atin A m erica, a n d S o u th Asia . 1 Yet, th e ir e th n o g ra p h ie s o f
disciplinary, regulatory, an d e n fo rc e m en t p ractices are fram ed , n o t as
studies o f re g io n a l o r failed states, b u t ra th e r as invitations to re th in k
th e b o u n d aries betw een c e n te r a n d periphery, p u b lic and private, legal
a n d illegal, th a t also ru n th ro u g h th e h e a rt o f even the m ost “success­
fu l” E u ro p e a n lib eral state. A n a n th ro p o lo g y o f th e m arg in s o ffers a
u n iq u e p ersp ectiv e to th e u n d e rs ta n d in g o f th e state, n o t b e c a u se it
cap tu res ex o tic practices, b u t becau se it suggests th a t such m arg in s are
a necessary e n ta ilm e n t o f th e state, m u ch as th e ex cep tio n is a n eces­
sary c o m p o n e n t o f the rule.
F or reaso n s having to d o w ith its historical o rig in s as th e stu d y o f
“prim itive” p eo p les, an th ro p o lo g y has trad itio n ally n o t ack n o w led g ed
th e state as a p r o p e r su b ject fo r e th n o g ra p h ic in sp ectio n . W ith few
exceptions, a n th ro p o lo g y ’s subject, until recently, was u n d e rsto o d to be
prim itive o r “n o n -state” societies. S een from this perspective, th e state
seem ed d istan t fro m the e th n o g ra p h ic practices a n d m ethods th a t co n ­
stitu ted the p ro p e r, disciplinary subjects o f an thropology.
At the sam e tim e, however, th e language a n d figure o f th e sta te has
h a u n te d an th ropology. W h eth er we choose to p lace th e origins o f p o lit­

4
 T he S t a t e a n d I ts M argins

ical a n th ro p o lo g y w ith M o n te sq u ie u ([1748] 1 9 7 7 ), M aine ([1 8 6 6 ]

2 0 0 2 ), o r E v an s-P ritch ard (1940), th e quest to fin d o rd e r o r re a so n
a m o n g th e prim itives m akes use o f a language o f o rd e r th at is in h e rite d
fro m — an d indeed p a rt o f—the m o d e rn E u ro p ean sta te .2 In this sense,
a n th ro p o lo g y has always been, in m an y unack n o w led g ed ways, “a b o u t ”
th e state— even (a n d p erh ap s especially) when its subjects w ere co n sti­
tu te d as ex clu d ed fro m , o r o p p o se d to, th e fo rm s o f ad m in istrativ e
ratio n ality , political o rd e r, and a u th o rity c o n sig n e d to th e sta te . We
c o n te n d th at it is th ro u g h the lan g u ag e o f the state th a t an th ro p o lo g ists
have trad itio n ally c o n stitu te d th e tro p e s o f so cial o rd er, ratio n ality ,
a u th o rity , an d ev en ex tern ality fo r d efin in g th e ir subject. P ie rre
C lastres (1974), fo r ex am p le, c la im e d som e th irty years ago th a t th e
ratio n ality and form s o f life p ro p e r to o u r n o n m o d e rn e th n o g ra p h ic
su b jects w ere best u n d e rsto o d as expressions o f a collective d e sire to
fen d o ff th e im m in en t em ergence o f th e state. H e re , as in m any o th e r
a n th ro p o lo g ic a l tex ts, th e state was assum ed to b e an in ev itab le o r
ghostly presence th a t sh ap ed the m e a n in g and fo rm th at pow er to o k in
any given society. T h e w ork of the an th ro p o lo g ist, th e n , becam e th a t o f
c o rd o n in g off. the p rim itiv e from th e d o m ain of stately practices. In this
k in d o f a n th ro p o lo g ic a l practice, as in d e e d in th e early tra d itio n s o f
M arxist an d postcolonial w riting, th e prim itive was co n stitu ted as a n o s­
talgic site for the discovery o f the state form as a universal cultural o p e r­
a to r— even w hen n o t p resen t, it was seen as w aiting o n th e th re sh o ld o f
reality, as it w ere .3
A ny effort to re th in k th e state as a n object o f e th n o g ra p h ic in q u iry
m u st start, th en , by co n sid erin g h o w this d o u b le effect o f o rd e r a n d
tra n sc e n d e n c e has b e e n used to track th e presence o f th e state. O n o n e
level, o f course, states seem to be all a b o u t order. T h u s, in m ap p in g th e
effects a n d p resen ce o f “th e state” in local life, an th ro p o lo g ists o fte n
look fo r signs of adm inistrative a n d hierarchical rationalities th a t p ro ­
vide seem ingly o rd e re d links with th e political a n d regulatory a p p a ra ­
tus o f a central b u reau cratic state. T h is ap p ro ach in fo rm s m uch o f th e
re c e n t tu rn to th e sta te in a n th ro p o lo g ic a l w ritin g (for e x a m p le ,
F erg u so n an d G upta 2002; Fuller a n d H arris 2000; H erzfeld 2001:124-
25; H a n se n and S te p p u ta t 2001). S e e n from this perspective, th e task
o f th e a n th ro p o lo g ist becom es th a t o f first sig h tin g in sta n c e s o f
the sta te as it exists o n th e local level an d then analyzing those local

5
 V e e n a D as and D eborah P o o l e

m an ifestatio n s o f bureaucracy a n d law as culturally in fo rm ed in te rp re ­

tatio n s o r ap p ro p riatio n s of th e practices and fo rm s th at co n stitu te the
m o d e rn liberal state. T hese p a ro c h ia l sig h tin g s o f the state le a d , in
tu rn , to a m ore spatially and co n cep tu ally d isp ersed picture o f w h at the
state is, albeit o n e th at is still basically identifiable th ro u g h th e sta te ’s
affiliations with p a rtic u la r in stitu tio n al form s .4
O n e aspect o f thinking o f th e state in term s o f o rder-m aking fu n c­
tio n s is th at the spatial and social m argins that so oft'eti co n stitu te the
te rra in o f e th n o g ra p h ic fieldw ork a re seen as sites o f disorder, w h ere
th e state has been u n ab le to im p o se its order .5 W h ile it is true th a t p o lit­
ical an th ro p o lo g y staked its u n iq u e claim for u n d e rsta n d in g th e p o liti­
cal precisely by asking how o rd e r was m ain tain ed in so-called stateless
societies such as th e N u e r (E vans-Pritchard 1940), it did so by b ra c k e t­
in g any referen ce to th e fu n c tio n in g o f the actu al state—th e c o lo n ial
o n e — in th a t very co n tex t. As m a n y critics o f E v an s-P ritch ard have
p o in te d out, the segm entary system as a system o f b alan ced force co u ld
be p re se n te d as em bodying the o rd e re d politics o f N u er life, precisely
becau se th e disorders caused by th e colonial state w ere left o u t o f the
p ic tu re (see C o riat 1993; H u tc h in s o n 1996). A lth o u g h a tte n tio n to
co lo n ial contexts led to increased co n c e rn with th e state as a fa c to r in
th e fo rm atio n o f c e rta in types o f an th ro p o lo g ical subjects (B alan d ier
1951; G luckm an 1963; M eillassoux [1975] 1981), b o th political a n th ro ­
pologists (for exam ple, G ledhill 1994; V incent 1990) an d postcolonial
an d su b altern theorists (see the several volum es o n su b altern stu d ies by
th e S u b a lte rn C ollective) have te n d e d , until re c e n tly , to e m p h a siz e
e ith e r resistance to th e state or th e local form s o f legal, econom ic, an d
cu ltu ral plurality th a t m ark ed an th ro p o lo g ical su b jects as co n tain ed by
o r articu lated with th e state.
G iven th at it is im possible to th in k o f political system s in th e c o n ­
te m p o ra ry w orld as in h a b itin g an y fo rm o f stateless societies, a re we
o b serv in g sim ply in co m p lete— o r fru stra te d — form s o f the state in su ch
situations? O r do th e form s of illegibility, partial b elo n g in g , and d iso r­
d er th a t seem to in h a b it the m argins o f the state c o n stitu te its necessary
c o n d itio n as a th eo retical and political object?
K ey to this asp ect o f th e p ro b le m o f m argins is th e re la tio n sh ip
b etw een violence a n d th e o rd erin g fu n ctio n s of th e state. In fo rm ed as
it is by a particular p ic tu re o T h u m an n atu re, E u ro p ean political th e o l­

6
 T he State and Its M argins

ogy h as bestow ed th e state with b o th th e quality o f tran scen d en ce a n d a

re la te d m o n o p o ly o v e r violence (see A bram s 1 9 8 8 ).6 M ax W e b e r’s
fam o u s fo rm u latio n o n th e criteria fo r co u n tin g a political o rg an iza­
tion as a state may b e w o rth recalling h e re . In his w ords, “A ‘ru lin g o rg a­
n iz a tio n ’ will be called ‘political’ in so fa r as its ex isten ce and o rd e r is
c o n tin u o u sly sa fe g u a rd e d w ithin a given territorial a re a by th e th re a t
and ap p licatio n o f physical force o n th e p a rt of th e adm inistrative staff.
A co m p u lso ry political organization w ith co n tin u o u s o p eratio n s (politis-
cher Anstaltsbetrieh) will b e called a ‘s ta te ’ in so far as its adm inistrative
staff successfully u p h o ld s the claim to th e monopoly o f th e legitimate use
o f p h y sical force in th e e n fo rc e m e n t o f its o r d e r” (W eber 1978:54;
em phasis in o rig in al). W eber also em phasized th a t use o f force in any
o th e r type o f o rg an izatio n would be co n sid ered leg itim ate only if it was
p e rm itte d by the state o r prescribed by it. Thus, “th e claim o f th e m o d ­
ern sta te to m o n o p o lize th e use o f fo rc e is as essential to it as its ch arac­
te r o f co m p u lso ry ju ris d ic tio n a n d c o n tin u o u s o p e ra tio n ” (5 6 ). In
d e fin in g th e state as th a t w hich re p la c e s private v en g ean ce w ith th e
rule o f law, W eber was, o f course, b u ild in g on earlier trad itio n s o f K ant
an d H eg el, for w hom th e state in m o d ern ity was d e fin e d by clear-cut
b o u n d a rie s betw een th e external realm o f law and th e in tern al realm o f
ethics, a n d also b e tw e e n th e realm o f universalistic reaso n p ro p e r to
the sta te an d p rim o rd ia l relations p ro p e r to the fam ily (for ex am p le,
H egel [1821] 1991; K an t [1797] 1965). In h e re n t in this im ag in atio n o f
the fig u re o f law was th e creation o f b o u n d aries b etw een those p ra c ­
tices a n d spaces th a t w ere seen to fo rm p a rt of th e state an d those th a t
w ere e x clu d ed fro m it. Legitim acy, in tu rn , em erg ed as a fu n ctio n o f
this b o u n d ary -m ark in g effect o f state practices. T h e violence o f w arfare
c o n tra c te d betw een states and police co n tro l of th e diffused violence o f
society by force w ere co n stitu ted as legitim ate becau se they w ere o f th e
state. O th e r form s o f violence th a t seem ed e ith e r to m im ic state
violence o r to ch allen g e its control w ere deem ed illegitim ate.
In th is vision o f p o litical life, th e state is im a g in e d as an always
in c o m p le te p ro je c t th a t m ust c o n sta n tly be sp o k e n o f— a n d im a g ­
in e d — th ro u g h an in v o catio n o f th e w ilderness, law lessness, a n d
savagery th at not on ly lies outside its ju risd ictio n b u t also th reaten s it
from w ithin. Kant, fo r instance, assu m ed th at the en d s o f g o v ern m en t
in te rm s o f m a n a g in g th e e te rn a l w ell-being, civic w ell-being, a n d

7
 V ee na D as and D eborah P oole

physical w ell-being o f th e p e o p le were th re a te n e d from w ith in because

it was “n a tu ra l” for p e o p le to p u t th eir physical w ell-being above their
ch ic w ell-being and th e ir civic w ell-being above th e ir e te rn a l well-being.
F or K ant, this “state o f n a tu re ” th at th re a te n s th e civic o rd e r was to be
tran sfo rm ed by ed u catio n (Vries 2002). W eber— with w hom the theory
o f the ratio n alizatio n o f th e state is m ost closely associated— sim ilarly
treated this process as reg rettab ly in co m p lete, since th e form alism of
law h ad to c o n te n d with th e d em an d s o f p o p u la r ju s tic e .7 W e wish to
em p h asize th a t for th e se (a n d o th e r) fo u n d a tio n a l th e o rists o f th e
E u ro p ean state form , th e state itself was seen as always in d a n g e r o f los­
ing its h o ld over the ratio n al organization o f governance by th e force of
th e n atu ral fro m within. T h u s, dem an d s fo r p o p u la r ju stic e wrere in ter­
p re te d as a n ex p ressio n o f facets o f h u m a n n a tu re th a t h a d n o t yet
b een m astered by rationality.
A nd w h at about th e law lessness and w ilderness im ag in ed to reside
outside th e state? Instructive h e re is the c o n c e p t o f the state o f n atu re
as the necessary opposite and origin p o in t fo r the state an d th e law7. T he
fact th a t H o b b e s ([1 6 5 1 ] 1968), L ocke ([1 6 9 0 ] 1988), R ousseau
([1762] 1981), an d o th e r early theorists o f th e state im ag in ed th e state
o f n atu re th ro u g h the im ag e o f A m erica as b o th a real site o f savagery
and an id ealized prim o rd ial p lace suggests th a t we, too, sh o u ld th in k of
th e m argins o f th e state— th e “state o f n a tu re ”— as located in th e space
o f lan g u ag e a n d p ractice w h e re th e real sp aces o r sites th a t provide
im petus to th e idea of th e state o f n atu re m e e t th e m ythical o r philo­
sophical o rig in s o f the state. L ocated always on th e m argins o f w hat is
a c c e p ted as th e te rrito ry o f u n q u e s tio n e d sta te c o n tro l (a n d legiti­
m acy), th e m arg in s we e x p lo re in this b o o k a re sim u ltan eo u sly sites
w here n a tu re can be im ag in ed as wild a n d u n c o n tro lle d a n d w h ere the
state is co n stan tly refo u n d in g its m odes o f o rd e r an d law m aking. T hese
sites are n o t m erely territo rial: they are also, a n d perh ap s m o re im p o r­
tantly, sites o f practice on w hich law an d o th e r state practices a re colo­
nized by o th e r form s o f re g u la tio n th a t e m a n a te from th e p ressin g
needs o f p o p u latio n s to secu re political a n d eco n o m ic survival.
It is im p o rta n t to u n d e rsc o re th at at o u r sem in ar at S a n ta Fe, we
did not start w ith the assu m p tio n th at we h a d a sh ared u n d e rsta n d in g
o f w hat w o u ld c o u n t as th e m argins. A lth o u g h all a u th o rs w an ted to
think b ey o n d a simply spatial m odel o f c e n te r an d periphery; th e dis-

8
 T he S tate a n d I ts M argins

cussions in S anta Fe m a d e it e v id e n t th a t the re la tio n betw een sover­

eign a n d disciplinary form s o f pow er, as well as th e specific g en ealo g ies
o f p o litical an d eco n o m ic subjects, in fo rm ed o u r various ideas a b o u t
the m arg in s. O u r conversations led us to fo rm u late these issues a ro u n d
th ree co n cep ts o f m argins.
T h e first ap p ro ach gave prim acy to the idea o f m argins as p e rip h ­
eries se e n to form n a tu ra l c o n ta in e rs fo r p e o p le c o n sid e re d in su ffi­
ciently socialized in to th e law. As eth n o g ra p h e rs, we w ere in te re ste d in
u n d e rsta n d in g the specific tech n o lo g ies o f pow er th ro u g h w hich states
a tte m p t to “m an ag e” o r “pacify” th e se p o p u latio n s th ro u g h b o th fo rce
and a pedagogy o f conversion in te n d e d to tran sfo rm “unruly su b jects”
into law ful subjects o f th e state. In several cases discussed in this b o o k
(G uatem ala, Peru, S o u th A frica), m arg in al p o p u latio n s are fo rm e d o f
“in d ig e n o u s” oiP T iatural” subjects, w ho are at o n c e co n sid ered to be
fo u n d a tio n a l to p articu lar n atio n al identities an d ex clu d ed fro m these
sam e id e n titie s by th e sorts o f disciplinary know ledge th a t m ark th e m as
racially a n d civilizationally “o th e r.” In these cases, ju rid ic a l claim s to
inclusion are u n d e rm in e d in in te re stin g ways by disciplinary fo rm s o f
pow er th a t destabilize th e very d isco u rses o f b e lo n g in g th a t claim to
bind su b jects to the state an d its laws. In o th er cases (C olom bia, C h ad ,
Sierra L eo n e, S ri.L anka), th e p ed ag o g y o f conversion is played o u t in
less se ttle d ways am o n g subjects w h o have been u p ro o te d o r d isp laced
by acts o f war. In these cases, subjects are co n stitu ted juridically as p e r­
m a n e n t in h ab itan ts o f th e sam e fo rm s o f u n c o n tro lle d o r private ju s ­
tice th a t u n d e rg ird so v ereig n p o w e r in th e fo rm o f w ar a n d th e
ex cep tio n .
A se c o n d , re la te d a p p ro a c h to th e c o n c e p t o f th e m a rg in th a t
e m e rg e d fro m o u r p a p e rs an d s e m in a r discu ssio n s h in g es a ro u n d
issues o f legibility an d illegibility. L ike o th e r an th ro p o lo g ists, h e re we
begin by tak in g n o te o f th e w ell-know n fact that so m u c h o f the m o d e rn
state is co n stru cted th ro u g h its w ritin g practices. W e recognize th a t th e
d o c u m e n ta ry an d sta tistic s-g a th e rin g p ractices o f th e state a re all
in te n d e d , in som e sense, to co n so lid ate state co n tro l over subjects, p o p ­
ulations, territories, an d lives. In o u r sem in ar discussions, how ever, we
soon re a liz ed th at o u r e th n o g ra p h ie s w orked ag ain st th e n o tio n th a t
the state is som ehow “a b o u t” its legibility. R ather, o u r papers seem ed to
p o in t in ste a d to th e m an y d iffe re n t spaces, fo rm s, an d p ra c tic e s

9
V e e n a D as and D eborah P o o le

th ro u g h w hich th e state is co n tin u ally both ex p e rie n c ed and u n d o n e

th ro u g h th e illegibility o f its ow n p ractices, d o c u m e n ts, an d w ords.
A m o n g th e sorts o f p ractices we c o n sid e r are th e eco n o m ies o f dis­
p la c e m e n t, falsification, an d in te rp re ta tio n s u rro u n d in g th e circu la­
tio n an d use o f p erso n al id en tificatio n papers. P ro m in e n t h e re as well
is th e tension-filled space o f th e ch eck p o in t. As a site w here assu m p ­
tions ab o u t the security o f identity an d rights can b eco m e su d d en ly and
so m etim es vio len tly u n se ttle d , th e c h e c k p o in t led us to th in k also
a b o u t th e d istin ct tem p o ral dynam ics s u rro u n d in g p e o p le ’s in te ra c ­
tions with the state and state d o cu m en ts.
Yet a third ap p ro a c h focuses o n th e m argin as a space betw een b o d ­
ies, law, and discipline. A fter all, sovereign pow er exercised by the state
is n o t only ab o u t territories; it is also ab o u t bodies. In fact, o n e m ay co n ­
te n d th at the p ro d u c tio n of a biopolitical body is th e originary activity
o f sovereign pow er. M any a n th ro p o lo g ists have u sed the n o tio n o f
biopow er to track th e way pow er spreads its tentacles into the capillary
b ran ch es o f th e social. T he privileged site of this process has b een th e
grow ing pow er o f m edicine to d e fin e the “n o rm a l.” Yet, the larg er issue
is th e question o f how politics becom es the d o m a in in w hich “life” is
p u t in question. In th at sense, the m argins provide a particularly in te r­
estin g vantage positio n from w hich to observe th e colonization o f law
by disciplines, as w ell as the p ro d u c tio n o f c a te g o rie s o f p ath o lo g y
th ro u g h tactics th a t are parasitical o n law even as they drawr rep erto ires
o f action from it. O u r sem inar discussions on this set o f issues to o k th e
n o tio n o f the b io p o litic a l state in en tirely u n e x p e c te d d ire c tio n s as
strategies o f citizenship, technological im aginaries, an d new regions o f
lan g u ag e were analyzed as co-constructing the state an d the m argins.
T hese th ree concepts o f th e m argin all suggest different m o d es o f
occupying m argins th an m ight b e to ld by a sim ple story o f exclusion. In
th e rem ain d er o f this in tro d u ctio n , we consider how th e au th o rs in this
boo k trace these d ifferen t senses o f th e m argin in th e ir eth n o g rap h ic
w ork and how in so d o in g they draw on and rearticu late thinking ab o u t
th e state, sovereignty, an d b io p o litics in re c e n t political theory. T h e
c h ap ters are n o t organized a ro u n d o n e or the o th e r concept o f m a r­
gins. T hese th ree n o tio n s are p re se n t b u t have d ifferen t w eights in each
ch ap ter. In the follow ing sections, we ask how th e logic of e x c e p tio n
o p erates in relatio n to the m argins, how eco n o m ic an d political citi­

o
 T h e S ta te and I t s M ar g in s

zenship is claim ed, an d h o w we u n d erstan d th e w orking o f the biopo­

litical state fro m the p ersp ectiv es o f reg io n s w hose e x p e rie n c es have
n o t n o rm ally inform ed this set o f co n cep tu al issues.

LAW, M A R G I N S , A N D E X C E P T I O N
R e c e n t a n th ro p o lo g ic a l w ork has d o n e m u ch to illu m in a te the
co n tex ts in w hich war a n d o th e r form s o f collective violence are exper­
ien ced as e ith e r states o f crisis o r states o f ex cep tio n . T hus, a n th ro p o lo ­
gists h av e reflected on h o w th e contexts o f civil war, g e n e ra l political
v io len ce, a u th o rita ria n ru le , a n d e m erg en cy pow ers sh a p e p e o p le ’s
sense o f com m unity, self, a n d political fu tu re (for exam ple, Das et al.
2000, 2001; Feldm an 1991; F erin e 2001). A t stake h ere as well has been
an e x te n d e d discussion o f th e ways in w hich violence an d w ar shape the
very te rm s in w hich e th n o g ra p h y can tak e place (fo r ex am p le,
N o rd stro m 1995). In this lite ra tu re , the ex cep tio n tends to be treated
as r b o u n d e d entity o r fo rm o f em ergency pow er, acknow ledged as an
increasingly frequent, yet som ehow a b e rra n t face o f the m o d e rn states
in w hich eth n o g rap h ers w ork.
W hile o u r own w ork h as ben efited in m u ltip le ways from these sorts
o f discussions, o u r c o n cep t o f the m argin goes well beyond th e sense of
“e x c e p tio n ” as an ev en t th a t can be c o n fin e d to p a rtic u la r kinds o f
spaces o r p erio d s in tim e, o r a co n d itio n th a t stands o p p o se d , som e­
how, to “n o rm a l” form s o f state power. R ather, we draw on th e very dif­
feren t a p p ro a c h to the e x c e p tio n articulated by W alter B enjam in, Carl
S chm itt, a n d , m ost recently, G iorgio A gam ben, whose w ork has been
en g ag ed by an th ro p o lo g ists in terested in q u estio n s o f sovereignty and
biopow er.
In his reth in k in g o f th e p ro b le m of sovereignty and th e exception,
A gam ben (1998) has resu scitated the figure o f homo sacer, an obscure
figure o f a rc h a ic R o m an law, as th e e m b o d im e n t of “b a re life,” in
o rd e r to re th in k sovereignty as exercised, n o t over territo ries, b u t over
life a n d d e a th . F urther, th is life is “b a re ” b ecau se it can be tak en by
an y o n e w ith o u t any m e d ia tio n fro m law a n d w ith o u t in c u rrin g the
guilt o f h o m icid e. H o m o sacer, th en , is th e p erso n w ho can be killed
but not sacrificed. A gam ben q u o te s the w ords o f P om peius Festus: “T he
sacred m a n is th e one w h o m th e people have judged on a c c o u n t of a
crim e. It is n o t p erm itted to sacrifice this m an , vet he w ho kills him will
V eena D as and D eborah P oole

n o t be c o n d e m n e d for h o m ic id e ” (71). B are life, then, tu rn s o u t to be

so m e th in g c o n stitu ted in so m e senses as “b e fo re th e law .” B ecause
hom o sacer, th is.e m b o d im e n t o f bare life, c a n n o t be sacrificed , h e is
outside th e purview of divine law, and becau se o ne who kills him cannot
be accused o f hom icide, h e is also outside th e purview o f h u m a n law.
We will n o t go into th e questions o f h isto rical accuracy h e re — there
are p laces in w hich A g a m b e n ’s text is in d e e d bare. E x a m p le s are
offered in a cryptic fashion, b u t they are n o t elaborated. F o r instance,
in sev en teen th -cen tu ry tex ts o n sovereignty, it was the f a th e r ’s pow er
over the life an d death o f th e son that re p re se n te d legal n o tio n s o f sov-.
ereignty (see F ilm er 1949), a n d A gam ben rightly draws a tte n tio n to this
idea. B ut h e does not discuss w hether th e fa th e r’s exercise o f sovereign
pow er is an exam ple o f p o w e r over bare life, o r w h eth er in ste a d th e son
is to be se e n as a legally co n stitu ted subject. Similarly, A g a m b e n ’s dis­
cussion o f th e H abeas C o rp u s Act of 1679 begs the q u e stio n w hether
th e p e rso n w hose “b o d y ” is su p p o sed to b e p ro d u c e d in c o u rt is a
legally c o n stitu te d subject o r a bare body strip p e d of all social an d legal
m arks (F itzp atrick 2001). All o f these a re in tric a te q u estio n s. F or the
m om ent, w h a t we want to take from A g a m b e n ’s theory is th e im plica­
tion that law produces c e rta in bodies as “k illab le” because th ey are posi­
tioned by th e law itself as p rio r to the in stitu tio n o f law.
For A g am b en , the fig u re o f hom o sacer holds the key to an u n d er­
standing o f sovereignty a n d m o d ern p o litical an d legal co d es because
o f what it reveals o f the so v ereig n ’s pow er to reso rt to a b o u n d less state
o f ex cep tio n . H ere, A g am b en draws on th e w ork of B en jam in ([1978]
1986) an d S ch m itt ([1922] 1988) to a rg u e th a t the state o f exception
provides a th e o ry o f so v ereig n ty th at is b o th inside a n d o u tsid e law.
B ecause th e sovereign c a n n o t by d efin itio n b e b o u n d to th e law, the
political c o m m u n ity itse lf beco m es sp lit a lo n g th e d iffe re n t axes of
m em b ersh ip an d inclusion th a t may run a lo n g given fault lines o f race,
g en d er, a n d eth n icity o r m ay p ro d u c e new categ o ries o f p eo p le
included in th e political com m unity b u t d e n ie d m em b ersh ip in politi­
cal term s. T h e issue is n o t th a t m em bership is sim ply d e n ie d b u t rath er
th a t individuals are re co n stitu ted th ro u g h special laws as p o p u latio n s
on w hom n ew form s o f reg u latio n can be exercised. A lth o u g h th e split
betw een in clu sio n and m e m b e rsh ip may b e clear-cut— as, fo r instance,
in the ex clu sio n of certain races o r e th n ic itie s from citizen sh ip — it is
 T h e State and I t s M argins

w ell to re m e m b e r th a t states o f ex cep tio n , o f w hich w ar is th e classic

ex am p le, can red raw b o u n d aries so that those w ho w ere secu re in their
citizenship can b e expelled o r reco n stitu ted as d ifferen t k in d s o f bod­
ies. T h e p arad ig m atic ex am p le o f this for A g am b en is th e c o n c e n tra ­
tio n cam p, w h ere Jew s were first stripped o f th e ir citizenship a n d then
c o n fin ed to th e cam p and su b je c te d to its atrocities. O th er ex am p les of
su ch exceptions fro m “inside” in clu d e the in te rn m e n t o f A m erican cit­
iz e n s o f J a p a n e se d escen t d u r in g th e S e c o n d W orld W ar, o r m ore
re c e n t legislation co n cern in g su ch categories as “terro rist.”
T hus, a lth o u g h A gam ben p resen ts the fig u re o f hom o sacer at least
in som e instances as if it in h a b ite d som e kind o f presocial life, it would
a p p e a r th at k illab le bodies a re , in fact, p ro d u c e d through a com plex
legal process o f ren d erin g th em as bare life (Fitzpatrick 2001). T his may
explain why o n e can detect two d ifferen t m odalities o f rule in A g am b en ’s
co n cep tio n o f b a re life. In so m e places, he assigns it to specific spaces
(th e c o n c e n tra tio n cam p) a n d figures o f m o d e rn life (re fu g e es), as
instantiations o f how bare life is em bodied a n d acted u p o n in m odern
fo rm s o f sta te h o o d ; in o th e r in stan ces, he seem s to see b a re life as a
th re a t held in abeyance and a state into which any citizen could fall. This
latter u n d erstan d in g o f bare life as the exception invites a tte n tio n to one
sense o f m argins th a t we em ploy h ere, as sites th a t d o n o t so m u ch lie out­
side the state b u t rather, like rivers, ru n th ro u g h its body.
O n one p o in t, however, w e d iffer from A gam ben, for w e feel that
states o f ex cep tio n , differences betw een m em b ersh ip and in clu sio n , or
figures that resid e b o th inside a n d outside th e law, do n o t m ak e their
a p p e a ra n c e as g h o sd y sp ectral p resen ces fro m th e past b u t ra th e r as
p ra c tic e s e m b e d d e d in everyday life in th e p re se n t. In th is volum e,
th e n , we su g g est two ways in w h ich A g a m b e n ’s n o tio n o f e x c e p tio n
fram es o u r e th n o g ra p h ic e x p lo ratio n s o f th e m argins. First, o u r search
fo r th e m argins o ften settles o n those practices th a t seem to b e about
th e continual re fo u n d in g of law th ro u g h form s o f violence a n d a u th o r­
ity th a t can be c o n stru e d as b o th extrajudicial a n d outside, o r p rio r to,
th e state. This re fo u n d in g h a p p e n s bo th th ro u g h th e p ro d u c tio n o f kil­
lab le bodies, as p o sited by A g am b en , and th ro u g h the sorts o f pow er
em b o d ie d by fig u res such as th e policem an o r local “boss.” L ike hom o
sacer, these fig u res enjoy a c e rta in im m unity to law precisely because
they are co n fig u red as existing o u tsid e or p rio r to th e law.

3
V ee na D as an d D e b o r a h P oole

F or K ant, Hegel,, a n d o th er liberal theorists, th e origins of law are

traced to th e fo u n d a tio n a l and u ltim ately private (o r “n atu ral’') form s
o f law th at p reced ed th e state (see A sad 2003). In o u r eth n o g rap h ies,
this q u estio n of the o rig in s of law em erg es, n o t as th e m yth of the state,
but ra th e r in the fo rm o f m en w hose abilities to re p re se n t the state o r
to en fo rce its laws a re them selves p re m ise d on th e m e n 's reco g n ized
ability to m ove with im pun ity betw een appeals to th e form of law a n d
forms o f extrajudicial practice that are clearly construed as lying outside,
o r p rio r to, th e state. E xam ples o f su c h figures in c lu d e the P eruvian
gamonal, o r local stro n g m an , who rep resen ts the state th ro u g h both p a r­
ticular form s of incivility and m odes o f violence th at are m arked as ille­
gal (P o o le ); C o lo m b ia n p aram ilitary forces th a t a c t b o th as an
extension o f the arm y an d as conduits fo r the flow o f arm s to drug lo rd s
o r p lan tatio n s (S an fo rd ); and brokers w ho inhabit th e econom ic fro n ­
tiers d escrib ed by R o itm an . Such fig u res o f local a u th o rity re p re se n t
bo th h ig h ly p e rso n a liz e d form s o f p riv ate pow er a n d th e supposedly
im personal o r n e u tra l authority of th e state. It is precisely because they
also act as re p re se n ta tiv e s o f th e sta te th at they a re able to m ove
across— an d thus m u d d y — the seem ingly clear divide separating legal
and extralegal form s o f p u n ish m en t a n d en fo rcem en t. In m any ways,
these local figures w ho build their ch arism a and p o w er through idiom s
o f rudeness, incivility, a n d threat are sim ilar to the “big m e n ” described
by G o d elier and S tra th e rn (1991). L ike the “big m e n ,” they do n o t so
m uch e m b o d y “tra d itio n a l” a u th o rity as a m u ta tio n o f tra d itio n a l
authority m ade possible by the in te rm itte n t pow er o f th e state. Such fig­
ures, w ho ap p ear in d iffe re n t guises in th e different eth n o g rap h ic c o n ­
texts o f th e chapters in this volum e— as brokers, w heeler-dealers, local
big m en, param ilitary— rep resen t at o n c e the fading o f th e state’s ju ris­
diction a n d its c o n tin u a l re fo u n d in g th ro u g h its (n o t so m y th ic)
a p p ro p riatio n o f p riv ate ju stice and violence. In this sense, they are th e
public secret th ro u g h w hich the p erso n s w ho em body law, bureaucracy,
and violence that to g e th e r constitute th e state m ove beyond the realm
o f m yth to becom e jo in e d in the reality o f everyday life.
C o n sid e ra tio n o f th ese p e rso n a e help s us u n d e rs ta n d how th e
fro n tier betw een th e legal and extralegal runs rig h t w ithin the offices
an d in stitu tio n s th a t em b o d y the state. D as,-for in sta n c e , offers an
exam ple o f a p o licem an , known for his fierce integrity, w ho com es u p

4
 T h e S t a te and I ts M a r g i n s

against a pow erful m afia-like o p eratio n an d nearly loses his life. D espite
the fact th a t he is a fu n ctio n ary o f th e state, he, too, is convinced th a t
the ju d ic ia l process is in cap ab le of p in n in g the crim e o n th e p ersons
re sp o n sib le , an d th u s h e p ro ceed s to v io late the p ro c e d u ra l law in
o rd e r to h an d o u t w hat h e considers to be substantive ju stice. T he sam e
p olice officer, w hen involved in th e s ta te ’s co u n te rin su rg e n c y o p e ra ­
tions ag ain st w hat a re d e fin e d as m ilitan t o r terro rist organizations, is
killed by his own tru sted deputy, becau se w hen police p en e tra te these
m ilitan t o r terrorist organizations to fight them , th e lin es betw een the
te rro ris t a n d the p o lic e m a n b e c o m e b lu rre d . As in J e g a n a th a n ’s
d escrip tio n , so in D as, state practices in em ergency zones, o r states o f
ex cep tio n , can n o t b e u n d e rsto o d in term s o f law and transgression, b u t
ra th e r in term s o f p ractices th at lie sim ultaneously o u tsid e and inside
th e law. As a n e m b o d im e n t o f th e state o f ex c e p tio n , th e p o licem an
c h a lle n g e s, n o t this o r th a t law, b u t th e very p o ssib ility o f law itself
(B enjam in [1978] 1986; D errid a 1992; Taussig 1997). By engaging this
p h ilo so p h ical d ilem m a at th e origin o f th e state a n d law as an e th n o ­
grap h ic p roblem , th e a u th o rs in this b o o k m ake clear th a t this p ro b lem .
o f th e o rig in o f law is n o t a ghostly sp e c te r from th e past, as in, fo r
ex am p le, A g am b en ’s a p p ro p ria tio n o f th e figure o f h o m o sacer from
R om an law, b u t ra th e r th e result o f th e co n crete p ractices in w hich life
and la b o r are en g ag ed (see R abinow 2002).
A seco n d area in w hich o u r w ork addresses th eo ries o f sovereignty
and th e exception co n c e rn s practices th a t have to d o w ith the securing
and u n d o in g o f id en tities. H ere, a p a rtic u la r area o f in te re st concerns
the d o c u m e n ta tio n th ro u g h w hich th e state claim s to secu re identities,
b u t w h ich in p ra c tic e o fte n circu lates in ways th a t u n d e rm in e th ese
sam e id en tities an d assurances. A m ong th e various k in d s o f d o cu m en ts
issued by g o vernm ents a n d supposed to act as g u aran tees o f belo n g in g ­
ness, passports are th e m ost elite. T h e m ajority o f th e p o p u latio n , how ­
ever, e n c o u n te rs th e sta te th ro u g h d o c u m e n ts su ch as ratio n card s,
id en tity cards, crim inal com plaints, c o u rt papers, b irth an d death cer­
tificates, an d First In fo rm a tio n R ep o rts filed in p o lice stations. T h ese
d o cu m en ts b ear th e d o u b le sign o f th e sta te ’s distance a n d its p e n e tra ­
tion in to th e life o f th e everyday. In d e e d , several scholars have recently
a rg u e d th a t it is th ro u g h these d o c u m e n ta ry p ractices th a t th e state
m akes th e p o p u latio n legible to itself, creatin g w hat has b een referred

*5
V e e n a D as and D e b o r a h P oole

to as a legibility effect (J. Scott 1998). T ro u illo t (2001:126), for exam ­

ple, suggests that th e legibility effect is th e “p ro d u c tio n o f bo th a lan­
g u ag e a n d a k n o w led g e for g o v e rn a n c e and o f th e o re tic a l an d
em pirical tools that classify and reg u late collectivities.” T h e re is indeed
a vast literatu re on th e classificatory a n d carto g rap h ic p ractices o f the
state th a t points to th e k n o w led g e/p o w er alliance in th e new m odels o f
g o v ern an ce th at arise w ith the co n stru ctio n o f the id e a o f population
(see A p p ad u rai 1996; D irks 2001; F o u cau lt 1979; M itchell 1988; P errot
and W o o lf 1984; J. S co tt 1998; R. S m ith 1996).
W h a t in terests us h e re , how ever, is n o t how th e sta te m akes the
p o p u la tio n legible to itself b u t how th ese docu m en ts b e c o m e em bod­
ied in form s o f life th ro u g h w hich ideas o f subjects a n d citizens com e to
circulate am o n g those w ho use these d o cu m en ts. F or ex am p le, in h er
c h a p te r in this b o o k , M arian e F e rin e n o tes how sta te d o cu m en ts
shadow a n d co n strict m ig ran ts, trav elers, an d refu g ees as they m ove
across d ifferen t sorts o f b o rd ers and checkpoints. As a n exam ple, she
tells o f a m an whose o rig in al, and now invalid, Sierra L e o n e a n identity
card was based on a false identity and b irth date. To claim deterritorial-
ized citizen sh ip as a S ierra L eonean w ar refugee— an d th u s to gain cer­
tain rig h ts w ithin o th e r, h o st states— th e m an m u st e m b ra c e th at
id en tity as th e only o n e o n w hich his n ew status as a re fu g e e can be
fo rg ed . H is identity as a S ierra L e o n e a n citizen, th e n , exists in an
inverse re la tio n to th e S ierra L e o n e a n sta te ’s ability to secu re that
identity .8 In o th er sto ries told by Sierra L eo n ean travelers a n d m igrants,
F erm e le a rn s how p a ssp o rts issued by th e British d u rin g th e colonial
reg im e b e c a m e in v alid o n in d e p e n d e n c e , thus fo rc in g citizens w ho
were traveling to scram b le to acquire n ew docum ents w ith in im possibly
short tim e fram es, fro m consulates th a t d id n o t yet exist. O f particular
im p o rta n c e h ere is th e tem p o ral e x p e rie n c e o f the state. T hus, w hen
the state in terv en es to rev o k e identity p a p e rs for seem in g ly arbitrary
reaso n s, F e rm e ’s in fo rm a n t feels p o w erless as h e is fo rc e d to wait
m o n th s a n d to p o stp o n e scholarships, w ork, and travel p lan s in a des­
p e ra te a tte m p t to a c q u ire new id e n tity p ap ers an d c o n fo rm to the
new a n d seem ingly a rb itra ry dem an d s o f th e state. In su ch cases, the
law is e x p e rie n c e d as a largely arb itrary im position w h o se effects are
felt as w h at Ferm e d escrib es as conflicting “sp atio tem p o ralities.”

6
 T h e S tate and I t s M argins

P oole’s c h a p te r describes sim ilar tem p o ral disruptions in th e ways

Peruvian p easan ts engage th e state through th e endless ancTseem ingly
arbitrary flow o f p ap erw o rk th a t constitutes th e ir ex p erien ces o f “ju s­
tice.” In th e areas she describes, legal cases rarely reach co n clu sio n , and
“ju stice” itself is m o re com m only spoken of, n o t as so m eth in g th at can
b e obtained, b u t ra th e r as th e ep h em eral lin k th a t binds peasan ts to a
state w hose p ro m ise o f ju stic e takes th e form o f endless p ro c e d u re s and
th e always inconclusive p ap erw o rk th at drifts a m o n g d ifferen t instances
o f the ju d icial system. T he p ed ag o g ic aspects o f th e state are m anifested
h ere, not th ro u g h school tex tb o o k s on citizenship, but ra th e r through
th e practices by w hich subjects a re m ade to le a rn th e gap b etw een m em ­
bership an d belonging. P oole shows that th e re is som e su b stan ce to the
idea that th e spaces these p easan ts inhabit a re m arginal spaces, with an
absence o f ro ad s, schools, o r o th e r signs o f th e presence o f th e state.
W hat allows th e state never to b e h eld responsible to its ow n prom ises,
however, is th e co m b in atio n o f this physical lo catio n an d o th e r ideas
ab o u t the “n a tu ra l” m argiriality o f indigenous peasants.
T he te m p o ra l c o n fig u ra tio n an d e x p e rie n c e o f such e n c o u n te rs
w ith the arb itrary pow er o f th e state can also b e th o u g h t o f as the highly
m obile spaces th a t P rad eep J e g a n a th a n aptly describes in his c h a p te r as
“m aps o f a n tic ip a tio n .” T h e se a re spaces w h e re th e p ed ag o g ic claim s
an d assurances o f law an d th e n a tio n beco m e u n settled by state prac­
tices. For Je g a n a th a n , as fo r o th e r authors in th e volum e, th e m ilitary
o r police c h e c k p o in t e m e rg e s as a site fro m w h ich this tro u b lin g of
expectations a n d legibilities ru b s u p against th e norm alcy o f th e every­
day. Je g a n a th a n evokes th e m o st ordinary o f events in the p ro cess o f a
daily c o m m u te in th e city o f C o lo m b o in Sri L anka: a c o m m u te r is
sto p p ed at a c h eck p o in t fo r h is identity card. W h a t could this m ean in a
co untry th a t u n til recendy w as in th e m idst o f a civil war? W h e re terro r­
ists, insurgents, m ilitants, o r fre e d o m fighters (th e ap p ellatio n dep en d s
u p o n how o n e read s the co n flict) use tech n iq u es o f te rro r/m a rty rd o m
such as suicide bom bings a n d w h ere security forces, in tu rn , u se sim ilar
tech n iq u es o f te rro r co u n terin su rg en cy , th e q u estio n , w h e re a re the
b o rd ers o f th e state? is fra u g h t w ith u n c e rta in ty a n d risk, fo r b o rd e r­
m ak in g p ra c tic e s ru n w ithin th e political a n d social te rrito ry ra th e r
th a n outside it.

17
 V eena D as and D ebo ra h P oole

T his m obility in h e re n t to the spaces an d settings in w hich b o rd e r­

m aking p ractices e m e rg e destabilizes th e in h e re n tly te rrito ria l la n ­
guages o f co n tain m en t a n d sovereignty th a t seem to b in d th e nation to
the state. W riting a b o u t ch eck p o in ts in co n tested te rrito rie s in
C olom bia, fo r exam ple, V ictoria S anford describes how different m ili­
tary forces com pete fo r co n tro l of c o n c re te territories. In these territo ­
ries th a t have becom e in som e ways tru ly “m arginal” to th e state, th e
u n certain ties o f o n e’s ow n position w ith respect to th e guaran tees an d
pro tectio n o f state law a re fu rth er co m p licated by the deliberately illeg­
ible id e n titie s an d lo c a tio n s of the p aram ilitaries w h o are sim u l­
taneously o f an d n o t o f th e state. In h e r reflectio n s o n P eruvian
checkpoints, D eborah P o o le describes how th e in ten tio n s and even th e
existence o f th e state b e c o m e su d d en ly illegible d u rin g the ten se
m o m en ts w hen id e n tity cards are s u rre n d e re d to sta te officials.
A lthough su ch spaces a re often fleeting a n d u n p red ictab le— as w hen
som eone in a position o f authority su d d en ly stops so m eo n e to request
do cu m en ts in the street— they can also b eco m e in a sense routinized in
the p e rm a n e n c v and visibility of phvsical checkpoints. As Jeg a n a th a n
points o u t in his chapter, it is through th ese “m aps of an ticip atio n ” th at
residents o f a city or w ar zone com e to an ticip ate an d in tern alize th e
u n p re d ic ta b ility o f v io le n c e precisely th ro u g h the p re d ic ta b ility o f
physical sites w here th e state exerts its ow n seem ingly arbitrary 7 claim s
to sovereignty over territo ries that it clearly can n o t co n tro l.
T h e m arg in s so ev id en t in the ch eck p o in t can also p re se n t th em ­
selves in th e b u re a u c ra tic ro u tin es o f m o d e rn daily life. L aw rence
C ohen p ro v id es an e x a m p le o f such a sp ace in his c h a p te r on th e
tech n o -scien tific im ag in ary o f the o p e ra tio n fu n ctio n s in India. H e
describes th e fu n ctio n in g o f a trade in o rg an s that, like th e space o f th e
ex cep tio n , effectively b lu rs the line b etw een the leg al an d illegal.
Because b o th the sale a n d donation o f o rg an s by non-kin w ere legally
b an n ed in 1994 in In d ia , surgeons a n d o th e rs who o p e ra te d in th e
national a n d in tern atio n al organ m ark et p u t pressure o n th e state to
define p ro c e d u re s for au th o rizin g perm issible form s o f o rg a n d o n atio n
outside legally defined d eg rees of kinship. T h e resulting au th o rizatio n
com m ittees w ere assigned th e task of co n sid erin g ex cep tio n al cases in
which o rg a n s could b e d o n a te d o u tsid e th e sa n c tio n e d d eg rees o f
kinship. C o h e n gives a su b tle analysis o f th e wavs th e se co m m ittees

8
 T h e S tat e and I ts M argins

operate to create fictions o f overw helm ing affection betw een u n related
p eo p le in o rd e r to allow o rg a n “d o n a tio n s .” T h e p u b lic secret, o f
course, is th a t th e fictions o f relatedness an d overw helm ing affection
betw een re c ip ie n t an d d o n o r are c re a ted to cover th e illegal sale of
organs. Effectively, the stru c tu re of ex cep tio n s operates to draw a line
betw een m em b ersh ip an d inclusion th at identifies those citizens who
are “b io av ailab le” and th u s co u ld b e c o m e fictitious “d o n o rs ” in an
u n d e rg ro u n d econom y .9 M oreover, it en ab les certain discursive form s
to em erge in w hich citizenship is claim ed th ro u g h acts o f “sacrifice” on
the part o f th e p o o r— a p o in t we explore in g reater detail later in this
in tro d u ctio n .

MARGINS ARE N O T IN E R T
In th e p reced in g section, we tried to show the intim ate co n n ectio n
betw een law an d states o f exception. We a rg u e d that instead o f privileg­
in g m etaphysical form s o f re a so n in g in u n d e rs ta n d in g sovereignty,
a n th ro p o lo g y focuses o n th e w orkings o f th e everyday. It is in these
processes o f everyday life th a t we see how th e state is reco n fig u red at
the m argins. M argins are n o t simply p e rip h e ra l spaces. Som etim es, as
in the case o f th e b o rd ers o f a n atio n ’s states, they d eterm in e w hat lies
inside an d w7h a t lies outside. O th e r tim es, as in the case o f checkpoints,
they ru n th ro u g h th e p o litical body o f th e state. B orders an d check­
points, as we saw, are spaces in which sovereignty, as th e rig h t over life
an d d eath , is ex p erien ced in the m ode o f potentiality— th u s creatin g
affects o f p a n ic an d a sen se o f d a n g e r ev en if “n o th in g h a p p e n s .”
Paradoxically, these spaces o f exception are also those in w hich th e cre­
ativity o f th e m argins is visible, as altern ativ e form s o f eco n o m ic an d
political actio n are instituted. To suggest th a t m argins are spaces o f cre­
ativity is n o t to say that form s o f politics a n d econom ics o n th e m argins,
often fash io n ed o u t of th e n e e d to survive, are n o t frau g h t w ith terrible
dangers. It is, however, to draw attention to th e fact that th o u g h certain
pop u latio n s are p ath o lo g ized thro u g h various kinds o f pow er/know l-
edge practices, they do n o t subm it to these conditions passively. W hile
th e w ork o f su b a lte rn h isto ria n s has d o n e m u ch to em p h asize the
agency o f su b a lte rn g ro u p s in im p o rta n t h isto rical ju n c tu re s , the
can o n ical statu s o f resistan ce in these stu d ie s ob scu res th e relatio n
betw een th ese critical m o m e n ts and everyday life (D as 1989). Even

J9
V eena D as and D eborah P oo le _

w hen everyday life b eco m es th e focus o f analysis, as in th e w ork o f

Jam es Scott (1985) on everyday form s o f p e a sa n t resistance, it appears
th a t agency is seen p rim arily in acts o f resistan ce. O u r em phasis,
instead, is o n th e ways in w hich the co n cep tu al b o u n d aries o f th e state
are ex ten d ed an d rem ade in securing survival o r seek in g ju stice in the
everyday. T h is does n o t m ean th at we c o n sid e r all kinds o f m argins to
be som ehow h o m o g en eo u s, w ith categories o f m inorities, refugees, o r
im m igrants essentially sim ilar. Rather, we tak e th e in d eterm in ate char­
acter of m arg in s to break o p e n the solidity o ften attributed to the state.
Take R o itm a n ’s d e sc rip tio n o f e c o n o m ic strategies follow ed by
m arginalized youths as they deal with various regulatory’ processes o f
th e state. W ith the d e c lin e o f tra d itio n a l m ark ets in C h a d , it is the
em erg en t m arkets in drugs, sm all arm s, c o n trab an d , and m ercenaries
th at provide o p p o rtu n itie s fo r secu rin g liv elih o o d s in re g io n s devas­
tated by o n g o in g wars, d ro u g h ts, and o th e r eco n o m ic disasters. For
obvious re a so n s, these m ark ets flo u rish o n th e b o rd e rs betw een
nations. R efu sin g to n am e th ese eco n o m ic o p p o rtu n itie s as parts of
“inform al” o r “black” econom ies, R oitm an conceptualizes th e youths’
strategies as border-m aking practices in w hich we witness, n o t so m uch
th e collapse o f regulation, b u t th e p lu ralizatio n o f regulatory au th o ri­
ties. Such p lu ralizatio n leads to an in stitu tio n alizatio n o f re n t extrac­
tion by the state, even w hen this process o ccu rs outside its fo rm al legal
procedures. T h e form s o f sociality dev elo p ed on these b o rd e rs are, o f
course, ex trem ely dangerous. B ut they show th at m argins, as th e literal
b o u n d aries o f the state, a re also the spaces o n wiiich th e co n cep tu al
b o u n d aries o f th e econom y are crafted a n d ex ten d ed . M uch political
rhetoric w ould characterize such form s o f eco n o m ic activity as “co rru p ­
tio n ” an d in te rp re t it as ev id en ce o f th e w eak en in g o f th e state.
H ow ever, fro m th e p ersp ectiv e o f th e y o u th s R oitm an stu d ie s, such
strategies o f securing livelihood by utilizing th e in d e te rm in a te charac­
ter o f the b o rd e rs provide a m eans o f c la im in g eco n o m ic rights. At
stake is th e ch allen g e to state m onopoly o v er taxation o r com m ercial
licenses an d th e effort to ap p ro p riate som e o f these practices to secure
econom ic survival. T he pluralization o f reg u latio n does n o t create sim­
ply a binary opposition betw een the state a n d m argins, n o r can we say
th at the state is unable to have its writ over th e m argins, for it, too, m an­
ages to e x tra c t re n t th ro u g h this p lu ralizatio n and ex ten sio n o f con­

20
 T h e S tate and I t s M argins

ceptual b o u n d a rie s o f the econom y. W hat th e co n sid eratio n o f m argins

enables us to see is how eco n o m ic citizenship, re n t ex traction, an d m ul­
tip le regulatory regim es are necessary p arts o f th e fu n c tio n in g o f the
state, m uch as th e exception is necessary fo r th e u n d e rsta n d in g o f law.
In F erm e’s c h a p te r we g e t fu rth e r evidence o f the “arb itrarin ess at
th e heart o f commandement ” w hich she shows to be characteristic o f the
colonial state. H ow ever, th is a rb itra rin ess b eco m es a re so u rc e , as
F erm e’s in fo rm a n t reveals, fo r it has facilitated alternative citizenship
o p tio n s fo r S ie rra L eo n ean s. M igrants e x p lo it em erg en cy m easu res
taken to p ro te c t th em as w ar refugees, an d in som e cases they are suc­
cessful in u sin g o p p o rtu n ities provided by th e capricious an d arbitrary
laws, forging n ew form s o f eco n o m ic a n d p o litical c itiz e n sh ip th at
som etim es go well beyond th e territorial b o u n d a rie s o f th e states. For
others, such asT efugees w ho are refused asylum o r w ho die in transit,
th e outcom es are terrible— attestin g to th e d an g ers o f w ork at th e bor­
d ers (see M alkki 1995). T hus, fo rR o itm a n a n d Ferine, th e possibilities
an d limits o f th ese new b o rd er-b en d in g p ractices p ro rid e an im p o rtan t
vantage p o in t fo r u n d e rsta n d in g translocal processes th ro u g h w hich
th e state is ex p erien ced .
Sim ilar ev id e n c e o f th e creativity o f th e m arg in s at th e political
level m aybe seen in the w ork o f Peace C o m m u n ities set u p by displaced
populations in C olum bia. S an fo rd describes how p o p u latio n s displaced
by the actions o f th e p aram ilitary have trie d to create zones o f safety,
off-lim its to b o th g u errillas a n d arm ed p e rs o n n e l a u th o riz e d by th e
state. W ith in c re a sin g s u p p o rt from h u m a n -rig h ts g ro u p s at the
national an d in tern atio n al level, such co m m u n ities (again fu n ctio n in g
at th e literal m arg in s o f th e state) have re c o n fig u re d th e ir spaces to
reflect th e ir ow n im peratives. T h e ir form s o f political a ctio n use the
global rh e to ric o f h u m an rig h ts. H ow ever, in stead o f m a k in g claim s
th ro u g h co u rts o f law or in tern atio n al tribunals, they give u rg en cy to the
n eed to secu re safety at th e com m unity ra th e r th an the individual level.
A shforth’s c h a p te r offers a n o th e r ex am p le o f the specific local ways
in which ideas o f justice o p e ra te . H e arg u es th a t an increase in witch­
craft accusations am ong b lack pop u latio n s in S outh A frica ravaged by
intolerably h ig h AIDS p re v a le n c e and m o rtality rates is ex p ressed in
dem ands th a t th e p o st-ap arth eid state show its responsiveness to the
suffering by d o in g so m eth in g ab o u t b o th AIDS and w itchcraft. But as
 V ee na D as an d D eborah P oole

A shforth notes, p u n ish in g offenders for p erfo rm in g w itch craft would

re in stitu te colonial a n d ap arth eid -reg im e prejudices a g a in st p o p u lar
practices o f black p o p u la tio n s and w ould crim inalize th ese practices.
T hus, w itch craft accu satio n s have to b e re fo rm u la te d as so m eth in g
else— kid n ap p in g , ab d u ctio n , or m urder. T h e point is th a t pressure to
reconfigure state systems tow ard different notions o fju stice is generated
from th e everyday c o n c e rn s o f those in h a b itin g a d iffe re n t m o d e of
sociality from that im ag in ed in the ratio n al bu reau cratic ap p aratu s of
the state. It is interesting to recall here th at even in the classic W eberian
notion o f rationality, law includes lay ju stice w ithin its processes through
the role o f the jury, for W eber saw the ju ry as having taken over the role
of the oracle. (“Because o f th e jury, som e prim itive irratio n ality o f the
tech n iq u e o f decision an d , therefore, o f the law itself, has th u s contin­
ued to survive in E nglish p ro c e d u re even up to the p re s e n t tim e”
[W eber 1978:763].) Since th e “prim itive irrationality” th a t so irritated
W eber functions at the h e a rt o f state law, o n e could treat the state, for
certain purposes, as lying on the m argins o f th e citizen-body.
Several o th e r au th o rs in this volum e arg u e that a d iffe re n t picture
o fju stic e o r com m on g o o d anirnates*activities that take p lace on the
m argins o f th e state. T his is n o t simply a m a tte r o f “folk” n o tio n s o f law
and ju stic e versus state-san ctio n ed ideas o fju stic e . R ath er, w hat is at
stake in these sites is fo rm ed through th e experiences o f local w orlds—
although we m ust be clear that local w orlds an d the state d o n o t stand
as binary opposites. Even th o u g h they are locked in u n e q u a l relations,
they are en m esh ed in o n e another. T hus, on the one h a n d , law is seen
as a sign o f a distant b u t overw helm ing pow er. O n the o th e r h an d , it is
also seen as close at h a n d — so m eth in g to w hich local d e sire s can be
addressed. T hus, Poole shows how peasants in Peru invest th e ir desire
for ju stice in the state, even as the illegibility' o f the state a n d its proce­
dures fru strates these d esires, in that d o c u m e n ts necessary to secure
justice te n d to drift endlessly betw een d iffe re n t ju risd ic tio n s. We are
not saving th at pop u latio n s at the m argins are always successful in m ak­
ing the state responsiv e to th e ir notions o f justice or the c o m m o n good,
and we d o n o t wish to rom anticize the creativity' of the m argins. In fact,
as N elso n ’s ch ap ter dem onstrates, the sam e state identified as th e per­
p etrato r o f te rro r and scorched-earth policies in G uatem ala cam e to be
invested with the desire fo r justice. W hat m ight have b e e n fixed posi-
 T he S t a t e a n d I ts M argins

d ons, such as victim s an d p erp etrato rs, cam e to b e highly m obile. T h e

p o in t is not w h eth er the desires, fears, and hopes n o u rish ed in th e m ar­
gins an d then p ro je c te d onto the state are som ehow m ore ethical, ju st,
o r p u re. R ather, th e com plexity o f lived ex p erien ce inflects n o tio n s o f
ju stic e an d law w ith d ifferent kinds o f im aginaries from those available
in th e official sites an d rep resen tatio n s o f justice a n d law.1"
T h e c h a p te rs by Das and N elso n provide a d d itio n a l e x a m p le s
o f how state law is colonized by o th e r form s o f le g a l/ju rid ic a l ideas.
D as cites th e p o ig n a n t case o f w idow s from th e S iglikar c o m m u n ity
in D elhi w hose h u sb a n d s w ere killed in the 1984 riots. They trie d to
claim co m p en satio n m oney aw arded to them by th e governm ent. T h e
Siglikars lived o n th e p erip h ery o f th e city. But m o re im portantly, th eir
n o tio n s o f co m m u n ity an d ju stice w ere g ro u n d ed in different n o tio n s
o f sociality. T h e g o v ern m en t tre a te d the widows as the p ro p e r recip i­
en ts o f the co m p en satio n , b u t th e d o m in an t o p in io n in the c o m m u ­
nity was th at th e fa th e rs o f th e d e a d m en sh o u ld have receiv ed the
m oney. T h e co n flict was finally resolved by the caste Panchayat o f the
Siglikars, and th e m oney was divided equally b etw een the d isp u tan ts.
W h at is in te re stin g is th at th e a g re e m e n t was se e n as a co m p ro m ise
a n d was ex ecu ted o n stam ped c o u rt paper, as if th a t would m ak e the
a g re e m e n t valid in th e eyes o f th e law. T hus, legitim acy was so u g h t
th ro u g h state law; this com prom ise was n eith er a ttrib u te d to custom ary
law7 n o r treated as a private a g re e m e n t betw een th e concerned parties.
T h e m im icry o f th e state to give legitim acy to a n ag reem en t th a t wTas
co ercive in m any resp ects m ig h t be read as in stitu tin g the sta te as a
fetish, b u t it also attests to co m m u n ity allegiance to the idea o f state-
in stitu ted law a n d thus m anages to claim citizenship for these co m m u ­
nities. Such m arg in s w7h ere a d iffe re n t picture o f th e com m on g o o d is
p u t in to play are n o t ju st spaces th e state has yet to p en etrate: rather,
they m ay be seen as sites on w hich th e state is continually fo rm e d in
th e recesses o f everyday life.11
In N elson’s ch ap ter, we see how the illusory, trickster-like quality7of
th e state allows it to escape its prom issory notes in m akingjustice o u t of
re a c h fo r p e a sa n t subjects. In h e r acco u n t o f postw ar G u atem ala,
N elson describes how the counterinsurgency state deployed im ages of
th e d u p licito u s o r “tw o-faced’’ In d ia n to d e fe n d m ilitary in c u rsio n s
in to in d ig en o u s areas, re se ttle m e n t o f in d ig en o u s co m m u n ities into
V e e n a D as and D eborah P oole

ham lets, and d eclaratio n o f em erg en cy pow ers in larg e sectors o f th e

country. However, N elson turns this p ictu re o f the In d ia n back to th e
p ictu re o f the state a n d asks the q u estio n , why is it th a t the state is also
u n d e rsto o d to be tw o-faced, b am b o o zlin g , d e sira b le , deceptive, a n d
dangerous? T hus tu rn in g the stereotypical im age o f th e m asked m im - *
icrv o f th e state by c u n n in g tw o-faced natives o n its h ead , N e lso n ’s
eth n o g rap h y o f th e state puts it o n a highly m obile trajectory in w hich
th e state is bo th feared an d desired.
N elso n ’s a c co u n t w ould m ake us highly skeptical o f the idea th at
th e state is legible w hile the p o p u latio n s are illegible. Yet m uch a n th ro ­
pological theory has c o n c e n tra ted o n th e ways th e state deploys tech ­
n o lo g ies o f k n o w led g e an d p o w e r to m ake p o p u la tio n s leg ib le
(A p p ad u rai 1996; C o h n 1987; T ro u illo t 2001). H ow ever, as we say in
earlier sections, th e very d o cu m en ts th ro u g h w hich id en tity is sou g h t to
be fixed them selves acq u ire a d ifferen t kind of life as b o th fu n ctio n ar­
ies o f th e state an d o rd in ary citizens m an ip u late th e m tow ard d ifferen t
ends. As Poole so effectively d em o n strates in h er ch ap ter, the possibili­
ties o f forgeries an d c o u n te rfe it d o cu m en ts lead to a suspension o f citi­
zens betw een th e p o les o f th re a t a n d g u a ra n te e . In tu rn , o n e o f th e
m o d alities in w hich th e state is p re s e n t in the m arg in s is cap tu red in
reg io n s o f language th a t com e in to existence w hen access to c o n te x t
becom es fragile. T h u s, th e re is a flo u rish in g o f ru m o r: th e state h o ld s
th a t illiterate an d p o o rly e d u c a te d p o p u la tio n s a re easily m isled. As
N elson argues, th e state is seen as tw o-faced, unknow able, an d in m any
ways th e space at w hich the u n can n y is ex p erien ced . Yet th e state a ttrib ­
utes passion (and we m ig h t add credulity) to its subjects, thereby co n ­
stru ctin g itself as “ra tio n a l,” as a rg u e d by both Das a n d C ohen in this
volum e. In A sh fo rth ’s ch ap ter, we fin d th a t m easu res to control H IV
transm ission are in te rp re te d am ong black subjects o f th e S outh A frican
state as m easu res to b lo c k re p ro d u c tio n o f black p o p u la tio n s. T h is
in te rp re ta tio n seem s to be the legacy o f th e a p a rth e id regim e a n d its
p o litics o f d eath . T h u s, ru m o rs a n d th e au ra o f su sp icio n ab o u t th e
sta te ’s “re a l” in ten tio n s in instituting policies that involve the body, sex­
uality, a n d re p ro d u c tio n n e e d to b e u n d e rsto o d in th e specific local
histories o f this society. T h e fact th at w itchcraft accusations share m any
characteristics with ru m o r— its lack o f sig n atu re (B h a b h a 1994a; Das
1998; G eschiere 1997), its p erlo cu tio n ary force— weaves th em into the
u n c e rta in ty o f re la tio n s w ithin w h ich th e d ev astatin g effects o f th e

24
 T h e S tate and I ts M argins

AIDS e p id e m ic are e x p erien ced . T h e q u e stio n is not th a t ru m o r is a

specifically “su b altern ” form o f com m unication^'as suggested by G uha
(1983), b u t ra th e r that th e sta te ’s own m o d e o f re p re se n ta tio n o f its
subjects as given to passion ra th e r th an reaso n is tu rn e d b ack on the
state, as it w ere. (See also N elso n ’s c h a p te r o n this p o in t.) T h e lethal
ex p erien ce o f AIDS an d its e n ta n g le m e n t w ith accu satio n s o f w itch­
craft, ru m o r, an d panic takes us back to th e question o f th e state as the
site on w hich biopolitics an d thanatopolitics are instituted together. We
co n ten d th a t this relation, w hich is at th e h e a rt o f the m o d e rn state, is
m uch m o re visible on th e m argins th an at th e center. W e now turn to
these considerations.

B IO P O L IT IC S AND TH E MARGINS
Earlier, we argued th at sovereignty is b est d efined in term s o f pow er
over life a n d d eath . It is im p o rta n t to u n d ersco re that the figure o f life is
not a piece o f anim al n atu re w ithout any relatio n to law, b u t is p roduced
bv law. As b o th A gam ben (1998, 2000) an d Foucault (1976, 2003) have
argued in d ifferen t ways, th e state is co n stitu ted in m o d ern ity through
the inclusion o f m an ’s n atu ral life into th e m echanism s a n d calculations
o f power. D espite this a g re e m e n t ab o u t biopolitics, how ever, th ere are
pro fo u n d differences in th e way these two au th o rs conceive o f the rela­
tion b etw een biopolitics a n d thanatopolitics. T h e negative re fe ren t of
the new b io p o litical sovereignty for A g am b en is the fig u re o f hom o
sacer— life th a t may be killed b u t n o t sacrificed— and th e paradigm atic
exam ple o f th a t in m odernity is the c o n cen tratio n cam p. F o r Foucault,
the negative referen t o f biopolitics seem s to be the p o in t at w hich a cut
is m ade b etw een those w hose lives a re m a n a g e d an d e n h a n c e d and
those w hose lives are ju d g e d as n o t w orth living and w ho are thus “let
die.” B oth a u th o rs seem equally co n c e rn e d w ith a seem in g co n trad ic­
tion in th e conception o f th e biopolitical state— namely, how can a state
co m m itted to m an ag in g life p ro d u ce a categ o ry o f p e o p le w ho are
deem ed killable. For A gam ben, w hat jo in s biopolitics w ith th e politics of
death is th e endless reso rt th a t the state has to the state o f exception,
while fo r F o u cau lt, the c o n c e rn is m u ch m o re with p o w er in the rou­
tines of th e ord in ary an d th u s the p ro d u c tio n o f the “n o rm a l.” This is
not the p lace to engage these differences in d e p th — rather, we use them
to direct a tte n tio n to the way in w hich th e eth n o g rap h ic m e th o d allows
us to o p en u p these questions.
 V ee na D as and D eborah P o o l e

As is well know n, F o u cau lt’s work on bio p o w er replaces th e privi­

lege o f law a n d prohibition-w ith an em phasis o n tactical efficacy within
a m ultiple a n d m obile field o f forces. He shows that the effects are far-
reaching b u t n ev er stable. H is m eticulous description of th e im pact of
statistics a n d th e invention o'f p o p u latio n as an object of know ledge and
reg u latio n o n ch an g in g n o tio n s o f sovereignty has led to im p o rta n t
ways o f reco n cep tu alizin g th e state, especially in shifting the em phasis
from territo rial jurisdictions to th e m an ag em en t o f life (see also Perrot
an d W oolf 1984). Thus, in re c e n t literature we see a p ro life ra tio n of
adjectives u sed to characterize th e state— th e hygienic state, th e immu-
nizing state, th e therapeutic sta te — each p o in tin g to a d ifferen t m odality
fo r m anaging life. Sim ultaneously, the prefix bio has becom e detached
from pow er to signal other k in d s o f sociality, su ch as the biosocial, as well
as o th er kinds o f capabilities, such as biocapital, an d to refer to new wavs
o f engaging p o w er— for ex a m p le , patient g ro u p s o rganizing to influ­
en ce allo catio n o f resources a n d direction o f research fo r m itigating
certain biological conditions. T h is heterogeneity o f ways in w hich the
state is e n g a g e d in a d m in iste rin g life (and th e c o n c o m ita n t lettin g
d ie), as well as claim s that can b e m ade on the state in the reg io n s o f life
an d death by claim ing new categ o ries of citizenship, provides a rich ter­
rain in w hich anthropology can engage the e m e rg e n t form s o f biopoli­
tics (Petryna 2002).
O f co u rse, the locus classicus for exam ining the pow er o f th e state
with referen ce to control over populations is fo u n d in the lite ra tu re on
epidem ics a n d state fo rm atio n . As P eter B aldw in (2001) h as recently
arg u ed , th e p a rtic u la r strateg ies o f control d ev elo p ed by th e state in
E u ro p e in th e late n in e te e n th an d early tw en tieth c e n tu rie s were
closely tied to th e issue of m a n a g e m e n t of co n tag io n . F u rth er, concern
with reg u latin g th e health o f populations im m ediately takes us to con­
nections betw een m etro p o litan centers and colonies, for c o n tro l o f epi­
dem ics was a necessary c o n d itio n o f overcom ing barriers to E u ro p ean
exploitation o f colonies. T h u s, a p reo ccu p atio n with the h e a lth condi­
tions of co lo n ies and tech n iq u es o f m anaging disease becam e p art of
state rep erto ires o f action. As exam ples, we m ig h t think o f th e vast leg­
islative c h a n g e s effected th ro u g h such acts as the C o m p u lso ry
V accinations Acts, Vagrant L e p e r Acts, Lunacy AcLs, C a n to n m e n t Acts,
an d various form s o f C ontagious Diseases Acts en acted in this p erio d bv

26
 T he S t a t e an d I ts M argins

E u ro p e a n states, b o th in m etro p o litan centers an d in colonies. W hat is

im p o rta n t fro m th e p ersp ectiv e o f th e co lo n ies is th at b o th p u b lic
d eb ates on these issues and th e scientific rationales given for th em co n ­
stru c te d the in h ab itan ts of th e colonies as credulous, unhygienic, irra­
tio n al, and in n e e d o f discipline. It was F oucault’s g reat achievem ent to
show n o t only th a t biopow er was a b o u t pathologization of p o p u latio n s
b u t also that w hat was applicable to m argins co u ld b ecom e g eneralized
a n d n o rm alized fo r w hole populations'. N evertheless, the c o n tin u o u s
p ro d u c tio n o f p ath o lo g y is an im p o rta n t te c h n iq u e o f pow er— fo r in
this realm , as in those ex p lo red earlier, it invites us to look at th e in ti­
m ate co n n ectio n s betw een sovereign pow er an d disciplinary pow er.
T h e m an a g e m e n t o f p o p u latio n s in spaces th a t C ohen in his ch ap ­
te r calls “just-so m o d ern ity ” show s th a t we can n o t assum e an in ex o rab le
logic in the m an ag em en t of life th a t unfolds in the sam e m an n er across
all societies. P ostcolonial societies such as In d ia a n d South A frica have
specific histories in w hich th e g ra m m a r of relationships shapes th e way
biopolitics is in stitu ted . Thus, th e story o f m odernity' becom es co m p li­
c a te d in this as in all o th e r sp h e re s (G eschire 1997; G ilroy 1993;
M itchell 2000). P o p u latio n s, as we arg u ed in th e p reced in g sectio n ,
m ay exist only as en tities to be ad m in istered in th e state im aginary, b u t
th e in h ab itan ts o f these m argins are n o t inert objects: form s o f gover­
n a n c e , social relatio n sh ip s a ro u n d d ifferen t zones o f experience, and
th e cultural g e n re s w ithin w hich language acq u ires life gen erate ways
o f en g ag in g th e b io p o litical state th a t c a n n o t b e arrived at th ro u g h
m etaphysical speculation. T h e ch ap ters by C o h en , A shforth, Das, an d
S an fo rd show th a t although th e biopolitical state w orks with n o tio n s of
m ass bodies in o n e form or an o th e r, techniques o f m an ag em en t across
th e se contexTs a re q u ite d iffe re n t. Even m o re im p o rta n t, th e ways
“m a n ag ed ” p o p u latio n s work w ith strategies o f c o n tro l to claim citizen­
sh ip are deeply in fo rm e d by sp ecific e x p erien ces o f the state. T h u s,
w hile categories o f “refu g ee” a n d “displaced p e rso n s” exist as special
legal categories in in te rn a tio n a l in stru m e n ts th a t b o th co n tro l th em
an d give them rights, the n eg o tiatio n s effected by Peace C om m unities
to keep both state and guerilla w arriors outside th e ir territories surely
b e a r the stam p o f th e ir p articu lar ex p erien ce o f violence. Similarly, the
m a n a g e m e n t o f th e AIDS e p id e m ic in South A frica m ust necessarily
ad d ress w itchcraft accusations as a problem for th e state. In th e case o f

27
V e e n a D as and D ebo ra h P oole

In d ia , th e politics o f m ass bodies was in stitu ted th ro u g h fam ily-

p la n n in g program s th a t included cam ps for mass sterilization but w ere
also p a rt o f a re p e rto ire o f ch aritab le a n d state in stitu tio n s for o th e r
conditions, such as m ass h ealth cam ps o r eye cam ps fo r cataract o p era­
tions. T h u s, how m a n a g e m e n t o f life b ecam e an o b je c t o f politics
in d e e d defines th e b io p o litical state, b u t th e specific histories are
d iffe re n t enough to w arran t the o b serv atio n that this is n o t a lo ad ed
m atrix. Perhaps we can illustrate this p o in t with C o h e n ’s specific exam ­
ples a b o u t ways o f claim in g citizenship th ro u g h the tro p e o f the o p e ra ­
tion in India.
C o h e n argues in his c h a p te r th a t th re e c o n c e p ts— operability,
bioavailability, and su pplem entability— explain the p a rtic u la r form in
w hich th e biopolitical state is e n c o u n te re d in India. D iverse p o p u la­
tions a t th e m argins, su ch as the hijras (intersexed, tran sg en d ered sub­
je c ts com m only k n o w n as th e third sex ); bodies tre a te d as a mass in
fam ily-planning o p e ra tio n s done in m edical camps; a n d sellers of kid­
neys in th e organ tra d e — all are d e fin e d by p a rtic u la r in te rse c tio n s
betw een these th ree concepts. As C o h e n says, the o p e ra tio n s becom e
n o t only a technique a n d a site in stan tiatin g the state b u t also a form —
m ark in g the possibilities an d limits o f b elo n g in g for p erso n s hailed as a
mass body— endow ed w ith passions b u t n o t reason in th e state im agi­
nary'. T hus, the pedagogy o f converting thd inhabitants o f mass bodies
in to ascetic m o d ern izers in possession o f reason is specific to the cul­
tural g ram m ar o f In d ia w ithin w hich d ev elo p m en tal p arad ig m s have
taken shape. T he m ost in terestin g p a rt o f this arg u m en t is th at th ro u g h
a logic o f exception, th e generic body o f the masses is converted in to
specific kinds o f b o d ies from w hom o rg a n s can be retriev ed th ro u g h
sale, d esp ite the b an o n th e sale o f organs. T h e logic o f ex cep tio n helps
c re a te th e fiction o f “overw h elm in g a ffe c tio n ” b e tw e e n buyer a n d
seller, as we stated earlier, despite th e p u b lic secret th a t this fiction is
created to provide cover to the sale o f o rg an s thro u g h th e m ythic form
of th e gift. T he o p eratio n itself is seen by m arginalized p o p u latio n s as a
way o f claim ing citizenship through th e tro p es o f gift a n d sacrifice. It is
n o t th a t th e in cid en ce o f kidney sales is very high in In d ia , for these
sellers are co n cen trated in specific locales and regions. T h e possibility
of transplantation, how ever, has en ab led discursive form s an d netw orks
of talks to em erge at every level, fro m th e dom estic to th e n atio n al.
 T h e S t a te and I t s M a r g in s

B rothers talk o f selling kidneys to raise dow ries for their sisters; wives,
to redeem th e fam ily from d eb ts. T he m ost m arginal o f citizens claim
th a t they w ould d o n ate kid n ey s to save th e lives o f ailing n atio n al or
regional leaders.
T he c o n c e p t o f bioavailability, in tro d u ced by C ohen, deviates quite
sharply from th e notion o f killable bodies th ro u g h the sc e p te r o f hom o
sacer— for th ese are the p o o r w ho are not so m u ch killed as allow ed to
die. Indeed, th e rhetorical fo rm used by th o se w ho advocate sales is to
m ake these b o d ies available fo r m edical in terv en tio n , b u t they cast this
id ea in term s o f individual au to n o m y and care fo r the poor. T h is exam ­
ple provides a stu n n in g d em o n stratio n of how to move away fro m m eta­
physical co n cep tio n s of how th e exception “o p erates”— to th e task of
m aking the biopolitical state a n object of e th n o g ra p h ic investigation. If
F o u cau lt’s'c o n c ep t of the d a n g e ro u s individual showed us how law was
colonized by disciplines in F re n c h forensic psychiatry (F o u cau lt 2003),
th e concepts o ffered by C o h e n show how g ift an d sacrifice have not
b e e n displaced by com m odity form s but ra th e r allow th e com m odity
form to fu n ctio n in tandem w ith othe^w ays o f claim ing citizenship.

CONCLUDING TH O UG H TS
We can d o n o b etter in th ese concluding thoughts th an to refer the
re a d e r to c h a p te r 11, in w h ich Talal A sad provides a su c c in c t and
provocative co m m en tary on th e theoretical issues relating to th e state
a n d th e m argins. Two points o f im p o rtan ce m ay be stressed h ere. First,
A sad argues th a t th e n o tio n o f th e state in c o n te m p o ra ry th o u g h t
invests it with a life o f its ow n, d istin ct from b o th governors a n d th e gov­
e rn e d . Because o f this ab stractio n , the state can claim allegiance from
b o th sides. W h e n th e re la tio n betw een th e state and th e p o p u la tio n
th a t is governed is im agined as o n e in w hich th e state em b o d ies sover­
eig n ty in d e p e n d e n tly o f th e p o p u la tio n , it becom es a u th o riz e d to
m aintain certain spaces an d p o p u latio n s as m arg in s th ro u g h its adm in­
istrative p ractices. C onversely, an im ag in atio n o f the sta te as th a t to
w hich pow er is d eleg ated , r a th e r than a lie n a te d from th e subjects,
w ould allow th e state itself to be im agined as th e m argins o f th e citizen-
body. T he p o in t is n o t to sh o w th at the state has a fetishist ch aracter
b u t rath er to show th at the im ag in atio n o f sovereignty can sh ift th e rel-
aiive position o f th e c e n te r a n d the p erip h ery : m argins m ove, then.
V eena D as an d D eborah P oole

both w ithin an d o u tsid e th e state. O f co u rse, this m o v em en t is w hat

m akes th e m argins so c e n tra l to the u n d e rsta n d in g o f th e state. T h e
in d eterm in acy of the m arg in s not only allows form s o f resistance b u t
m ore im p o rtan tly enables strategies o f en g ag in g the state as som e kind
o f m argin to the body o f citizens.
S econd, Asad in tro d u ces the im p o rta n t idea that the form al equal­
ity and substitutability7o f citizens in liberal theory, in fact, rest on u n cer­
tainties in h e re n t in the process of ab stractin g from o n e given category
to another. H e gives a b eau tifu l description o f how suspicion com es to
occupy th e space betw een law and its ap p licatio n , a process th at all the
ch ap ters en g ag e in, o n e way o r an o th er. T h is discussion invites us to
think o f th e categories o f potentiality, an ticip atio n , and shadow s— cate­
gories tHat cap tu re the ex p erien ce o f m arg in s actualized in th e spaces
of exception. O u r im ag in atio n o f the m arg in s shows th em n o t as in ert
spaces a n d p o p u latio n s th a t sim ply have to be m anaged b u t rath er as
bristling with life that is certainly m anaged an d controlled b u t that also
flows ou tsid e this control. T hus, while we have m uch to learn from the
brilliant co n trib u tio n s o f A gam ben an d F o u cau lt on how n atu ral life
com es to be treated as an object of politics, an th ro p o lo g ical form s o f
know ledge do not sim ply take these categories and apply th em to d if­
ferent situations. Rather, in the particular genealogies an d histories o f
the m odes o f sociality they studv, an th ro p o lo g ists show how d ifferen t
desires, hopes, and fears sh ap e the ex p erien ce o f the biopolitical state.
T he au th o rs in this volum e are fully aw are o f th e precariousness o f lives
on th e m arg in s, b u t th ey a re equally c o n c e rn e d w ith sh o w in g how
form s o f econom ic an d political action, a n d ideas o f gift an d sacrifice
that have b een relegated to th e m argins, may, in som e m om ents, also
reconfigure th e state as a m arg in to the citizen-body. In o n e o f his polit­
ical reflections, A gam ben says that only by breaking th e nexus, at any
point betw een th e “vicious entan g lin g o f language, p eo p le, an d state,"
will th o u g h t an d praxis be equal to th e en o rm o u s task “at h a n d ”
(A gam ben 2000:67-69). T h e task “at h a n d ,” we hope, is th at the work
done on th e m argins will be recognized fo r w hat it is. It m ay n o t be able
to break such a nexus o n ce an d for all, b u t it does show th a t th e defeats
an d victories o f everyday life have th e ability to re tu rn us from th e
m etaphysical to the ordinary. This, at any rate, is how we see th e eth n o ­
graphic objective reco n stitu ted .

o
 T h e S ta te and I ts M a r g i n s

N otes
1. T he literature o n the failed-state thesis is extensive. For critical reviews on
this thesis, see, for instan ce, Bose a n d ja la l (1997), D unn (1995), Kohli (1990),
M bem be (2000, 2001), an d Pantham ^2003). C om m enting on the state of theory
in relatio n to the failed-state thesis in A frica, C elestine M onga has this to say: ‘'In
re c e n t years the c o n tin e n t has becom e th e El D orado of wild tho u g h t, the best
place for daring intellectu al safaris, the u n reg u lated space on w hich to engage in
theoretical incest, to violate the fundam entals oflog ic. to transgress disciplinary
prohibitions; in .short, to give oneself over to intellectual d eb au ch ery ’' (M onga
1996:39).
2. R ecent co m m en tato rs have n o ted th at anthropology has traditionally
n eg lected the study o f th e state, but they have failed to noLice how the problem s
of political anthropology w ere defined w ithin the fram ew ork o f the state (see, for
instance, Fuller an d H arris 2000).
3. This im m in en t o r spectral quality o f the state was p erh ap s m ost clearly
articu lated by C lastres (1974). Its genealogy, however, can be traced through evo­
lutionist and d evelopm ental approaches in an throp o lo gy w here such early fo u n ­
d atio n al theorists as M organ (1877), M aine ([1866] 2002), a n d Engels ([1884]
1972) h eld out the em erg en ce of the state as a decisive m o m en t in the progres­
sion o f cultures tow ard a condition of civilization m arked by w riting, private p ro p ­
erty, an d the em erg en ce of the state. L ater theorists of “political evolution”
ex p an d ed on this u n d e rstan d in g of historical progression to posit the state as an
e n d p o in t in the d ev elo p m en t of “com plex societies” defined as such based on
considerations of social stratification, p ro d u c tio n , and the division o f labor (see,
for exam ple, B anton 1966; Fried 1967). In these approaches, as in earlier evolu­
tionist m odels, the state was seen sim ultaneously as im m an en t in th e logic of
social evolution an d as a lim it condition fo r the constitution o f the an thropologi­
cal subject. At the sam e tim e, em phasis o n econom ic m odels o f social evolution
(for exam ple, W olf 1982) m eant that th e state p er se was n o t often taken as a sub­
ject fo r anthropological theory. M ore re c e n t theoretical w ork has again relied on
co n stru cts o f the prim itive drawn from C lastres (De)euze an d G uattari [ 1972]
1983:145-85) and B ataille (Taussig 1997) to explore the m obility and im m anent
ch arac ter of the state as a “basic form ation [that is] on the ho rizon throughout
history.” In these theories, the spectral state is envisioned, n o t as th e en dpoint o f
an evolutionary process, as in earlier an throp o lo gies, but ra th e r as a transhistoi i-
cal “prim ordial U rstaab the eternal m odel o f everything the State wants to be and
desires” (Dele’Uze an d G uattari 1987:217).

3
V e e n a D as an d D eborah P oole

4. O n the reg io nal o r cultural specificity of m o d ern state practices and

effects, see, am ong o th ers, Abele (1990); C h atteijee (1997); C oronil (1997); Das
(1995); H eym an (1999); H um phrey (2003); Lornnitz (2000); M aurer (1997);
M essick (1993); M itchell (1988); O ng (1999b); Pantham (2003); Sanders an d
West (2002); G. Sm ith (1999:195-227); an d H ansen and S tep p u tat (2001). O n
anthropological ap p ro ach es to the state as a “tran slo car o r d ecen tered institu­
tional landscape, see G u p ta (1995); O n g (1999a); and T ro u illot (2001). For a
com parative perspective on state terror, see Sluka (2000).
5. O n disorder an d m arginality in anthropology, see especially Tsing (1993).
T he idea of a disorderly m argin is n o t p ecu liar to W estern theories o f the state,
p'or instance, in M uqadam m ah, a fo u rteen th -cen tu ry A rabic text, Ibn K haldun
argued that B edouins practiced a form o f w eakened Islam as co m p ared to u rb an
Muslims because th eir nom adic ch aracter m ade them d istan t fro m regulatory
'authorities (Rosetwhal 1969). T here was a m ark ed suspicion o f nom ads in the
adm inistrative practices o f colonial rulers, an d it continues in postcolonial polities
(for a review o f these practices, see Rao an d Casim ir 2002).
6. T hough the state was conceptualized as haring a m on o p o ly over legiti­
m ate violence, it stood in a problem atic relatio n to o th er kinds o f violence, esp e­
cially sacrificial violence. F o r exam ple, D um ezil (1956) show ed the close co n n ec­
tion between the logic o f sacrifice an d th a t o f p u n ish m en t in his exam ination o f
Indo-European m ythology’. In anthropology, Taussig has discussed the fetishistic
character of the state in relation to its quality o f harnessing th e pow er o f th e d ead
in the ‘exchange betw een the absurd a n d th e official" (Taussig 1997:119). T his
monopoly over violence contributes to th e n o tio n of the tran scen d en t ch aracter
of the state in the p o litical/th eo retical discourse of liberalism .
7. “M odern social developm ent, aside from the already m en tio n ed political
and internal professional motives, has given rise to certain o th e r factors by w hich
formal legal rationalism is being w eakened. Irrational kadi ju stic e is exercised
today in criminal cases clearly and extensively in the ‘p o p u la r’ju stice of the jury.
It appeals to the sen tim en t o f the laym an, w ho feels ann o yed w henever he m eets
with formalism in co n crete cases, and it satisfies the em otional d em and s o f these
under-privileged classes w hich clam or for substantive ju stice” (W eber 1978:892).
8. For a discussion o f how the process o f acquiring a new n am e legally is
tinged with the faint tain t o f criminality, even in the m ost o rd in ary o f circum ­
stances, see Cavell (1994:27—28). H ere is a passage ab out his ex p erien ce with a
name change at age sixteen: “Probably I d id n o t sufficiently ap p reciate the irony
in thinking what debts the law im agined a sixteen-year-old m ig h t have reason to

32
 T h e S tate and I ts M a r g i n s

flee from , b u t 1 began to know o r know that 1 knew, that the deed of declaring a
nam e or m akin g a nam e, or any questioning of y o u r identity, was being linked
with crim inality, forged to g eth er w ith it. Q uite as if th e reasons for b eing singled
o u t with a n a m e w ere n o t ju st to be traceable in case o f w rongdoing, but before
that as its g ro u n d , to serve n o tice that identifiable actions, deeds, the work of
hum an beings, are the so u rce o f identity, and consequently constitute identity by
accusation” (26). C avell’s reflectio ns on the relation betw een m argins, nam es, and
accusations an ticip ate the ex p erien ce of checkpoints, which we discuss in m ore
detail below, an d show clearly th a t this experience is not a m atter of physical
m argins alone.
9. It is im p o rtan t to ap p reciate that the sale co u ld only be possible w ithin a
larger co n tex t in w hich there w ere rich people w ho o p erated in an econom y with
large undisclosed incom es.
JO. For a subtle arg u m e n t o n the role of alternative rationalities practiced
on the m argins in in terp re tin g state terror, see H u m p h rey ’s (2003) accou n t of
the B uddhist m yths o f re in carn atio n used by B uddhists in M ongolia to explain
Stalin's reg im e o f terror. In this form ulation, th e theory of karm a is deployed
m etaphoricallv to acknow ledge th e inevitable com plicity of the subjects of totali­
tarian states in regim es o f te rro r— a subtle p o in t th a t is som ew hat sim ilar to
Nelson's a rg u m e n t in h e r chapter. Earlier, Tsing (1993) analysed the im portance
o f m argins as a wav o f relatin g disciplinary creativity with form s o f life lived at the
m argins in th e co n text o f the state in Indonesia. However, Tsing’s idea o f m argins
is strongly in flu en ce by spatial m odels— thus, she defines the m argin as a place
w here state au tho rity is m ost u n reliab le and the gap betw een the state’s goals and
their local realization is the largest. She contrasts this situation with the project of
rule at the cen ter, w here state au tho rity is strongest. This way o f looking at state
and m argins, o f course, assum es th at state goals an d au tho rin ' are tran sparen t in
the center, o r th at the state itself is n o t invested in m aintaining the m argins as
“unruly spaces”— a p o in t o f view critiqued by all th e authors in this volum e.
l l . l t m ay be relevant to p o in t o u t that w hile u n derstan d in g of process was
always co n sid ered central to th e anthropology o f law, the em phasis was alwavs on
arriving at th e rules th o u g h t to be im plicit in d isp u te settlem ent (see Gluckm .m
1965; N ader 1969; am ong m any o th ers). A sharp distinction betw een W estern and
non-W estern form s o f law o b scu red the way in w hich legal concepts traveled
betw een th e different sites o n w hich law was evoked in the same societv.
 2

Between Threat and Guarantee

Justice and Community in the Margins

of the Peruvian State
Deborah Poole

W h e n I first b e g a n w o rk in g in t h e A n d e a n h ig h la n d s o f P e r u in th e
e a rly 1980s, p e a s a n ts (a n d a n th r o p o lo g is ts ) m o v e d fro m p la c e to p la c e
in t h e b ack s o f la r g e , o p e n , u n c o m f o r ta b le c a r g o tru c k s p ile d h ig h w ith
a ll s o r ts o f a g r i c u lt u r a l p r o d u c ts , c o n s u m e r g o o d s , a n d c o n s tr u c t i o n
m a te r ia ls . T r u c k d r iv e r s w r o te p a s s e n g e r s ' n a m e s a n d id e n tity - c a r d
n u m b e r s o n p a s te l- c o lo r e d f o r m s in trip lic a te , o n th e b asis o f in f o r m a ­
tio n p ro v id e d o r a lly b y th e p a s s e n g e rs . M a n y tim e s d u r in g m y jo u r n e y s ,
t h e r itu a l o f f illin g o u t th e s e f o r m s w o u ld g iv e w ay to la u g h te r a s p a s ­
s e n g e r s c a lle d o u t n a m e s o f m o v ie s ta rs o r p o litic ia n s . T h e fo rm s , w ith
t h e i r re a l a n d m a d e - u p id e n titie s , w e re th e n g iv e n to th e C ivil G u a r d
o f f ic e r s w h o m a n n e d th e n u m e r o u s p o lic e p o s ts s e t u p to i n t e r c e p t
c o n tr a b a n d a n d r e g u la te th e c o c a le a f tra d e . T h e r e , th e lists a c c u m u ­
la t e d in la rg e , u s u a lly r a th e r d is o r d e r ly p ile s in t h e C ivil G u a rd o ffic e s .
C u r io u s a b o u t th e s e tis s u e -th in , r a in b o w -h u e d f o r m s o f s ta te c o n tr o l , f
w o u ld s o m e tim e s c a s u a llv a sk w h a t w as d o n e w ith th e m . T h e g u a r d s
a s s u r e d m e th a t th e y w e re s e ld o m , if ever, s c r u tin iz e d o r re a d . I n d e e d ,
it w as n o t u n c o m m o n to se e s o m e o f th e s e lists f l u tt e r i n g a b o u t in f r o n t
o f t h e p o st, o r s tr e w n in th e g a r b a g e p ile s o u t b a c k , in a v e rv p u b lic
a n n o u n c e m e n t o f t h e a rb itr a ry c h a r a c te r o f law .
 D eborah P oole

W ith the escalation of war in the late 1980s. th e collection o f pas­

se n g e r registries becam e, not surprisingly, a m o re serious affair. As vio­
le n c e an d u n c e rta in ty grew, p assen g er lists w ere m o re intensively
scru tin ized by th e heavily arm ed, fearful young recru its w ho m a n n e d
th e n um erous m ilitary checkpoints th at had rep laced the fam iliar Civil
G u ard posts. For th e frightened soldiers, the lists w ere rem in d ers th at
an enem y— “a te rro rist”— m ight be hiding am o n g th e peasants piled in
each truck. From th e ir point o f view, the lists served as the only m ater­
ial site from w hich “identity” co u ld be co n ju red , n o t th ro u g h th e sci­
e n c e of reading— since, m ore often than not, th e nam es and n u m b ers
o n th e lists m e a n t n o th in g to th e so ld iers— b u t ra th e r th ro u g h th e
in stin ctu al m echanism s of fear.
From the p assen g ers’ point of view, however, this m ysterious ritual
o f “re a d in g ” the lists carried w ith it n o t only all th e om in o u s u n c e r­
tain ty o f the war h u t also all the tangible fam iliarity o f the flu tterin g ,
u n re a d , arbitrary, a n d shifting fo rm s of p a p e rw o rk that m ark th e
m aterial or lived geography of a state whose form — like the paperw ork
itse lf— is never fix ed o r stable. W ith in these u n c e rta in g e o g ra p h ie s
w h ere a lack of d o cu m en ts was the m ost com m on reason for d eten tio n
a n d w here docum ents were often willfully m isread, a personal identity
card was sim ultaneously a peasant s only g u aran tee an d his source o f
g re a te st vulnerability to the arbitrary7 pow er of the state.
In this ch ap ter, 1 am in terested in th in k in g a b o u t this slip p ag e
b etw een threat and g u aran tee as a site along w hich th e legitim acy o f
state ru le is b ro u g h t in to contact with the som etim es arbitrary form s o f
p o w er th a t underw rite the sanctity o f law. Specifically, I w ant to think
a b o u t this m om ent w hen the relation betw een rule a n d law is re n d e re d
ten u o u s an d illegible as a m argin in several senses o f th e word. First, we
can th in k o f this “site” o f uncertainty7as itself co n stitu tin g a sort o f m ar­
gin a lo n g which the legitim acy of state pow er can be seen to unravel.
S econd, this “unraveling” often intensifies in those areas— such as the
o n es I will be discussing here— that are said to be b o th spatially an d
socially “m arginal” to th e nation-state. Finally, and p erh ap s m ost im p o r­
tantly, it is a site from w hich the spatializing idiom o f centers and m ar­
gins itself becom es illegible. In this respect, 1 want to think ab o u t the
su sp e n d e d m o m en t in tim e that sep arates th reat a n d g u aran tee as a
“site" th a t is n eith er in h eren tly spatial (as is the ch eck p o in t itself) n o r

36
 B etween T hreat and G uarantee

stable, as in e ith e r predictable o r ideologically in ten tio n ed . R ather, it is

a site that itself is only traceab le thro u g h (b u t n o t equivalent w ith) the
sorts of fleetin g instances in w hich peasant life engages the languages,
institutions, spaces, and p e o p le w ho re p re se n t ju stic e and th e law. In
this respect, I see tim e and m obility as in som e senses even m ore central
th an space to th e twin p ro b le m s o f m argins a n d th e ex cep tio n s that
inhabit (an d constitute) those m argins.
In th in k in g ab o u t these issues, one of m y m ain concerns will be to
question th e relatio n sh ip b etw een the sp atializin g im ages a n d tropes
th ro u g h w h ic h th e state lays claim to b o th te rrito ry and p a rtic u la r
form s o f life, a n d the lived e x p e rie n c e o f ju s tic e as a set o f practices
through w hich th e state’s claim s to (territorial a n d social) inclusion are
often re n d e re d illegible an d o p aq u e. As an o n g o in g , unresolved co n ­
versation w ith th e state, th e id e a o f “se e k in g ju s tic e ” is c o n tin u a lly
referred to a m aterial g eo g rap h y o f centers a n d m argins. In m u ch o f
the Latin A m ericanist literatu re, this geography is described in term s of
the allegedly d iscrete spaces o f local and n a tio n al life. Peasants a re said
to “e n c o u n te r” th e state w h en thev e n te r g o v e rn in c n t offices and
schools. P e a sa n t com m unities are sim ilarly im ag in ed to exist at a cul­
tural and social “rem ove” fro m a national c u ltu re and polity th a t are
im agined to have a tangible (an d geographically locatable) “m a rg in ” of
“in clu sio n ” a n d “exclusion.” P easan t m en a re “ex tracted ” fro m th eir
localities th ro u g h v oluntary o r fo rced m ilita ry re c ru itm e n t a n d are
“relo cated in ” th e natio n al (o r at least “n o n lo c a l”) spaces o f capital
cities, barracks, an d patrols. T h ese sorts o f territo rializin g languages—
which them selves are, of co u rse, a p ro d u ct o f nation-state fo rm atio n —
assum e a cen trifu g al and m a te ria l m odel o f spatial relations in w hich a
“m arg in ” is im a g in e d as so m e th in g th a t c a n b e located, crossed,
expanded, o r fixed as the o u te r edge of a given social unit. T his no tio n
o f a territo rial m argin (to g e th e r with the unsh ak ab ly spatialized m odel
o f culture th a t h au n ts an th ro p o lo g y ) inform s th e fam iliar a n th ro p o lo g ­
ical d escrip tio n o f p easant fam ilies, h o u seh o ld s, an d co m m u n ities as
distant, rem o v ed , and above all m arginal to a state th at m akes “incur-
sions in to ” th e ir lives in th e fo rm o f schools, san itary posts, a n d the
occasional d ev elo p m en t p ro ject.
O f co u rse, som e language o f spatial m arginality is inevitable w hen
speaking o f co m m u n ities w h o se lives have b e e n c o n strain ed and

37
D eborah P oole
red u ced in often quite violent ways by a state whose ad m in istratio n o f
ihese pop u latio n s builds o n a w hole slew o f racial, political, and class-
based assum ptions a b o u t th e ir “m arginality.” Indeed, “m arg in alizatio n ”
is a pow erful technique o f pow er precisely because the m arg in is both a
real place w here roads d o n o t p en etrate, com m odities seldom reach,
and schools barely exist, an d a discursive an d ideological position from
which p e o p le learn how to speak a b o u t things like ju stic e to the state
and a m o n g them selves (Tsing 1993).
W h at h ap p en s to o u r u n d e rsta n d in g o f b o th “ju s tic e ” a n d “th e
state ” how ever if we fo rg et for the m o m e n t ab o u t reso lu tio n and loca­
tion a n d fo cu s instead o n m ovem ent, tem porality, a n d p ro c e d u re ?
W hat h a p p e n s if, instead o f dwelling on th e institutional spaces o f the
judiciary, we think ab o u t th e endless an d u n p red ictab le circulation o f
juridical paperw ork? W hat h appens if, in stead of locating th e m argin o f
the state som ew here betw een the u rb an an d rural spaces in w hich peas­
ants live, tve look for it in th at odd— and highly m obile— space betw een
threat an d guarantee that surfaces every tim e and every place a peasant
h an d s e ith e r legal p ap ers o r d o cu m en ts to an agent o f th e state? In
th in k in g a b o u t how th e n o tio n o f "a m a rg in ” c o n d itio n s p e o p le ’s
u n d e rsta n d in g s of th e state, I w ant to focus h ere, n o t o n the fixed
b o u n d a rie s an d territo ries o f a p o litical-eco n o m ic geo g rap h y , b u t
ra th e r o n this highly m obile, tangible, a n d em b o d ied sp ace thro u g h
which th e pow er of the state is felt as th e slippage betw een th reat and
g uarantee.
In discussing these issues here, I will draw on two p erio d s o f field
research T h e first, betw een 1985 and 1990, includes several periods o f
b o th e x te n d e d and short-term fieldw ork in the h ig h lan d province o f
C hum bivilcas-in the d ep artm en t of C uzco. M ost o f th e g en eral argu-
m ents 1 offer in this chapter about the privatization of ju stice an d the
cu ltu re o f gamonalismo are based on th a t fieldw ork, an d o n th e m ore
detailed historical and ethnographic arg u m en ts I have m ad e elsew here
about this particular form o f power (P oole 1988, 1994). In th e second
section o f th e chapter, 1 draw on two b riefer periods of fieldw ork, car­
ried o u t in 1999 and 2000, on the adm inistration of ju stice and recent
ju d icial refo rm s in the departm ent of A yacucho. W hen 1 speak of the
broad category of “peasants,” I am referrin g to Q uechua-speaking and
bilingual (Q uechua-Spanish) rural p ro d u cers from these two regions
 B etween T hreat and G uarantee

of P eru. Both reg io n s share certain form s o f com m unity an d econom ic

organization. B ecause o f poverty levels and p o o r in stitu tio n al in teg ra­
tion, Peruvian politicians, intellectuals, state agencies, an d NGOs co n ­
sider bo th regions to have som e o f th e m ost “m arg in al” populations in
th e P eruvian n a tio n -sta te . Ironically, this classificatio n co n tin u es
d e sp ite th e c e n tra lity o f bo th re g io n s to the w ar b etw een th e PCP-
S e n d e ro L u m in o so (PCP-SL), th e MRTA, and th e P eruvian arm ed
fo rces (D eg reg o ri 1989; M a n riq u e 1989; P oole a n d R en iq u e 1992;
S tern 1998). As th e first territory subjected to em erg en cy power, and as
the h o m e o f m any o f the PCP-SL’s m ilitary leaders, A yacucho suffered
som e o f the w orst h u m an -rig h ts violations d u rin g th e twelve-year w ar
(A m ericas W atch 1992; C O M ISE D H 1990; C o m isio n d e la Verclacl y
R cconciliacion 2003; DESCO 1989; G arcia Sayan 1987).
I begin with a b rie f sketch o f th e Peruvian le g a l/ju d ic ia l system. 1
th e n look in m o re d etail at th e ways in w hich th e slip p ery b o u n d ary
betw een private a n d state law has b e e n negotiated in two m om ents in
flic historv o f P eru . By tracing som e o f the co n tin u ities betw een these
two ra th e r d iffe re n t historical p e rio d s, I hope to show b o th how the
tension betw een th re a t and g u a ra n te e has figured in th e daily lives of
A n d ean p easant com m unities an d how the privatized an d often violent
justice o f the “m a rg in s” has fig u re d in the fo rm atio n (or, m ore accu­
rately, the co n tin u al refo u n d in g ) o f th e Peruvian lib eral state.

LO CATING TH E MARGIN OF THE STATE

Like states discussed in o th e r ch ap ters of this b o o k , th e Perm ian
state has b een p ro fo u n d ly m a rk e d by its histo ry as a co lo n ial state.
L ocated on th e territo rial m arg in s o f the S panish co lo n ial w orld, th e
Peruvian viceroyalty itself was, in tu rn , shaped by a ju risd ictio n al logic
th at d e p e n d e d on a series o f in te rn a l bo u n d aries. T h e first and m ost
im p o rta n t was th e ju risd ictio n al distinction betw een th e “R epublic o f
S p an iard s” an d th e “R epublic o f In d ian s,” each w ith its own legal code,
m odes o f authority, taxation, a n d privileges. A seco n d was the form ida­
ble geographic divide and distance th at separated th e A ndes— and the
even m ore rem o te A m azon ju n g le provinces— from th e viceroval capi­
tal o f Lim a on P e ru ’s central coast. As in the o th e r S panish colonial
states, the in stitu tio n a l and legal fo rm th at b rid g e d th ese d iffe re n t
sp h eres was the encomienda. In theory, the en co m ien d a was a grant over

39
 Deborah P oole

Indian la b o r provided to loyal Spaniards in retu rn fo r th e ir pro tectio n

and conversion of the In d ian s to the “o n e tru e faith.” A lthough legally
the e n c o m ie n d a did n o t provide rights to land, it soon devolved in to a
de facto p a th to la n d h o ld in g and th e ev en tu al e m e rg e n c e -o f larg e
and sem ifeu d al lan d h o ld in g s, o r h a c ie n d a s. E qually im p o rta n t, th e
en co m ien d a also served to g ro u n d the adm inistrative a n d colonial state
a p p a ra tu s in the p riv ate d o m in io n s— a n d p riv atized sp h eres o f
power— o f th e indigenous nobles and S panish encomenderos who ad m in ­
istered ju stic e , co llected taxes, an d o th erw ise re g u la te d relatio n s
betw een th e crown an d its far-flung co lo n ial subjects. In this respect,
the p riv ate ap p ro p ria tio n o f public o r state fu n ctio n s can be said to
form th e historical b ed ro ck o f the Peruvian state and ju d ic ia l system .1
P e ru g ain ed its in d e p e n d e n c e fro m S pain in 1821 after a p r o ­
longed w ar in which th e co u n try ’s elites actively resisted any th reat to
their political and econom ic privileges as p art o f the S panish Em pire
D uring th e w ar with S pain and the e n su in g struggle to d efin e P e ru ’s
rep u b lican identitv, the principal factor sh ap in g both politics and th e
landscape o f pow er in P eru was an intense;—an d grow ing— rift betw een
the in terests and resources o f the coastal capital of L im a and the less
p ro sp e ro u s an d freq u en tly m ore p ro g ressiv e re g io n a l elites fro m
provinces ou tsid e the capital city (G o o te n b e rg 1989; O ’P helan 2001;
W alker 1999).
T his rift was to have im p o rtan t and lasting im plications for the rela­
tion b etw een private pow er and the ad m in istratio n o f ju stic e in re p u b ­
lican P eru . Indeed, P e ru ’s first constitution, w ritten ju s t two years after
in d e p e n d e n c e , sanctified this p o larizin g divide as a key featu re o f
Peruvian governance. T h e constitution— a n d those th a t follow ed— p ro ­
vided fo r a highly centralized governm ent (located in L im a) that w ould
be fo rev er divided betw een th e co m p e tin g discourses o f sovereignty
p ro p er to its executive an d parliam entary branches. W hile the execu­
tive b ra n c h , as in other B olivarian states, was granted extensive pow ers
of em ergency legislative d ecree, the elected p arliam en t ap p ealed to an
explicitly R ousseauian d o c trin e o f p o p u la r sovereignty (Aljovin d e
Losada 2000; Basadre 1997; Lovem an 1993; Planas 1998; S tu art 1925).
This language of p o p u lar sovereignty integral to th e Peruvian co n ­
stitu tio n al o rd e r was in tim ately and u n easily related to a n o th e r lan ­
guage o f com m unity— in particular, th e “n a tu ra l” o r fo u n d a tio n a l

4°
 B e t w ee n T h r e a t and G uarantee

co m m u n ities o f in d ig en o u s su b jects w ho fo rm e d th e vast m ajority of

th e p o p u latio n . A lthough n in eteen th -cen tu ry lib eral reform s abolished
th e distinctive ju rid ic a l con v en tio n o f the in d ig en o u s republic a n d o u t­
law ed the collective mp ro p erty rig h ts th at c o n stitu te d the basis o f the
n a tio n 's “n a tu ra l c o m m u n itie s” o f in d ig en o u s subjects, in d ig e n o u s
c o m m u n itie s re m a in e d u n til 1855 th e basis fo r co llectin g th e h ead
taxes th at h e lp e d to finance th e liberal state. In this way, th e sem iau-
to n o m o u s juridical, productive, a n d political sp h e re s o f the in d ig en o u s
co m m u n ities cam e to form b o th th e fiscal basis o f th e P eruvian state
an d the p e rc e p tu a l m argins o f its national “civilization.”
In term s o f a spatial language fo r rep resen tin g th e nation, th e n , lib­
eral talk a b o u t citizen sh ip a n d civilization has p ro d u c e d an im ag e of
P eru as a n ested set o f dual o p p o sitio n s pitting th e C reole coast against
th e in d ig e n o u s h ig h lan d s, th e civilizing c e n te r against th e savage
periphery. At th e c e n te r of this im agined state was a n ational govern­
m e n t w hose claim s to so v ereig n au th o rity re ste d on its su p p o sed ly
exclusive rig h t to m ake and e n fo rc e laws and, in th e case of th e ex ecu ­
tive bran ch , d e c la re states o f ex cep tio n . This claim to sovereignty, how ­
ever, was re n d e re d curiously illeg ib le by the ways in w hich th e sta te ’s
ow n ju d icial a p p a ra tu s cam e to d e p e n d on th e very form s o f n atu ral
com m u n ity a n d private ju stice th a t w ere spoken o f as sim ultaneously
fo u n d atio n al a n d an teced en t to th e state. Since th e first co n stitu tio n of
1823, this ju d ic ia l system has b e e n form ed of, essentially, fo u r levels: a
su p rem e c o u rt lo cated in L im a; a shifting n u m b e r o f su p e rio r courts
lo c a te d in th e m o st im p o rta n t d e p a rtm e n ta l cap itals; ju d g e s o f first
instance located in im p o rtan t provincial capitals; an d , finally, a u n iq u e
netw ork o f local ju stices o f the p eace whose pow ers range from ro u tin e
ad m in istrativ e fu n c tio n s (m a rria g e a n d titlin g ) to th e re so lu tio n of
local d isp u tes a n d d isc re tio n a ry c o n tro l o f w h ich cases pass o n to
h ig h e r courts (C om ision A n d in a d e Juristas 1999; Instituto de D efensa
Legal 1999, 2000).
Today, ju stic e s o f the p eace a c c o u n t for 72 p e rc e n t o f th e m agis­
trates in P eru (C om ision A n d in a d e Juristas 1999:9). They are clearly
th e ju d icial offices (an d officers) w ith which m o st Peruvians have the
m ost contact. A significant n u m b e r o f cases, how ever, are sen t o n for
co n sid eratio n by h ig h e r courts. T h u s, although peasants may n o t o ften
have p erso n al e x p e rie n c e writh (o r in) the spaces an d p ro c e d u re s of
 D eborah P o o ls

th e h ig h e r in stan ces, they u n d e rs ta n d that th e ir claim s d o circulate

through spaces and p ro c e d u re s “o u t th ere” in L im a or theLdepartm en-
tal capital. W h en speaking o f this procedure o f “advancing” cases to a
hig h er level o f authority, p easan ts borrow the S panish legal term derive?;
m ean in g “to derive” (as in th e derivation o f a w o rd ), as well as “to drift”
o r “to c h a n g e course.” In d e e d , as we will see, th e vast m ajority o f legal
cases th a t a re “d irected ” to th e n ex t level o f th e judicial ap p a ra tu s do
indeed seem to d rift m ore o r less aimlessly from o n e office to th e next,
before finally bein g re tu rn e d , unresolved and o ften years later, to their
points o f o rig in .2
This im ag e o f “drift” is m a d e all the m ore rem arkable by the fact
that, like th e rest o f the P eru v ian state, the ju d iciary is extrem ely cen­
tralized. A p p o in tm e n ts a t all levels, from su p re m e c o u rt ju stic e s to
ju d g es o f first instance, pass th ro u g h the executive branch. Justices of
th e peace a re a p p o in te d by th e ir c o rre sp o n d in g su p e rio r co u rts. In
m ost cases, ap p o in tm en ts in th e u p p e r courts are for life. A t th e same
tim e, the ju d ic ia ry ’s form al stru ctu re provides fo r a good deal o f au to n ­
om y on sev eral levels— at le a st on paper. Ju stic e s of the p e a c e and
judges o f first instance, for ex am p le, have discretionary pow er to direct,
o r not d irect, cases to h ig h er levels o f the system.
In m any cases, the relative autonom y g ran ted to local ju d g es (and
justices) h as fo stered a so rt o f d e facto— but, u n til the co n stitu tio n al
reform s o f 1993, legally u n a c k n o w le d g e d — fo rm o f legal pluralism
(B randt 1986; P asara 1982; P e n a Jum pa 1998; R ivadeneyra S anchez
1991). Ju stices o f the peace are specifically.m andated to draw o n com ­
m unity tra d itio n to resolve local disputes (C om ision A ndina de Juristas
1999, 2000; In ter-A m erican D ev elo p m en t B an k 1997:2; In s titu to de
D efensa L egal 1999, n.d.; M in isterio de Justicia del Peru 2000; Pasara
1979). B ecause th e re was n o co n stitu tio n al o r codified pro v isio n for
how (or w hich) “trad itio n s” sh o u ld be applied an d in te rp re te d , how­
ever, in p ra c tic e , the in d iv id u al m en w ho h e ld these posts exercised
co n sid erab le d iscretio n ary p o w e r over how p a rtic u la r o ffen ses and
disputes w ould o r would n o t b e p u n ish ed .3
In the m o re rem ote h ig h la n d regions— in clu d in g the two w here I
have w o rk ed — th e a ll-im p o rta n t offices of ju s tic e o f the p e a c e were
dom inated u n til recently, n o t by m em bers of p easan t com m unities with
som e claim to collective tra d itio n , b u t rath er by m en from pow erful

42
 B etween T h r e a t and G uarantee

local m e rc h a n t o r la n d h p ld in g fam ilies. As a resu lt, th e ju s tic e s ’

p e rso n a l netw orks o f econom ic a n d political p o w er were, m ore often
th an n o t, one an d th e sam e w ith th e juridical ju risd ictio n s assigned to
th e m as officers o f th e state. In th e se cases, th e a re n a o f “tra d itio n ”
u p o n w hich ju d icial au th o rities drew frequently involved personalized
(a n d , to be sure, “illeg al”) fo rm s o f physical a n d eco n o m ic co ercio n
(M an riq u e 1988; P o o le 1988; P asara 1979). T h e “shadow ” cast by this
de facto blu rrin g o f “im partial” ju d ic ia l p u n ish m e n t an d personalized
o r ex traju d icial v io len ce was e x p a n d e d (or p e rh a p s the a p p ro p ria te
m e ta p h o r is “d a rk e n e d ”) by th e fact th at ju stic e s o f the p eace an d
ju d g e s o f first in stan ce often acted as representatives o f several differ­
e n t in stan ces o f th e state, as w ell as rep resen tativ es o f the m o n ey ed
in d iv id u als an d fam ilies ag ain st w hom p easan ts m o st often so u g h t
red ress in their legal cases.4
It is here, w h ere th e discursive (an d legal) sep aratio n of functions,
p erso n s, and offices breaks dow n, an d w here th e extrajudicial, violent,
o r p riv ate origins o f th e law b e c o m e visible, th a t I seek to locate th e
“m arg in s” o f the state. In m any cases, this “fro n tie r” betw een th e legal
an d extralegal c o rresp o n d s with territo ries w hose econom ies an d p o p ­
u latio n s m ight be co n stru ed as resid in g at a physical distance fro m th e
c e n te rs o f political a n d econom ic power. In o th e r cases, however, this
fro n tie r runs th ro u g h th e very h e a rt o f those offices, institutions, an d
individuals who seem to em body th e very cen ter o f th e central state.
In m y previous w ork, I have attem p ted to u n p a c k this idea o f the
m a rg in o r fro n tie r th ro u g h a c o n sid e ra tio n o f th e figure o f th e
gamonal. D erived fro m th e n am e o f a vigorous h ig h -m o u n tain o r tu n ­
d ra p la n t th at grows th ro u g h parasitic ru n n ers ajid roots, th e gam onal is
m o st succinctly d e fin e d as a h ig h ly p erso n alized fo rm o f local pow er
w hose authority is g ro u n d e d in n early equal m easu re in his co n tro l o f
local econom ic reso u rces (B urga a n d Flores G alin d o 1987; M ariategui
1 9 25), political access to th e sta te , w illingness to use v io len ce
(M an riq u e 1988), a n d th e sym bolic capital pro v id ed by his association
w ith su ch im p o rta n t icons o f m ascu lin ity as livestock, horses, a n d a
reg io n al bohem ian aesthetic (de la C ad en a 2000; P oole 1988, 1994).
T h e p articu lar fe a tu re o f th e gam onal th at I w ant to u n d ersco re,
how ever, is his historical status as representative o f b o th the state an d
th e prin cip al form s o f private, extrajudicial, a n d even crim inal pow er

43
D eborah P oole

that th e state p u rp o rted ly seeks to displace th ro u g h law, citizenship,

and public adm inistration. T h u s; gam onales in the regions w here I did
my fieldw ork w ould co m m o n ly rule in two ap p aren tly d istin c t lan d ­
scapes o f p o w er— the trad itio n al agrarian estate, w here th e gam onal
served as m agistrate, police officer, and jailer, and the m o d e rn liberal
state, w here th e sam e m an often served as legislative representative and
civilizing a g e n t fo r th e “p rim itiv e” (and fo r th e m ost p a rt d isen fran ­
chised) in d ig en o u s populations who form ed the m ajority in his hom e
district.
Elsew here I have focused on the perform ative aspects o f both vio­
lence and m asculinity as d efin in g features o f a regim e o f pow er th at is
attach ed , in im p o rta n t sym bolic as well as m aterial ways, to th e body
(and p erso n ) o f the gam onal. H ere 1 w ould like to pull away from the
person o f th e gam onal h im self and focus m o re closely on th e m ercurial
qualities o f gam onalism o as a site that reveals th e place o f th e m argin in
the logic o f th e state. Peruvian intellectuals, politicians, an d u rb an peo­
ple in g e n e ra l have long seen both the g am o n al and gam onalism o as
evocative sym bols o f th e d a n g e rs and illicit an d excessive form s o f
pow er believ ed to lurk a lo n g th e territo rial a n d political fro n tiers of
the Peruvian nation-state. T h u s, during th e 1920s and 1930s, highland
m iddle-class an d m estizo intellectuals know n as indigenistas, as well as
socialist intellectuals in L im a (M ariategui 1925), d en o u n ced gam onal
violence. H alf a century later, gam onalism o was a rhetorical an d politi­
cal ta rg e t fo r th e left-w ing m ilitary g o v e rn m e n t o f G e n e ra l V elasco
A lvarado. M ore recently, th e au th o ritarian cu ltu re of gam onalism o has
been cited as a factor co n trib u tin g to the political violence o f th e 1980s
(D egregori 1989; M anrique 1989; Poole ed. 1994; Poole a n d R enique
1992).
Today, to speak o f—o r to accuse so m eo n e o f—gam onalism o is to
speak o f a ty p e o f illicit fo rc e th a t is a t o n c e vaguely “p re m o d e rn ,”
u n c o n tro lle d , a n d sh am efu lly ru d e (th a t is, u n civilized). In C uzco,
these qualities are em phasized by com paring th e gam onal to th e m ore
“cu ltu red ” o r “d e c e n t” landow ners who go v ern their lan d s an d peons
w ithout excess. T h e q u ality o f ru d en ess fo rm s the c e n te r o f the
g am o n al’s m ythic p erso n a in two senses fo r th e bilingual (an d “bicul-
tu ral”) g a m o n a l— as I have arg u ed elsew here at greater le n g th (Poole
1988)— in c o rp o ra tin g b o th th e idea o f th e in d ig en o u s prim itiv e (or

44
 B etween T hreat and G uarantee

“n a tu ra l m a n ”) w hose state o f n a tu re precedes th e state, an^i the c o u n ­

terv ailin g m ystique o f th e illicit crim in al w hose p o w er so m eh o w
escap es th e “lo n g a rm ” o f th e state. A t the sam e tim e, it was th e
g am o n al w ho historically m o n o p o lized access to th e n ational state, in
th e form o f ap p o in te d offices (for ex am p le, su b p refectu re) and even as
elected p arliam en tary representatives.5
I w ant to focus fo r a m in u te on th e rudeness o f th e gam onal a n d ,
by ex ten sio n , th at fo rm o f pow er know n in Peru as gam onalism o. As a
p erso n al ch aracteristic, “ru d en ess” suggests both ig n o ran ce (or lack o f
e d u c a tio n ) an d an ex cep tio n al sen se o f self-cen tered n ess (or lack o f
civility). B oth p o sitio n th e gam onal a n d the fo rm o f pow er he re p re ­
sen ts so m ew h ere ju s t o u tsid e th e accep tab le b o u n d a rie s o f social
behavior. In the lan g u ag e m ost o ften used to d e n ig ra te persons o f b o th
g a m o n a l an d ru ra l o rig in s in g e n e ra l, h e is d e n ie d th e status o f a
“d e c e n t” person. As M arisol de la C ad e n a (2000) h as argued, the label
“d e c e n t” (decente) carries a heavy racial load in the P eruvian Andes. N ot
to b e reco g n ized as d e c e n te is to b e a t o n ce u n so cialized an d d a rk ,
ru ral an d Indian, unw ashed and im p u re. In ad d itio n to its racial co n ­
n o tatio n s, how ever, lack o f decency also co n n o tes lack o f civility an d
th u s a certain d ista n c e — th o u g h n o t exclusion— fro m th e social c o n ­
tract th at m akes u p “d e c e n t” society. R udeness, m oreover, can be e ith e r
u n in te n d e d (th ro u g h igno rance) o r in ten tio n al (th ro u g h arro g an ce).
It can refer to e ith e r th e savage, as a p erso n w ho has n o t yet en tered th e
social state, o r th e in d iv id u alist, as so m eo n e w h o h as d elib erately
rem oved h im self fro m th e co n strain ts o f social m an n ers.
It is precisely this am biguous m ix tu re o f th re a te n in g savagery a n d
sed u ctiv e in d iv id u alism th a t fo rm s th e m ystique (a n d th reat) o f th e
gam onal. O n ce we re a d th is c h a ra c ter back o n to th e g am o n al’s equally
am b iv alen t role in th e constitution o f th e Peruvian state in its territorial
h in te rla n d s, it b eco m es possible to im agine the g am o n al as som ehow
b o th originary o f th e state (as in th e “state o f n a tu re ” th a t precedes a n d
stan d s opp o sed to th e state) an d th re a te n in g to it (as in th at ultim ate
individual, the crim in al) (see B enjam in [1978] 1986).6 As ju d g e o r ju s ­
tice o f th e peace, th e gam onal em b o d ies th e state, yet h e also m arks th e
sp o t w here the sta te ’s rationality a n d ju risd ictio n fad e in to the u n c o n ­
tro llab le (and u n se e n , h en ce secret) dom in io n s o f extrajudicial force
a n d violence. A t th e sam e tim e, in his “o th e r” ro le as local authority,

45
D eborah P o o e e

judge, or schoolteacher, the gam onal is very m u ch a part o f th e ongo­

in g , day-to-day constitution o f “th e state.”

P R IV A T E J U S T IC E A N D T H E J U R ID IC A L S T A T E
T he originary and boundary-m arking qualities o f classic gam onal-
ism o em erge clearly in a 1920sjudicial case from Ayacucho. In th e case,
Sam uel T orres, a nonindigenous ran ch er from C hapi in the d istrict of
C hu n q u i (L a M ar Province, d e p a rtm e n t o f A yacucho), a tte m p te d to
press charges against the hacendado H ernan C arrillo for th e crim e of
w hipping (ADA 1920). T h e case, w hich lasted fo r nearly a d ecad e, is
in te re stin g prim arily fo r w hat it tells us a b o u t th e ra th e r b y zan tin e
adm inistrative histories o f such cases. T he first d en u n cia was ad d ressed
in April 1920 to the prefect o f th e d ep artm en t o f Ayacucho, w hose seat
was in the d ep artm en tal capital o f H uam anga (A yacucho). In detailing
th e charges, Torres tells o f th e various abuses h e allegedly su ffered at
th e han d s o f H ern an , “son o f d o n B enjam in C arrillo, h a c e n d a d o o f
C h ap i.” A cco rd in g to T orres, C arrillo e n te re d his ranch a lo n g with
seven o th e r m en. T hen, T orres continues:
[W jithout giving me any motive, Carrillo ordered that I be
arrested, an order that was carried out by his accomplices,
who m ade use of the firearm s thely carried with them to
threaten me with shots. O nce seized in th e corridor of my
house, I was dragged by Carrillo and his accomplices to the
patio w here they laid me on the ground an d w hipped me vil­
lainously, as the m edical certificate that accom panies this
docum ent attests. (ADA 1920:f. 3v)
T he m en th en stole a horse, pocketknife, an d revolver from Torres.
T orres also d en o u n ces Z aragosa A spur as the “instigator o f th e crim inal
acts” and requests that the “p en al sanction also be brought to b e a r on
her, so th at sh e m ight re tu rn to m e the gray m u le that belongs to m e
a n d w hich h a d been u n d u ly [indebidamente] d isp atch ed to C h ap i by
[a n o th e r accu sed m an] A velino N unez, because the said b east is still
th ere on h e r ran ch .” H e th en co m m en ts that “m y own attem pts to get
them to m o u n t an investigation in C hungui have been sterile because
o f the in flu en ce [ascendiente o r ascendancy] th a t C arrillo has over this
district” (ADA 1920:f. 3v).

46
 B etween T hreat and G uarantee

In T o rres’s accusation against C arrillo, th e law m aking pow er o f th e

gam onal is all too clear. C arrillo, w ho h o ld s n o office, is said to “arrest”
T orres an d to head a b a n d o f accom plices w ho act as his “d ep u ties” an d
pun ish T orres for so m e offense. C arrillo is also p o rtray ed as having a
firm h o ld — o r g reat “a sc e n d a n c e ”— over th e en tire ju d ic ia l and state
ap p aratu s o f the region:
Because Sr. Fiscal, as you know, th e political an d ju d icial
authorities are held in sway by those who im pose themselves
with the tide of gam onales who are those who subjugate the
laws of the land [avasallan las leyes patriasj. As a result of the
unfounded fears o f these [gamonales] 1 have been unable to
get, the justice o f th e peace in C hungui to carry o u t his duty
by taking any m easures in my com plaint. For th at reason I
th en w ent to the capital of La Mar, traveling m o re than
thirty leagues, b u t th ere too I was unable to obtain justice
from the local authorities who claim ed that the law was new,
that the Subprefect did not know about it [the law], that the
Judge of First Instance did not exist, that the Town Mayor
was absent, and thus that nobody could hear my case. From
that state of despair, I arrived to this city
t [H uam anga] drag-
ging myself alo n g after the w hipping, and I w ent to the
Fiscal Agent who inform ed m e that he was not req u ired to
denounce deeds th at were not done in his jurisdiction, and
that I should therefore return to La M ar and file my charges
with the Fiscal A gent of La Mar, an office that does n o t even
exist. T hat is my despair: that justice does not reach m e [no
me alcancejusticia]. (ADA 1920:ff. I I-lv)
T h e ro u te follow ed by T o rres’s case is b o th c o m p le x an d highly
typical. To give a quick id ea o f the case’s course: T h e day after charges
w ere file d in th e p re fe c t’s d isp atch in H u a m a n g a , th e case was
re m a n d e d to the su b p re fe c t in La M ar (a jo u rn e y th a t w ould have
taken several days at b est in 1929). T h is su b p refect th e n o rd e re d th e
g o v e rn o r o f th e C h u n g u i D istrict to “g a th e r the a n im a ls a n d th in g s
taken by D on H ern an C arrillo an d se n d this evidence to th e Ju d g e o f
the First Instance so th a t h e m ight o rg an ize a h e a rin g .” In th e m ean­
tim e, T o rre s filed m o re p ap erw o rk , in c re a sin g th e c h a rg e s against

47
D eborah P o o l e

Z aragoza a n d a d d in g to th e list o f his stolen p ro p erty . T o rre s n ex t

a p p ro a c h e d th e p u b lic p ro se c u to r (fiscal) in th e su p e rio r c o u rt in
H uam anga, only to have his case again retu rn ed to th e ju d g e in L a Mar.
T h is ju d g e , in tu rn , w rote to th e su b p refect (in La M ar) th a t th e
accused did n o t b e lo n g to his ju risd ic tio n (C hungui) and th at h e thus
re q u ire d a special o rd e r from th e subprefect to a ct on the case. T h e
p ap ers were th e n se n t to the g o v ern o r o f C hungui, w here they rested
u n to u ch ed for n early a year b efo re b ein g sent o n ce again to th e su p er­
io r co u rt in H u am an g a. T he su p e rio r co u rt then d irected the case back
to the justice o f th e peace in C h u n g u i, who d irected it to the ju d g e o f
th e first in stan ce in A yacucho, statin g th at “the p e rso n n e l in th is dis­
p atch excuse them selves from th e case because o f spiritual re la tio n s
[th a t is, compadrazgo] with the accused, H ernan C arrillo .”
T h e case follow s a sim ilar itin e ra ry over the n e x t eight years, m ov­
in g back and fo rth no fewer th an tw enty times betw een A yacucho and
La Mar, w here it circulates a m o n g virtually all th e au th o rities o f th at
province- At all levels, the expediente’s routings, o r “driftings,” in clu d e
n o t onlv judicial au th o rities b u t also such adm inistrative officials as sub­
p refects an d p refects, n o n e o f w h o m fulfill any ex p licit ju d ic ia l role.
Finally, in A p ril 1926, six years a fte r th e events in q u estio n , T o rres
w rites that he has b een unable to g et a single p erso n to testify against
C arrillo , “b e c a u se as a feared g a m o n a l in the h ig h la n d re g io n s o f
C hapi, C hungi an d o th e r places, h e im pedes [dificulta] the a p p e a ra n ce
o f witnesses by th re a te n in g to in flict all sorts o f h a rm to them [if they
testify]. They are terrified by his c o n d u c t and his an teced en ts a re h ate­
ful [destestablesT (ADA 1920:f.61). In February 1927, T orres's case is
th e n raised fo r a fifth , an d final, tim e to the su p e rio r court, w h e re it
rem ains^ u n to u c h e d , until O cto b er 1929, at w hich tim e it is archivado
(closed w ithout re so lu tio n ).7
D uring th e n in e years that elap sed betw een T o rres’s first denuncia
a n d its “archiving,” T o rres’s case “d rifte d ,” at least o n ce, th ro u g h every
in stan ce o f th e A yacucho state g o v ern m en t. This “d rift” was p ro p e lle d ,
in large part, by fe a r o f a gam onal w ho, far from having to “d ire c t” the
d o cu m en ts alo n g th e ir path, n e e d e d only to sit in C hungui a n d allow
th e papers to m o v e along th eir co u rse. Because C arrillo was a fe a re d
g a m o n al, his “law m ak in g ” pow ers w ere largely reactiv e an d h e n c e
officially invisible. T h e passive (o r deflective) agency o f the g am o n al

4s
 B etween T hreat and G uarantee

surfaces m ost clearly in th e testim ony o f w itnesses w ho re sp o n d to ques­

tio n in g ab o u t C arrillo’s crim e by sp eak in g o f other, local cycles of ro b ­
bery a n d anim al th e ft. T h u s, w hen ask ed a b o u t th e in cid en t in
.question, witnesses re sp o n d with d etailed accounts o f e ith e r their own
co m p lain ts ab o u t anim als th at have b e e n stolen by T orres o r others, o r
th eir ow n u n d e rsta n d in g o f a cycle in w hich C arrillo ro b s from Torres,
w ho ro b s from Z aragoza, w ho robs fro m C arrillo, a n d so on. R ath er
than o p t fo r silence, th e w itnesses in T o rre s’s case answ er in the local
lan g u ag e o f v en g ean ce— w hat K ant calls th e “recip ro cal ju stic e ” th a t
exists in n atu re. In th is way, they h o p e p e rh a p s to d e fle c t th e accusa­
tions against th e feared C arrillo, w hile at th e sam e tim e sneaking in a
plea fo r th e retu rn o f th e ir own stolen livestock. Two p o in ts are w orth
e m p h a siz in g h ere. F irst, n o n e o f th e w itnesses re fe r to th e crim inal
charges o f w hipping a n d robbery b ein g b ro u g h t against C arrillo in this
case (a n d ab o u t w hich they w ere in te rro g a te d ). Instead, th e witnesses
u n d e rta k e th e ir ow n so rt o f “d ire c tin g ” (o r “d e to u rin g ”) o f th e case
away fro m th e feared C arrillo.
S eco n d , it is precisely this “d e to u rin g ” o r avoidance o f th e gam onal
th at causes th e ch arg es to loop back ag ain st T orres h im se lf so that in
the e n d , Carrillo is ab le to co n stru ct a d efen se th a t in c lu d e s crim inal
charges against Torres fo r th e theft o f C a rrillo ’s (an d o th e rs ’) anim als.
As w ith th e p assen g er lists with w hich I b eg an this c h a p te r, T o rres’s
legal p ap erw o rk quickly slips in to tf^at uneasy space b etw een threat an d
g u aran tee. By accep tin g a n d reco rd in g th e testim ony as evidence sup­
p o rtin g th e ju stice o f C a rrillo ’s “a rre st” o f T orres, th e adm inistrative
an d know ledge-gathering pow er o f th e state in co rp o rates an d partially
legitim izes th e u lte rio r logic o f a ju d ic ia l cu ltu re b ased o n reciprocal
acts o f “self-m ade” ju stice. Such reversals o f ju stice w ere com m on at th e
tim e. In o th e r legal cases I have review ed fro m the C uzco a n d A yacucho
arch iv es, it was n o t a t all u n c o m m o n fo r those Filing th e o rig in al
charges to en d up d o in g tim e in jail.
P e ru v ia n n a tio n a l im a g in a tio n (a n d th e sta te ’s ow n re p re se n ta ­
tions o f itself) conceives o f ju risd ictio n s like C hungui w h ere gam onales
ru led (a n d in m any instances still ru le) as h in terlan d s ly in g ju st beyond
som e im aginary b o u n d a ry o f th e state. T h e nation-state, in o th erw o rd s,
is conceived o f as a cen tralized adm inistrative and political com m unity
w hose density decreases as o n e m oves tow ard its territo rial m argins an d

49
 D eborah P o o le

away from th e ad m in istrativ e c e n te rs o f Lim a a n d th e d e p a rtm e n ta l

capitals. W hat su ch cases as T o rre s ’s m ake clear, how ever, is th at th e
g am o n al’s pow er lies precisely in his ability to reach across the distinct
ju risd ictio n al b o u n d aries that d e fin e th e nested territo rial structure o f
th e state. In d e e d , th e “long a rm ” o f gam onal p o w e r is closely allied
w ith— and, in so m e cases, o n e a n d th e sam e w ith— th e “long arm ” o f
th e law. F rom th e g a m o n a l’s (a n d th e p easan ts’) p ersp ectiv e, th en ,
th e re is little d istin c tio n b e tw e e n th e m argin a n d th e c e n te r o f th e
ju rid ic a l state: fo r th e gam onal, th e essence o f “law” resides in its neces­
sary privatization a n d , hence, in fra c tio n , ju st as th e sovereign’s pow er
resides in the ex cep tio n . Seen frp m this perspective, th e “law” as a guar­
a n to r o f rights always already c o n ta in s w ithin it th e th re a t o f an arb i­
trary pow er even w hen physical violence may not b e p resen t.
W ithin liberalism , both th e state an d its law are ex p lain ed and ju s ­
tified by referen ce to the m ythical history o f e m erg en ce an d transfor­
m atio n that o c c u r w hen individuals com e together to form society and
leave the “state o f n a tu re .” T his p o in t o f origin is n o t ju s t inscribed in
th e annals o f lib eral theory. It su rfaces each tim e th e in tim ate relation
b etw een law a n d e n fo rc e m e n t, b etw een th e ra tio n a lism o f ju rid ic a l
p ro c e d u re a n d th e violence o f th e state, betw een th e p erso n o f th e
objective ju d g e a n d th e p u n ish in g p erso n o f the jailer, is bro u g h t in to
consciousness. As o n e p ro m in e n t lib eral th eo rist p u t it w hile w riting
a b o u t th e n ecessary g ro u n d in g o f law in violence, “Every legal o rd e r
m u st conceive o f itself as em erg in g o u t o f that w hich is itself unlaw ful”
(C over 1995:118). In d eed , K ant h im self, who was very clear that the ori­
gins o f ju stice a n d law lay in w h at h e called “reciprocal coercion,” cau­
tio n s us re g a rd in g th e in h e re n t d a n g e r o f dw elling o n this p o in t o f
origin. “T h e o rig in o f the su p rem e authority,” K ant w rites, “is not open
to scrutiny by th e p eo p le w ho a re subject to it__W h e th e r as historical
fact, an actual con tract...o rig in ally p reced ed the subm ission to au th o r­
ity o r w hether, in stead , the a u th o rity p reced ed it an d th e law only cam e
la te r o r even is su p p o se d to h av e follow ed in this o rd e r— these are
p o in tle ss q u e stio n s th a t th re a te n th e state with d a n g e r if they are
ask ed ” (K ant [1797] 1965:84).
As a form o f p riv ate an d p a rtia l pow er rh a t c o n stitu te s “law,”
“authority,” an d “san ctio n ” at th e m arg in s o f the public a n d “im partial”
state, gam onalism o raises this se c re t o f th e coercive (o r lawless) origins
 B et w ee n T hreat and G uarantee

o f pow er in th e ju rid ical state. At the sam e tim e, as T o rres’s case m akes
clear, gam onalism o is also ro o te d in th e fo rm s and language ofju rid ical
an d legal process. It is th e re fo re n e ith e r an alternative form o f sover­
eignty th at exists “b e y o n d ” th e m arg in s o f th e state n o r a sovereign
pow er that e ith e r m im ics o r “contam inates" the state— for bo th these
term s imply a p o in t o f d e p a rtu re that is som ehow e x terio r to the state.
R ather, this re la tio n sh ip b etw een the P eru v ian state a n d its violent,
extraju d icial, prim itive, o r n a tu ra l “m a rg in s” is sim u ltan eo u sly b o th
accepted an d denied as a m o re o r less c o n stan t an d central featu re of th e
judiciary, an d in d eed o f “th e state” in g e n eral. To retu rn to my o p en in g
question, we m ig h t say th a t this double assertio n is m ade each tim e the
o rd e r “to p re se n t your d o c u m e n ts” is issued (and u n d ersto o d ) as both
a th reat and a g u arantee.

RECO NFIG URING T H E MARGINS

As a reco g n ized fo rm o f local pow er, g am o n alism o flo u rish ed in
th e 1920s, 1930s, an d 1940s, w hen h ig h la n d lan d o w n ers e x e rte d a
n o tab le in flu e n c e in th e n atio n al p a rlia m e n t. As “p o litician s," th e
gam onales w ere accepted in th e civil life o f the nation; as “lan d lo rd s”
an d local ru lers, they w ere exiled to th e far-off reaches o f th e indige­
n ous h ig h lan d s. M oreover, in both political discourse a n d th e public
im agination, th e spatial d istan cin g o f gam onalism o was m atch ed by its
rem oval in tim e to a “p re m o d e m ” era, w h en abusive, private pow er h ad
n o t yet b een rep laced by th e b u re a u c ratic rationality o f an idealized
m o d ern state. T hus, g am onalism o was w idely u n d ersto o d as a problem
th at would b e elim inated by th e eventual m o d ern izatio n a n d territorial
consolidation o f th e adm inistrative state. Successive state reform s tar­
geted the abuses o f the gam onales, m ost dram atically in th e early 1970s-
w hen th e m ilitary g o v e rn m e n t h e a d e d by G en eral J u a n V elasco
A lvarado effected an a g ra ria n reform w h o se p rin cip al rh eto rical an d
ideological targ et was gam onalism o. By elim in atin g large lan d h o ld in g s
an d abusive local pow ers, V elasco p ro m ised to rationalize p ro d u ctio n
a n d attain eq u ity in th e d istrib u tio n o f la n d . In sh o rt, by targ etin g
gam o n alism o , th e m ilitary refo rm ers h o p e d to m o d e rn iz e a state in
w hich private interests w ere seen to d o m in a te over th e co m m o n public
good. In isolating the gam o n ales as “p re m o d e m ” and h e n c e ex terio r to
th e m o d ern state, however, th e m ilitary refo rm ers failed to address the
D eborah P oole

p ro te a n form s th a t such m odes o f pow er assume in response to shifting

state priorities an d agendas. T hus, alth o u g h agrarian reform was w idely
believed to have p u t an end to gam onalism o, strikingly sim ilar fo rm s of
privatized, abusive, and violent au th o rity rem ain at th e core of p u b lic
life a n d p o litical practice, In m an y h ig h lan d d istricts, for ex a m p le ,
d esc e n d a n ts (o r replicas) of g am o n ales have re ta in e d th eir h o ld o n
local pow er th ro u g h the adm inistrative, political, a n d ideological (e d u ­
cational) positions they hold w ithin th e Peruvian state (Poole 1994).
V elasco was n o t th e only sta te refo rm er to ta rg e t such fo rm s o f
local, “p re m o d e rn ” power. Sim ilar co n cern s with elim in atin g privatized
form s o f pow er a n d privilege have driven the c o n tin u al dem ands an d
projects for m odernization o f th e ju d ic ia l system in P eru. A lthough th e
judiciary, as a set o f institutions a n d procedures, has in many respects
b e e n o n e of th e m ost stable co m p o n en ts of the m o d e rn Peruvian state,
it has no n eth eless been a p erm an en tly contested site o f state an d law­
m aking. It has, fo r exam ple, b een a recu rrin g targ et for reform s aim ed
at e lim in a tin g th e co rru p tio n a n d privilege th ro u g h w hich this in ti­
m ate association o f public pow er a n d private in terest becom es visible.
T h e m ost re c e n t an d in som e respects the m ost radical such refo rm
was scripted as p a rt o f the sw eeping neoliberal refo rm s o f the 1980s an d
1990s. In d o cu m en ts charged w ith th e m oral lan g u ag e o f ro o tin g o u t
c o rru p tio n and decay, US-AID, th e Inter-A m erican D evelopm ent B ank,
a n d th e W orld B ank spearheaded reform s in two areas. They m oved to
“stre a m lin e ” th e ad m in istratio n o f ju stic e in th e twenty-six su p e rio r
courts located in L im a and the la rg e r d ep artm en tal capitals. This was to
b e acco m p lish ed by m o d ern izin g ob so lete o rg an izatio n al stru ctu res,
s e p a ra tin g ad m in istrativ e an d ju d ic ia l tasks, a n d d ep o liticizin g th e
a p p o in tm e n t o f ju d g e s and the ju d iciary (Inter-^Vmerican D evelopm ent
B ank 1997; M inisterio dejusticia d el P eru 1994; USAID 1999). As in te r­
p re te d by the Fujim ori regim e (1990—2000), however, this w ell-m eaning
m ove to m ake ju stic e “m ore efficien t” resulted in th e d e facto c o n tro l
o f ju d ic ia l ap p o in tm en ts and p ro ced u res by an increasingly a u th o rita r­
ian executive b ran ch . This aspect o f th e judicial re fo rm has b een th e
su b ject o f m u ch public discussion a n d debate, b o th u n d e r F u jim o ri
a n d d u rin g th e d em ocratically e le c te d g o v e rn m e n t o f A le ja n d ro
T oledo (G arcia Sayan 1996; O rtiz d e Cevallos 1999).8
In addition to stream liningjudicial procedure in th e higher c o u rts,

52
 B etw een T hreat and G uarantee

recent ju d ic ia l reform s have also called fo r ex p an d in g “ju d icial cover­

ag e” to th e a p p ro x im a te ly o n e -th ird o f th e p o p u la tio n w ho in 1997
were co n sid ered to lack ad e q u a te access to th e national ju d icial system
(Inter-A m erican D ev elo p m en t Bank 1997:2). To address this problem ,
th e re fo rm s en v isio n ed th e c re a tio n o f new aren as o f a rb itra tio n
th at w o u ld be o v erseen by th e n a tio n a l ju d ic ia ry b u t w o u ld n o t be
directly p a rt o f it. In u rb a n areas, the g o v ern m en t an d its in tern atio n al
sp onsors c re a te d C o n c ilia tio n C e n te rs m o d e le d on US an d B ritish
e x p e rim e n ts in n e ig h b o rh o o d d isp u te m e d ia tio n (F itzp atrick 1988;
H a rrin g to n 1985). In ru ra l areas, th e re fo rm s m oved to rep lace o r
c o m p le m e n t th e tra d itio n a l ju stices o f th e peace w ith new ly devised
(or revised, d e p e n d in g o n th e re g io n ) system s o f cu sto m ary law
and co m m unity-based d isp u te re so lu tio n . W hile th e a p p a re n t in te n t
b e h in d b o th p ro p o sals was to p ro v id e in c re a se d access to ju stic e by
allow ing p o o r p eo p le to bypass th e n a tio n a l ju d icial system fo r petty
claims a n d local disputes, th e en d resu lt ap p ears to be th e creation o f a
shadow legal system th a t is b o th of an d n o t o f th e state.
Several th in g s in te re st m e a b o u t th is latest ro u n d o f attem p ts to
erad icate c o rru p tio n a n d inefficiency fro m th e P eruvian ju d ic ia l sys­
tem. T h e first concerns th e ways in w hich th e reform s articu late u n d e r­
standings o f th e ju risd ictio n al and co n cep tu al b o u n d aries o f the state
and its law. O n e o f th e refo rm ers’ prim ary' concerns, fo r exam ple, has
been to provide a m o re solid in stitu tio n al fram ew ork fo r th e 3,700 ju s­
tices o f th e peace w ho h a n d le th e g reat bu lk o f P e ru ’s petty claim s, local
disputes, an d dom estic violence cases. In fram ing th eir arg u m en ts for
how a n d why the justicia de paz sh o u ld b e refo rm ed , how ever, p ro p o ­
nents o f refo rm argue th a t th e ju stices’ separation from th e state m ust be
overcom e:
T h e functioning o f thisjudicial sendee [that is, the justicia de
paz] occurs in the m ost rem ote places in the country, where
th e State, thro u g h its Judicial Power, has not m anaged to
institutionalize the ordinary system o f adm inistration of jus­
tice. This gap has traditionally been covered by com m unity
authorities, having evolved to the p o in t of legal recognition
o f the figure o fju stice of the Peace in the Provisional Statute
decreed by G eneral Jose de San M artin on O ctober 8, 1821.
(Com ision A ndina dejuristas 2000:9)

53
 D eb o r a h P oole

T h e point the refo rm ers miss h e re is that th e “ordinary system o f

a d m in istra tio n o f ju s tic e ” is, in fact (and by law ), g ro u n d e d o n th e
am b ig u o u s ju risd ictio n al and legal status of ju stices o f the peace w ho
act necessarily as representatives o f b o th “p u b lic” a n d “private” justice.
My second p o in t o f concern has to do with th e refo rm s’ base in a
new calculus of ex clu sio n and th e ir c o n seq u en t m ove away from the
o ld e r p arad ig m o f m o d e rn iz a tio n . A cco rd in g to this m o re fam iliar
u n d e rsta n d in g o f developm ent, state building was “a b o u t” the n e e d to
progressively in co rp o rate m arginalized territories a n d populations in to
the m o d e rn cen ter o f th e state (an d its capitalist e co n o m y ). In this view
of th e state and developm ent, the “m arg in ” rep resen ts a zone o f insta­
bility a n d danger precisely because it lies outside b o th the control an d
territo ry o f the n atio n al state. For m o d ern izatio n theorists, the so lu tio n
to this pro b lem was a sim ple one: th e state w ould progressively c a n n i­
balize a n d m o d ern ize these areas. In recen t n eo lib eral reform s, how ­
ever, th is dynam ic o f inclusion h a s b e e n effectively reversed. As in
earlier reform projects, developm ent agencies have unveiled the public
secret th a t the p o o r d o not receive ju stice in the n atio n al ju dicial sys­
tem. R ath er than m ove to reform th e system to m ak e it m ore inclusive
and h e n c e “ju st,” th e new g en eratio n o f reform pro jects suggests th at
p o o r p e o p le should b e asked to avoid the judicial system as a c o u rt o f
first in stan ce and to tu rn instead to a netw ork o f “in fo rm al” dispute-res­
o lu tio n cen ters with hazily defined ties to the n atio n al ju d icial an d legal
system.
T h e se reform s, how ever, conceived in W ashington and L im a, are
im p le m e n te d in te rrito rie s with h isto rical tra d itio n s o f ju risd ic tio n ,
p ro c e d u re , and governance that are, as we have seen , already b o th at
odds w ith an d deeply em b ed d ed in th e judicial stru c tu re o f the state.
G iven th is lan d scap e a n d h isto rical ex p erien ce, th e very claim th a t
offices o r officials are en actin g “ju stic e ” o r m aking “decisions” th at will
not b e sh a re d with “th e state” is re n d e re d unintelligible. In addition, as
we h ave seen, even th e basic p rin cip le o f ju stice is, fo r m any p e o p le,
best u n d e rsto o d as th e m odes of anxiety and in d istin ctio n that separate
the secu rity of the state as a g u aran to r o f rights from th e uncertainty7o f
the state as enforcer o f law. In san ctio n in g the m ove tow ard inform al
m o d els o f ju stice, th e ju d ic ia l re fo rm reco n fig u res th ese tra d itio n a l
spaces o f indistinction as p art of a new political o rd e r in which exclu­

54
 B etween T hreat and G uarantee

sion fro m th e state is m ad e to a p p e a r as a n asset, a m e a n s th ro u g h

w hich ju stic e can be m o re read ily o b tain ed . T h u s, for ex am p le, both
u rb an a n d ru ra l refo rm s a re d esig n ed as “in fo rm al b ra n c h e s ” o f the
state ju d icial system .9 M any C onciliation C en ters, fo r ex am p le, are actu­
ally located in offices e ith e r w ithin o r a d jacen t to (or know n to belong
to) the ju d ic ia l bran ch . Yet, as voluntary “reco n ciliatio n ” cen ters, they
do not sh are th e pow ers o f en fo rcem en t th a t m ark the ju d ic ia ry as an
arm of th e state. T h eir relatio n sh ip to the law is thus rem in iscen t o f the
private fo rm s o f “self-m ade” o r “re c ip ro c a l” ju stic e th a t have always
been co n fig u red as a n te rio r to the state. A t th e sam e tim e, it is know n
that they d o co n tain a certain ill-defined in stitu tio n al relatio n sh ip with
the law o f th e state.
T hese fo rm s o f am biguity em erg e in d iffe re n t ways in th e u rb an
an d ru ral p ro je c ts im p le m e n te d in A yacucho as p a rt o f th e ju d ic ia l
reform process. T h e u rb an p ro ject was im p le m e n te d in resp o n se to the
national Law o f E xtrajudicial C onciliation (Ley d e conciliacion extraju­
dicial, law n u m b e r 26872; o n th e ap p licatio n o f this law in A yacucho,
see A rce V ilar an d del Solar^R etam ozo 1998), m an d atin g th e creation
o f conciliation processes fo r inform al an d extrajudicial d isp u te resolu­
tion. T h e re su ltin g c e n te rs a re like p etty claim s co u rts. C ases are
resolved th ro u g h m ediation, an d both sides o f th e dispute m u st agree
to the term s a n d sign a d o c u m e n t stip u latin g the term s o f th e agree­
m ent. Lawyers o r trained paralegals (m ostly university stu d en ts) act as
m ediators. T h e C en tro de C onciliacion (APENAC) w here I w orked in
H u am an g a h an d led two types o f cases: judiciales and extrajudiciales. T he
fo rm er w ere cases th a t c o u ld have q u alified fo r h e a rin g in th e state
judicial system ; th e latter in clu d ed cases th a t n ev er w ould have becom e
form al ju d ic ia l cases. In m any instances, they w ere cases th e su p erio r
court h ad “d ire c te d ” to APENAC. T h e overw helm ing m ajority o f both
types o f cases involved com plaints o f dom estic violence ag ain st w om en
an d failu re to p ro v id e c h ild su p p o rt. T h e n atio n al c o u rts w ere thus
freed fro m th e escalatin g lo ad o f d o m estic violence h e a rin g s, w hile
w om en, th e m o st fre q u e n t victim s o f this fo rm of crim in al violence,
were sh u ttled in to a system w here no legal sanctions co u ld be bro u g h t
against th e ir attackers.10
B ecause co n ciliatio n h e a rin g s a n d a g re e m e n ts do n o t b e a r the
sanction o f th e law (or, in th e case o f th e u rb a n C onciliation C enters

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where th ere is n o form al sen se o f com m unity a t w ork, any san ctio n
w hatsoever), APENAC p e rso n n e l are req u ired by law to do follow -up
“hom e visits” to check w h eth er stipulations ag reed to in m ed iatio n are
being met. T his req u irem en t tu rn s o u t to be th e biggest p ro b lem fo r
APENAC w orkers, w ho o b se rv e d th a t “these s o rt o f p eo p le te n d to
move a lot,” b o th w ithin the city an d between th e city and the co u n try ­
side. Several w orkers n o te d th a t peo p le in te n tio n a lly gave false
addresses.
This urge to hide is h e ig h te n e d by p eo p le’s very clear u n d erstan d ­
ing that alth o u g h APENAC p resen ts itself as a n o n ju d icial in stitu tio n , it
is logistically a n d institutionally co n n ected to th e su p e rio r court, w hich
oversees its o p e ra tio n s and h o u se s its m ain office. APENAC w orkers
told me that p eo p le “are afraid o f th e institution [A PEN A C].. .because
they confuse us with the ju d iciary [poder judicial] ” T hus, for p eo p le liv­
ing—and m oving— in the p o o r n eighborhoods o f A yacucho, the effort
to create seq u estered form s o f inform al m ed iatio n separate fro m the
state actually results in a g re a te r co n tam in atio n by th e state. It is no
secret that th e m ediation c e n te rs have been c re a te d by the ju d ic ia ry
and are th erefo re a “part” o f th e judiciary. Even fo r peo p le who m ight
otherwise n o t hesitate to file litigation in the c o u rt system, entry in to a
reconciliation c e n te r with n o observable legal statu s sm acks o f oth er,
m ore fam iliar fo rm s o f ju stic e . As o n e couple e x p la in e d to m e, th e
APENAC offices “rem in d ed ” th e m o f the judicial offices in their provin­
cial hom etow n. H ere, of c o u rse , a key issue is th e fam iliarity o f th e
spaces them selves, with th e ir in stitu tio n al fu rn ish in g , d id actic wall
hangings, an d sh arp division b etw een public spaces an d secret ch am ­
bers. A nother is th e idea th a t ju stic e is necessarily a n d always b o th of
and nrrtrof th e state. APENAC’s claim s to autonom y from the state thus
become illegible to people fo r w hom “justice” h as always occu p ied th e
slippery space betw een th reat a n d guarantee.
Similar forum s for p ro m o tin g dispute arb itratio n have been im ple­
m ented in ru ral Ayacucho, w h ere reform s coincided with a b ro a d e r set
of initiatives d esig n ed to “re in se rt th e state” after a twelve-year w ar d u r­
ing which nearly 90 percent o f P e ru ’s highland p o p u latio n lived u n d e r
special states o f em ergency. T h e cum ulative effects o f living u n d e r m ili­
tary rule affected u n d erstan d in g s o f com m unity in m any subtle— an d
not so subtle— ways. Local a u th o ritie s— who w ere o n ce co n tro lled by

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 B e t w e e n T hreat and G ua r a n t e e

strict co m m u n ity h ie ra rc h ies and tra d itio n a l systems o f ro ta tin g posi­

tions o f authority— o fte n co n tin u ed to assert special pow ers even after
the lifting o f th e em ergency. O th er co m m u n ities split alo n g religious
lines, d u e to th e greatly increased p resen ce o f P rotestant sects after the
war (G am arra 2000). Finally, many co m m u n ities em erg ed from the war
with th e arm ed vigilante, o r ronda, o rg an izatio n s that h a d b e e n form ed
to co n tro l incursions o f S hin in g P ath m ilitan ts and m ilitary (C oronel
1999a, 1999b; D egregori e t al. 1996). Follow ing die war, th e rondas—
re n a m e d “A u to -D ev elo p m en t C o m m itte e s” in an a tte m p t to deflate
th eir o b v io u s political a n d ju risd ic tio n a l autonom y fro m th e state—
took over m u ch of th e daily w ork o f e n fo rc in g social an d m o ral o rd er in
the co m m u n ities. L ike o th e r form s o f “custom ary' law” in th e region,
the ro n d a s, w hich m o d e le d th eir p o licin g , organizing, a n d m odes o f
address o n those used by th e national a rm e d forces, b ased th eir partic­
ular fo rm o f pow er o n th e ir claims to b e b o th of and n o t o f the state.
T he fo rm s o f legal tran sg ressio n in trin sic to p o lice e n fo rc e m e n t
(B enjam in [1978] 1986; D errida 1992; Taussig 1996) w ere thus, in the
case o f th e rondas, m ag n ified by th eir positio n within two am biguously
co n n ected , yet co n cep tu ally distinct legal landscapes.
W ithin this com plex political lan d scap e, one o f th e m o st successful
pro jects fo r th e re in v e n tio n o f co m m u n ity -b ased ju s tic e was th e
N ucleos R urales de A dm inistracion d e Justicia, or NURAJ, p u t together
by IPAZ, a local N G O in A yacucho, w ith fu n d in g from th e W orld Bank,
British C ouncil, US-AID, an d PAR (F u jim o ri’s agency fo r assisting p o p ­
ulations displaced by th e war) (IPAZ n .d ., 1998). I w o rk ed at a NURAJ
in a “re sista n t c o m m u n ity ” o f a p p ro x im a te ly 10,000 p e o p le in th e
H u a n ta h ig h la n d s.11 B ecau se o f its p ro x im ity to a p rin c ip a l S hining
Path co rrid o r, th e c o m m u n ity was severely affected by th e war. M any
people left fo r the cities. O th ers re m a in e d , sleeping in caves o r in th eir
fields. Today, com m unity7 m em bers re fe r to the war euphem istically as
“the tim e o f p ro b lem s” (la epoca de los problemas). A m o n g o th e r things,
this tim e serves as a so rt o f judicial b lack hole, d u rin g w hich m uch o f
the legal paperw ork, d o c u m e n ta tio n , a n d com m unity reco rd s sim ply
d isap p eared . In d eed , every case I h e a rd arg u ed in th e N U RA J included
p ro b le m s w ith p a p e rw o rk (titles, d e e d s , d o cu m en ts) th a t h ad b een
e ith e r in te n tio n a lly d e stro y e d o r lo st d u rin g the w ar. In theory, th e
NURAJ m eets once a w eek, on m ark et day w hen m ore p e o p le are in th e

57
D eborah P oole

town center. In 2000 it was h ead ed by seven m en a n d two w om en from

su rro u n d in g co m m u n ities.12 T h e m ost com m on types o f litigations th e
NURAJ h eard w ere ch ild su p p o rt cases (involving principally paym ent
o f fo o d ), anim al th e ft cases, and lan d disputes (C o ro n e l 2000b; IPAZ
n .d .).
T h e NURAJ itself was housed in if w ing of th e C om m unity H o u se
(Casa Comunal), established in th e m ain residence o f an old hacienda.
T h e NURAJ was th u s physically asso ciated w ith b o th th e collective
space o f (local) g o v ern an ce and, p e rh a p s m ore im portantly, the private
spaces o f the g ain o n al w ho, until th e m id-1970s, h a d o nce co n tro lled
th e com m u n ity ’s la b o r an d land. B eyond its obvious sym bolic associa­
tio n w ith the form o f “ju stic e ” c o n tro lle d previously by th e g am o n al,
w h en speak in g a b o u t th e NURAJ, p e o p le o ften m e n tio n e d its fix ed
location. B efore th e war, disputes w ere resolved in situ by com m unity
au th o rities. As o n e m a n ex p lain ed to m e, “In th e o ld e r custom s, th e
au th o rities [varayuq] w alked from field to field, an d it was there, in th e
place o f th e offense, th a t they solved w hatever p ro b lem cam e u p .” Now,
he c o n tin u ed , “th e w ritten d o cu m en ts com e to th e NURAJ [and pass]
in fro n t o f a u th o rities w ho re p re se n t b o th the state an d th e co m m u ­
nity.” R ath er than physically trace b o u n d aries— as in th e o ld er practice
o f w alking the b o u n d aries while resolving disputes— in the new “tra d i­
tio n ,” ju risd ictio n is m ark ed by d o cu m en ts that m ove in an d out o f th e
NURAJ an d th ro u g h th e han d s o f its authorities. In d e e d , in p e o p le ’s
d escrip tio n s of legal cases, “ju sticia” a n d the m o v em en t o f p aperw ork
w ere clearly linked. T h e NURAJ’s w ork was described to m e as “pilin g
up [o r gathering] p a p e rs” (juntando papeles). A lth o u g h NURAJ lead ers
consciously and purposively avoided forw arding cases to h ig h er ju d icial
instances, in the NURAJ cases I h e a rd , th e m ost c o m m o n outcom e was
to sen d peo p le off to th e city in search o f paperw ork issued by the state
an d w ith o u t w hich th e NURAJ co u ld n o t resolve th e cases. As with th e
u rb a n C o n ciliatio n C en ters, th e NURAJ c a n n o t resolve cases if b o th
p arties are n o t p re se n t (com pared to th e state ju d icial system , in w hich
cases can be resolved w ith o u t litigants presen t).
T h e NURAJ’s p rin cip al tie to th e state ju d iciary th u s centers on th e
p ap erw o rk itself. T h e o th e r link, o f co u rse, is NURAJ m em b ers’ re fe r­
ences to laws in th e civil an d penal codes w hen d ecid in g cases. NURAJ
au th o rities are in stru cted to ad m in ister ju stice acco rd in g to “custom ary

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laws,” at the sam e tim e being careful not to violate th e civil an d penal
codes. They are n o t, however, em pow ered to en fo rce thes'e laws. N o r do
they openly in te rp re t them in th e proceedings, alth o u g h , in th e cases I
observed, they d id frequently refer to them by n u m b e r an d page. In all
cases, copies o f th e penal and civil codes were visible on the table that
sep arated ju d g e s ” from litigants.
As in the T o rres case discussed above, claim s b ro u g h t to th e NURAJ
are often “reso lv ed ” (o r d erailed ) th ro u g h in clu sio n o f o th e r accusa­
tions. O ne lan d d isp u te, for ex am p le, was “resolved” after it devolved
in to a n o th e r set o f accusations ag ain st the p rin c ip a l d e fe n d a n t, D on
Pablo, “who has a n o th e r problem to solve, because w hen he was d ru n k
at the fiesta h e fell a n d on falling, broke don E ra sm o ’s violin. T h a t’s
why the ow ner o f th e violin is also h e re with u s.” In the state legal sys­
tem , these two cases, w hich the NURAJ ruled on jointly, w ould have had
to be filed separately an d th ro u g h d ifferen t ch an n els.
O th e r d isp u te s over land re n ta ls c en ter o n in co rrectly e x e c u te d
docum ents. In o n e such case, over a rent-to-buy ag reem en t (anticresis),
th e d o cu m en t itself was found to be “m issing a key clause, because th at
p e rso n w ho c o p ie d th e d o c u m e n t d id a m isw ritin g [hizo u n tinteril-
la d a ]” (Tinterilladas— from th e S panish tinta, m e a n in g “in k ”— are
m ad e both easier a n d m ore co m m o n by the lan g u ag e b arrier separat­
in g Q uechua-speak ing peasants fro m the Spanish legalese in w hich the
p etty scribes know n as tinterrillos w rite their d o cu m en ts.) B ecause the
original “had b e e n b u rn t in the tim e o f p ro b lem s,” th e claim ants were
o rd e re d to go to H u a n ta for ad d itio n al co rrected copies. ‘You have to
com e here w ith y o u r d ocum ent in h a n d ,” resolved th e NURAJ a u th o ri­
ties. “Everything h e re is done u n d e r the cover o f a d o c u m e n t [todo se
hace bajo un documento] ”

CONCLUSIONS
I began this c h a p te r by thin k in g ab o u t the tense unity of th re a t and
g u aran tee th a t e m e rg e s each tim e a peasan t is o rd e re d to show p e r­
sonal docum ents. I have ended by asking w hat “law ” an d “ju stic e ” m ean
fo r peasants b e in g asked to en fo rce a form of com m u n ity w hose ju rid i­
cal status is b o th excluded from a n d d e p e n d e n t o n th e state. It is p re­
cisely in these so rts o f opaque sem an tic and cu ltu ral dom ains, w here
th reats bleed in to guarantees an d “com m unity” is m ade to strad d le the

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D eborah P o o l e

line betw een th e judicial an d th e outlaw ed, th at we should lo o k for the

link betw een th e m argins o f th e state and th e particu lar regim es o f sov­
ereignty, citizen sh ip , and re g u la tio n th ro u g h w hich the state defines
a n d co n tro ls its territo ries a n d p o p u latio n s. F o r m any p e a sa n ts with
w hom I have w orked, the id ea o f a unified state seem s to be m ost inti­
m ately e x p e rie n c e d in the p ro c e d u re s an d c h a n n e ls th ro u g h w hich
ju rid ic a l p a p e rw o rk circulates. As they well know , these fam iliar ro u ­
tines o f ju d icial p ro c e d u re , p ap erw o rk , a n d o ral d e n u n c ia s (official
co m p lain ts m a d e to police o r th e courts) tak e place alo n g th e sam e
d eep ly h isto ric a l divide th ro u g h w hich th e m o d e rn , e fficien t, and
ju rid ical p ro c e d u re s of the state are d ifferen tiated from the traditional,
inefficient, a n d extrajudicial practices associated with tra d itio n , com ­
m unity, an d th e p eriphery o f th e state. In this respect, these ju rid ical
form s are in se p a ra b le from th e shadow s cast by the form s o f violent
authority a n d privatized pow er thro u g h w hich public in terest an d the
law have historically been en fo rced .
Peasants w ho en ter in to legal disputes are sh u ttled back an d forth
betw een d iffe re n t instances o f th e Peruvian ju d icial system . T hey are
accustom ed to h earin g th at th e legal papers in w hich they have placed
th e ir trust a n d invested th e ir resources are invalid because th e scribe,
lawyer, or n o ta ry w ho drew th e m u p did so incorrectly. As an y o n e who
has p eru sed th e legal archives o f highland P eru can w ell im agine, many
peasants w o u ld be su rp rised to learn that legal cases can, in fact, be
resolved— ra th e r th an sim ply archived (or closed) for reasons having to
do with e ith e r private “in flu e n c e ” or som e seem ingly arb itrary judicial
tim e lim it. In d e e d , in o n e stu d y co n d u c te d in th e late 1980s, a vast
m ajority o f h ig h la n d peasants w ho were o r h a d b een involved in legal
cases d e c la re d th a t they sim ply d id not know w h eth er th e ir cases had
b e e n resolved (P asara 1988:84). F or these ru ra l asp iran ts to ju stice,
legal suits are things filed in p e rso n and at g re a t cost. O nce legal docu­
m en ts leave th e local se ttin g o f scribes, leg al advisers, a n d n o taries,
however, th e ir course th ro u g h th e Peruvian ju d ic ia l netw ork is at once
m ysterious a n d beyond th e c o n tro l of those filing the suits. Justice, in
o th e r w ords, is a “rig h t” th at p roceeds, as it w ere, on its own (an d som e­
tim es forever), b u t only rarely does it com e back to b en efit o n e ’s own
family o r life. —
In such contexts, it is n o t h a rd to u n d e rsta n d why “ju stic e ” itself is
o ften n o t v alu ed as an a tta in e d state of eq u ity o r co m p en satio n , but

60
 B etween T hreat an d G uarantee

ra th e r as th e co n stellatio n o f lan g u ag es and social practices th ro u g h

w hich claim s on th e state can be continually reasserted. As a language
o f d isp u te— and c o n te n tio n — “ju s tic e ” in all liberal states involves th e
stru g g le to d iscern a n d en fo rce th e slippery b o u n d a ry th a t d istin ­
guishes private a n d public in terest. In Peru, this stru g g le has h isto ri­
cally b een w aged a lo n g the sim ultaneously rhetorical an d legal divide
betw een el Peru rea lfelP eru legal (B asadre 1931).13 T his p o p u lar ex p res­
sio n invokes two so rts o f “divides”: betw een re a so n e d ju d ic ia l p ro c e ­
d u re a n d e x tra ju d ic ia l o r “fro n tie r” ju stic e an d b etw een th e p u b lic
o ffic e h o ld e r an d th e private in d iv id u al w ho h o ld s th a t office. As an
im age o f th e n atio n , this im age o f two parallel co u n tries o r states speaks
to a com m onsense u n d e rsta n d in g th a t things like ju stice and d isin ter­
ested public service a re in h e re n tly fictional yet nevertheless very real
p arts o f w hat “the sta te ” is all ab o u t. W hereas in m u ch dem ocratic th e ­
ory th e a tta in m e n t o f a d em o cratic society is p re su m e d to re q u ire a
b a n ish m e n t of private regulatory services (co rru p tio n ) an d law m aking
(fro n tie r ju stic e ), in this real politik o f th e P erm ian peasant, the state is
u n d e rsto o d to b e b o th d isin te re ste d an d c o rru p t, ju s t an d coercive,
p articip ato ry an d rem o v ed .14 It is precisely th e ten sio n betw een these
c o u n te rv a ilin g — a n d , fo r us, c o n tra d ic to ry — u n d e rsta n d in g s o f th e
sta te ’s m o ral p ro je c t th a t explains why, despite th e ir ex p erien ce w ith
th e heavy h an d o f state repression, th e m arginalizing practices o f state
ag en cies, an d th e u n b eliev ab le ravages o f m a rk e t eco n o m ies, p e a s­
a n ts— p e rh a p s m o re th a n any o th e r sectors o f P eru v ian society—
c o n tin u e to believe in an d fight fo r ju stice and d em o cratic reform .
Finally, I w ant to n o te th e c u rio u s division o f la b o r betw een th e
ab stract prin cip le o f “th eJaw ” an d th e concrete m ateriality of the “d o c ­
u m e n ts ” th ro u g h w h ich Jaw is given form . T h e p rin c ip le o f law is
o ffered as a th re sh o ld against w hich (o r above w hich) illegal o r c o rru p t
p ractices are d e fin e d as “o u tsid e ” o r “above” th e law7. Law is likew ise
ascribed a rationality whose tran sp aren cy and universality is g ro u n d e d
in its ostensible legibility o r tran sp aren cy (as in th e n eu trality o f th e
“le tte r o f the law ”). A t th e sam e tim e, alth o u g h th e state an d N G O s
assu re th em th a t “th e law7” is u n iv ersal and im p artial, peasan ts— like
m any o th e r P eruvians— negotiate th e ir daily lives as a series o f calcula­
tions involving individuals and spaces th at everyone knows exist “o u t­
side th e law.” T hev u n d e rsta n d — b u t onlv partially accep t— the fact th at
legal cases are settled according to personal co n n ectio n s and m oney.

6
D eborah P oole

M ore in te re stin g for o u r discussion o f th e m argins o f th e state, they

also clearly u n d erstan d th a t the “letter o f th e law” is re n d e re d curiously
illegible, o r opaque, th ro u g h the very p ro cesses and p ro c e d u re s that
pro d u ce th e do cu m en ts th a t are its m aterial expression. Sm all w onder
then th a t “law ” itself— u n lik e d o cu m en ts, w hose shadow s o b scu re all
p ro ceed in g s— is assigned litde, if any, ag en cy in d e te rm in in g the out­
com es o f th e judicial p ro ceed in g s that take place within th e m argins o f
the state.
N otes
R esearch on judicial refo rm in Ayacucho was m ade possible th ro u g h the
support o f a Faculty D evelopm ent G rant from th e G raduate Faculty o f Political
and Social R esearch at the N ew School University. T he research w ould n o t have
been possible w ithout the gracious support a n d frien d ship o fjefrey G am arra,
W ilfredo A rcc, Pepe C oronel, an d other research ers at IPAZ, with w hich I was
affiliated d u rin g my tim e in A yacucho. My research on judicial refo rm has also
benefited from conversations with Isaias Rojas Perez, at that tim e o f th e Institute
de D efensa Legal in Lima. E arlier research o n g am onalism o in C hum bivilcas was
m ade possible through fellow ships from the U niversity of M ichigan Society' of
Fellows a n d the Social S cience Research C ouncil.
1. A lth o u g h, as I have arg u ed here, the privatization of the state in Peru has
its roots in th e colonial o rd er, private power is n o t u n ique to e ith e r “co lon ial” or
“postcolonial” states. In fact, th e problem of private interest or “c o rru p tio n ”
em erges only with the fo rm atio n o f liberal co n stitu tio n al states based o n the
fiction o f public interest. Illustrative here is Je re m y B entham ’s ([1830] 1962:76)
description o f th e constitutional regim e as a “system of corruption by law.” T he
point for anthropology w ould b e to think a b o u t particular sty les a n d form s of
privatization (o r co rru p tio n ) an d how these, in tu rn , shape the historically and
culturally particular form s o f illegibility' or indecipherability that em erg e from the
necessary' (an d universal) ten sio n between the discursive ideals o f “ju s tic e ” and
the lived realities of jud icial process. O n the e n c o m ie n d a and the privatization
of regulatory functions in th e L atin .American state, see especially L om nitz
2000:11—30. O n privatization o f pow er in .African postcolonial an d neolibcral
states, see Bayart (1989), M bem b e (2001), an d H ibo u (2002).
2. T h is idea of d o cu m en ts “drifting o ff' in to the upper levels o f the judicial
system provides an interestin g contrast with derecho, m eaning at o n ce “law" and
“right" an d , in its adjectival form , “straight” o r “direct."

6 2
 B e t we e n T h r e a t and G uarantee

3. Today, m u ch o f the debate o n custom ary law in P eru , as in Africa

(M am dani 1996) a n d elsew here in L atin A m erica (for ex am ple, Gow and
R ap p ap o rt 2002), ce n te rs o n the use o f traditional form s o f punishm ent.
“T raditional p u n ish m en ts” im posed by justices of the peace in rural A yacucho
ran g ed from w hipping an d walking a prescrib ed n u m b er o f tim es around the
com m unity on bare k n ees, to im prisonm ent an d d ifferen t form s of com m unity
service. T he PCP-SL used these same kinds o f p u nish m en ts in “people’s trials”
th a t also claim ed to b e “custom ary law” adm inistered th ro u g h the party.
4. This is p articularly true if we co n sid er that the relevant social p erson is
o ften the family ra th e r than the individual who holds office. It thus becom es
m eaningless to claim th a t a ju d g e “separates” his jud icial au tho rity from adm inis­
trative affairs w hen his father, brother, o r sister may well h o ld som e other state
office in the same tow n o r region. T h e archives in both A yacucho and C uzco are
p ack ed with cases to o n u m ero u s to m entio n that were d eclared null after a u th o ri­
ties an d litigants w ere unsuccessful in finding a single ju d icial authority w ho was
n o t related to the accused.
5. In this, the g am o n al can be seen as a distant relative of the indigenous
nobility- who acted as “b ro k ers” betw een Spanish and in d ig en o us or local political
an d legal systems d u rin g th e colonial period. Like the g am o n ales, these curacas,
o r “brokers,” often u sed th e ir privilege as nobles to co n stru ct form s of highly
abusive personal p o w er (Larson 1988; Stern 1983).
6. T he Spanish w ord most often used— in both S panish and Q uech ia—
to describe the g a m o n a l is prepotente, m ean in g “arrogantly pow erful” or, m ore
literally, “prep o w erfu l.”
We m ight th e re fo re say that the g am o n al is both excessively pow erful, an d
h e n c e beyond the reac h o f the state, an d rudely pow erful, thus suggestive o f a
form o f pow er th at p reced es— and is h en ce foundational to— the state.
7. In this reg ard as well, T orres’s case is com pletely typical. O f the m o re
th an o n e h u nd red c o u rt cases I reviewed in the d ep artm en tal archives in
H u am ang a, only a h an d fu l had achieved a resolution o r ruling. This pattern
b ecom es even m ore ex trem e in regions such as so u th ern C uzco or H uancavelica,
w here gam onales m o n o p o lized political offices to an even g reater extent th an in
A yacucho.
8. W ithin the country, the m ost com m on reason given to justify the reform s
was th e frequent loss o f paperw ork, w hich som ehow seem ed to disappear as it
m oved through the system , and the len gth of tim e and resulting waste o f b o th
tim e an d m oney involved in very long judicial cases. Follow ing Fujim ori's fall from
D e b or ah P o o l e

power in N ovem ber 2000, the tran sition governm ent gave priority to th e problem
of executive co n tro l over judicial appointm ents. O th e r aspects of th e reform ,
however, will u n do u b ted ly survive the transition. F o r critical perspectives on the
judicial reform s as carried out by the Fujimori g o v ern m en t, see, fo r exam ple,
Garcia Sayan (1996) and O rtiz d e Cevallos (1999).
9. T he ju d icial system in A yacucho includes eig h t judicial districts (that do
not coincide w ith adm inistrative districts) headed by a superior c o u rt in the
departm ental capital of M uam anga. T he superior co u rt, which has two sahis und
six vocales §md is presided over by a president a p p o in te d by the executive branch,
handles nearly 80 percent of die caseload in the d ep artm en t, or approxim ately
10,000 cases p e r year. A sim ple case involving child su pp o rt can last two or three
m onths. Two h u n d re d and fifty justices of the peace h an d le petty claim s, local
disputes, and dom estic violence cases. In 1999 a new law m andated election of
justices of the peace by popular vote.
10. D om estic violence cases involve potential crim inal charges a n d therefore
are first heard by the police, w ho decide w hether th e cases should b e h andled in
conciliacion o r by the courts. A lthough the Peruvian governm ent recently created
a special fem ale police section to receive dom estic violence com plaints, it had not
yet been im p lem en ted in H n am ang a at the tim e o f my fieldwork.
11. C om m unities in A yacucho are classified as resistant, re tu rn e d , or
relocated, d e p e n d in g on their response to the war. R esistant co m m u n ities include
a significant p ercen tag e of original inhabitants w ho rem ained d u rin g the war.
R eturnees are populations an d com m unities that m oved elsew here (usually to
Lim a or H n am ang a) during th e w ar and then re tu rn e d . R elocated com m unities
are new p o p u latio n s form ed o f several smaller co m m u n ities eith er a fte r o r during
the war in an effo rt to create stro n g e r defenses ag ain st the PCP-SL a n d the
Peruvian arm ed forces. All th ree types of com m unities are heavily d e p e n d e n t on
state aid. See C orone! 1999a, 1999b, 2000a.
12. This is an entirely new role for women in the com m unity, sin ce women
“traditionally" did n o t serve in any formal decision-m aking capacity’ in such
disputes. C om m unity m em bers often pointed to w o m en ’s p articipation in
response to m y questions about how the NURAJ d iffered from e arlier m odes of
dispute resolution, before the war. Despite all th e talk about w o m en ’s participa­
tion, women w ere singularly silen t in the NURAJ sessions I attended.
13. “Legal Peru and real P e ru .” In Spanish, th e word real carries an
interesting d o u ble connotation, m eaning both “re a l” o r “actual” an d “royal” or
“m onarchical.” O n the construction o f similar d irid es in the legal cu ltu res of
o th er Latin A m erican countries, see O 'D onnell (1999).

64
 B etween T h r e a t and G uarantee

14. The "frontier justice" associated with g am o n ales an d their “h in terlan d s

is m ore than just th e “self-made" o r “reciprocal" justice o f the K antian state of
n atu re (Kant [1797] 1965:76-84). R ather, “frontier ju stice” takes shape th ro u g h
th e com plex interw eaving of the judicial procedures, aim less “driftings." an d rea­
so n ed “evidence g atherin g " of the state, and the coercive practices, silences, and
reciprocal justice o f the gam onal. F ro n tier justice— like th e frontier itself— form s
a region when- the m argins of the state becom e b lu rred an d illegible. As this
form of illegibility becom es inscribed in to the d ocum ents an d judicial p ro ced u res
th a t flow from ibis /o n e , the “m arg in ” o f the state m oves in to the very h e a rt of
th e judicial offices of the state itself.
 3
Checkpoint

Anthropology, Identity, and the State

Pradeep Jeganathan

O n Ja n u a ry 31, 1995, cadres o f th e L ib eratio n T ig ers of T am il

E elam (LTTE), arguably o n e o f the m o st sophisticated m ilitant groups
in th e w orld, ex p lo d ed a massive b o m b in th e h eart o f C olom bo's finan­
cial d istrict. H u n d re d s d ied , an d n e a rly a th o u sa n d p eo p le w ere
in ju re d . Several ste e l a n d glass to w ers w ere re d u c e d to b lack en ed
shells. T h e direct co n seq u en ces o f this explosion, even though im p o r­
ta n t in m any ways, d o n o t concern m e h e re . R ather, I am c o n cern ed
w ith a n o th e r kind o f co n seq u en ce o f th is event.
L e t m e explicate th a t concern w ith an exam ple. T h e h ead q u arters
Qf th e Sri Lankan a ir fo rce sits a few m iles south of th e financial district,
at a busy in te rse c tio n n a m e d T u n m u lla. In a h o ld o v er from a n o th e r
tim e, th e h ead q u arters is su rro u n d e d by upper-m iddle-class hom es o f
p ro m in e n t C o lo m b o citizens. T h e b o m b dow ntow n d id n o t directly
a ffe c t this n e ig h b o rh o o d . Yet, in th e w ake o f th a t ev en t, resid en ts
ren ew ed with vigor th e ir efforts to have th e m ilitary installation, w hich
h ad b e e n part of th e a rea for m any years, rem oved. W hy so? T he n e x t
b o m b , they th o u g h t, m ig h t blow u p rig h t next door. T h a t assum ption
was n o t u n re a so n a b le . Six years previously, a sim ila r bom b h a d
e x p lo d e d at a n o th e r m ilitary com plex, the Jo in t O p e ra tio n s C om m and

6?
 P r ad ee p J eganathan

(JO C ), located nearby in a n o th e r upper-m iddle-class residential neig h ­

b o rh o o d . Every new b o m b that explodes in the city renew s th e possibil­
ity o f m o re violence in areas like T unm ulla. Such places are rem ap p ed ,
again a n d again, in to new spatial a rra n g e m en ts. N ew carto g rap h ies,
p red icated on the an ticip atio n o f violence, com e in to being.
In C o lo m b o , b o m b s, like p e o p le , a re given n a m e s— from th e
Pettah bo m b , which killed 150 people in th e Pettah bus station in the
su m m er o f 19862. th ro u g h th e JO C b o m b , w hich d ev astated an en tire
n eig h b o rh o o d in 1990, to th e W ijeratne an d D issanaike bom bs, w hich
killed p o litician s in th e in terv en in g years. A bom b is n a m e d after its
“ta rg e t”: a m ilitary in stallatio n , g o v e rn m e n t office, h o te l, a irp o rt, o r
politician. A nd once th e “targ et” o f th e b o m b has b e e n “d e te rm in e d ”
after th e event, all o th e r destruction accom panying th e event is folded
into th a t o n e “thing” th e b o m b is th o u g h t to cen ter on, such as the JOC
or th e C en tral Bank. T h a t “targ et,” in tu rn , becom es th e nam e o f the
bom b. T h e re can arise th e n , in th e w ake o f th e re lo c a tio n o f th ese
transgressive events in to tlie social, carto g rap h ies o f targets, w hich arc.
in tu rn , cartographies o f anticipated violence, m appings o f a terrifying
future.
A m a p o f targets, as lived by th e re sid e n ts o f C o lo m b o , w ould
include a w hole host o f sites, such as m ilitary installations like the air
force h e a d q u a rte rs , h o m e s o f p ro m in e n t an d th e re fo re v u ln erab le
politicians, ports and airp o rts, and sh o p p in g malls. B ut such m aps are
not indiscrim inate; such m aps of an ticip atio n have a p a rtic u la r logic,
co n stitu ted by tactics o f p rep aratio n . F o r exam ple, su ch m aps do n o t
include schools, universities, stadium s, o r playgrounds in th e citv, since
the LTTE has never attack ed such sites an d has not, th e re fo re , m ade
them visible as “targ ets.” T h e targets c o u ld be fu rth e r classified in to
“hard ta rg e ts” that are “well secu red ,” su ch as the p re s id e n t’s official
resid en ce, an d “soft ta rg e ts” th at are h a rd ly “se c u re d ” a t all, such as
buses a n d trains. O ne co u ld , in fact, e x te n d these labels to “fixed tar­
gets,” such as buildings, an d “m oving targ ets,” people. O n e could argue
that N e e la n T iru ch elv am , a sen io r c o lle a g u e and re n o w n e d liberal
in tellectu al, was a soft, m o v in g target: h e was blow n u p by a suicide
bom ber in Ju ly 1999, ju s t o utside the In tern atio n al C e n te r fo r E thnic
Studies (IC ES), which h e d irected and h ad founded.
It is possible here, th e n , to pro d u ce w hat would be recognizable, in
 Checkpoint

a n th ro p o lo g ic a l d isc o u rse o f an e th n o g ra p h ic m ap o f C olom bo, as a

m ap o f targets, o rg an ized spatially, classified th ro u g h so m e social logic.
Such a m ap filters a n d flickers as im plied targets do, fo r w hat m ig h t be
su b ject to “violence” shifts— an d the targ ets them selves m ove like sh a d ­
ows across the lan d scap e o f th e city.
T argets are m a rk e d by “ch eckpoints.” C olom bo is a city o f ch eck ­
p o in ts. Sri L anka its e lf is a territo ry o f c h e c k p o in ts— larg e o r sm all,
im p o rta n t o r m inor, c o n fu se d o r p recise, official o r unofficial. A t its
m o st basic an d ordinary, a checkpoint is staffed by low -ranking soldiers,
m e n o r w om en, w ho sto p the flow o f traffic,'usually vehicular b u t q u ite
o fte n p edestrian, to ask questionp o f th o se w ho pass by. T h e questions
tu rn a ro u n d m atters o f identity, and I shall re tu rn to these questions in
so m e d e p th at the e n d o f th e chapter. B ut before I do, let m e try to c o n ­
stitu te in a m u ltilay ered way th e “c h e c k p o in t” as an a n th ro p o lo g ic a l
object.
T h e ch eck p o in t lies at th e b o u n d aries o f a target. As such, it d e lin ­
eates a n d focuses a tte n tio n o n the target. If th e logic o f th e an ticip atio n
o f violence creates a p le th o ra o f shifting targets th at flicker and m ove
like shadow s across th e landscape with each explosion o r threat, th e n
th e c h e c k p o in t is a n a tte m p t by an agency o f th e state to control th a t
flick erin g m ovem ent, to a n n o u n ce in n o u n certain term s: “This is a ta r­
g e t.” T h e irony o f th is situ atio n m u st b e m o re th a n a p p a re n t. S u ch
“c h e c k p o in te d ” targ ets m ig h t be the p re sid e n t’s resid en ce in the city o r
th e resid en ce o f th e c o m m a n d e r o f th e arm y. But check p o in ts also gov­
e rn e n tra n c e s/ex its fro m th e city, d elin eatin g the city itself as a targ et.
T h e ch eck p o in t c o n fig u re s practices o f an ticip atio n in a d o u b le way.
O n th e o n e h an d , to p ass th ro u g h a c h e c k p o in t is to re m e m b e r why
ch eck p o in ts exist— it is to recall the possibility o f a b o m b . T h e few w ho
are, in fact, carrying o r have som e know ledge o f a b o m b w ould also, I
im ag in e, anticipate its explosive im pact. B ut o n the o th e r hand, th e re is
a n o th e r kind o f an tic ip a tio n — th at o f th e soldiers ch eck in g the flow o f
traffic a n d people, ask in g questions. T h ey are an ticip atin g violence in
a n o th e r way.
In th e larger w ork o f w hich this essay is a chapter, my attem p t has
b e e n to acco u n t fo r th e location o f “v io len ce” in th e lived w orld. T h a t
has b e e n an an th ro p o lo g ical project, th e e n d p o in t o f w'hich has b e e n
th e a tte m p t to p ro d u c e eth n o g rap h ies th a t a re 'a d e q u a te to the object,

69
PRADEEP JEGANATHAN

“violence.” O n e o f the fu n d a m e n ta l claims o f th e larger w ork is that

“violence,” tak en as an a n th ro p o lo g ic a l object, is n o t self-evident. Such
a claim is m ad e, certainly, from w ithin an analytical tradition th a t ques­
tions the self-evident ch aracter o f any category, b u t a focus o n violence
has strongly u n d e rlin e d this q u estio n . V iolence, I suggest, is only visible
in th e cusp o f th in g s, at th e m o m e n t o f its e m e rg e n c e as v io latio n ,
b efo re its re n o rm a liz atio n a n d releg itim atio n . A fter it is w ell n am ed
a n d known, it carries only traces o f its tem poral past. It ceases to be a
vio latio n a n d fa d e s from view, o r rem ains o n ly a “w ell-u n d ersto o d ”
legitim ate fo rce.
T his fle e tin g , shifting v io le n c e th at c o n c e rn s m e is in th e lived
w orld, e m b e d d e d in fields o f recollection an d anticipation, fields that
m ove in both tem p o ral directions, past and fu tu re . Each recollection of
“violence” can also be a m o m e n t o f anticipation o f “violence” to com e
a n d , as such, fo rm s the co n d itio n s o f possibility o f the em erg en ce of
“violence” in th e lived world.
This larg er p ro ject is also c o n cern ed with anth ro p o lo g y as a form
o f know ledge. T h e fleetin g o b je c t o f vio len ce also raises q u e stio n s
a b o u t the security o f its a p p reh en sio n . T he “c h e c k p o in t,” taken as a site
o f an th ro p o lo g ical inquiry, is a tellin g exem plar o f these co n cern s and
claim s ab o u t vio len ce and also th e epistem ological concerns o f th e self-
conscious a n th ro p o lo g ist. As su ch , I will stay w ith the c h e c k p o in t,
ethnographically, fo r m uch o f this .chapter, a tte m p tin g to draw insights
th ro u g h th o se descriptions. I d o n o t, however, o ffer a “thick” o r well-
secured d e sc rip d o n o f these an th ro p o lo g ical sites. T h a t is tan g en tial to
m y p ath h e re ; I am attem p tin g only to think th ro u g h ch eck p o in ts to
th e m argin o f th e state.
T h e m ost p ro m in e n t c h e c k p o in t in my everyday life in C olom bo
is th e B a u d h a lo k a M aw atha c h e c k p o in t. It is 300 yards o r so from
T unm ulla, w h e re th e air force h ead q u arters stan d s. Its location in te r­
ru p ts a m ajor ro a d th at houses a series of state facilities. T he Sri L anka
R upavahini C o rp o ratio n , w hich com prises TV studios, telecast towers,
a n d tra n sm itte rs, an d the B an d aran aik e M em o rial In te rn a tio n a l
C onference H all, a m ajor co n v en tio n center, a re b o th farther dow n the
ro ad from th e checkpoint. By th e side o f the ch eck p o in t itself are spa­
cious “official” resid en ces o f s e n io r state b u re a u c ra ts— a rra n g e d in
o rd e r of th e ir ra n k . T h e g o v e rn o r o f the C en tral B an k ’s official resi­

70
 C heckpoint

dence lies at th e first sectio n o f this ro a d , rig h t n ear the T u n m u lla in ter­
section a n d n ex t to th e arm y c o m m a n d e r’s resid en ce. H e n c e the
ch eck p o in t. W hen in C o lo m b o , I tak e g re a t care to avoid this check­
point, navigadng altern ativ e routes, w eaving in and out o f th e terrain of
targets. A n o th e r c h e c k p o in t is situ ated n o rth o f this o n e , ag ain on a
m ajor ro a d , w hich curves by an airfield. T h a t road is u n avoidable, and
I am o fte n stopped th e re .
L et m e step back a m o m en t, d e lin e a tin g the qualities o f th e check­
p o in t as a n th ro p o lo g ic a l o b ject a n d e m b e d d in g it in w ebs o f local
signifying practices. T h e ch eck p o in t’s lo catio n , its size, th e d em ean o r
of the soldiers, the very n a tu re o f c h eck in g itself, all are e n m esh ed in
such w ebs.
L et m e give d e p th to this o b se rv a tio n by c o n tra stin g the
B audhaloka M aw atha ch eck p o in t w ith a n o th e r checkpoint, far away in
the w ar zo n e, near th e p rized natural p o rt o f T rincom alee, p erh ap s the
m ost c o n te s te d city in th e w hole o f L an k a. W hen you tu rn at the
H ab aran a ju n c tio n , th e last outpost o f S in h ala colonization o n th e dry,
hot p lain s o f N uw arakalaviya, an d drive across the alm ost u n in h a b ite d
sc ru b la n d to th e east, y o u know th a t th e w ar is near. G o v ern m en t
troops have cleared h u g e swaths of sc ru b o n eith er side o f th e road so
that a p p ro a c h in g en em y cadres will h ave n o cover. Every q u a rte r mile
are sen try points, n o t ch eck p o in ts b u t sm all tin-roofed b u n k e rs occu­
pied by a lo n e private, w ho w atches th e ro a d an d th e h a rd , brow n
plains b e fo re him .
You re a c h the c h e c k p o in t I have in m in d m uch la te r, a fte r two
hours o f travel on this ro a d . You turn n o rth at th e en tran ce to th e town
of T rin co m alee and h e a d tow ard N ilaveli, th e beach of m o o n sand, one
o f the v ery fin est I h av e walked- on. T h e c h e c k p o in t o n th e N ilaveli
road, w hich bisects sh in in g fields of m a rsh , soft m ud, an d w ater, is itself
a target. Its occu p an ts w atch for th e ir e n em ies. T he tro o p s are edgy,
quiet; they know that th e stakes are h ig h . P edestrians from local villages
may pass by with a w o rd , a look, a w ink, o r a smile. A re sid e n t told m e
that th e so ld iers, w ho a re well d isc ip lin e d , like civilians to sm ile at
them . If you do not, th ey will be an n o y ed . T h e troops d id n o t sm ile at
m e— I w as an o u tsid er. I d id n o t h av e th a t o p tio n . S o ld ie rs a t the
B au d h alo k a M awatha ch eck p o in t, to m ove th e contrast b ack to th e city
w here I b eg an , may n o t sm ile either, b u t they are m ore relax ed . They

7i
P radee p J e g a n a t h a n

do not e x p e c t th e c h eck p o in t itself to be attack ed . In a cu rio u s way,

th eir w ork h as becom e ro u tin iz e d . A sign th a t reads “T h a n k you for
your c o o p e ra tio n ” greets you as you ap p ro ach , and it even includes a
tasteful ad v ertisem en t fo r so m eth in g as o rd in a ry as to o th p a s te or a
m en th o lated balm . The very em bedding o f checkpoints in differential
ways in d ex es, I suggest, th e terrain of a n tic ip a te d violence. Each is a
nodal p o in t in th at m ap o f anticipation, each reco n fig u red by it. 1 can
think o f n o b etter place w h ere the state p e rfo rm s the m agic o f its illeg­
ibility with such breathtaking precision. (O n “m agic” a n d “illegibility,”
see V eena D as’s chapter in this volum e.)
“May I see your ID?” is th e first q u estio n o n e is asked at a check­
point. It is asked very p o litely an d cautiously, by a so ld ie r in fatigues
with a large, visible au to m atic w eapon slu n g over his back. T h e ques­
tion is th e sam e in C olom bo an d T rincom alee.1 N ot having an ID card
is the privilege o f foreigners o r careless citizens, who th e n have added
questions to answer. A p assp o rt may be p ro ffered and d e e m e d accept­
able, but it is th e national identity card (N IC ) th at is re q u ested , not any
o th er form o f identification. It is a small, yellow, lam in ated paper. O n
one side is a photograph, th e d ate of issue, a long u n iq u e num ber, and
the signature o f the b u re a u c rat responsible for issuing th e card. O n the
o th er side is w ritten, u p o n a series of d o tte d lines, the n a m e, sex, date
o f b irth , p lace o f birth, o ccu p atio n , an d ad d ress o f th e h o ld er. This
card, unlike a passport, has rio expiry d ate on it, so its renew al is diffi­
cu lt to e n fo rc e . My card is o ld , issued in 1982, ju st b e fo re I took a
national university en tran ce exam ination. It lists my o ccu p atio n as stu­
d en t, my p la c e o f birth as C olom bo, a n d m y address as m y p a re n ts’
house, lo cated in a resid en tial district in th e city. T h ere is n o th in g else
on this c a rd ; th ere is n o lin e fo r “natio n ality ,” “race,” “eth n icity ,” o r
an o th er su ch classificatory category. A fter asking for my ID an d looking
it over, the so ld ier usually re tu rn s it to m e a n d waves m e o n . Som etim es
he may ask a question such as “Do you still live at this ad d ress?” o r say,
“This card is very old.” R arely do the questions gel m ore in ten se. O nce,
at a n o th e r checkpoint, I was arrested.
Several m onths after I h a d written this description, I realized that I
had m issed som ething o n th e card. I was am azed, for I h a d exam ined
my card a n d several o th e r cards carefully w hile writing th e description.
W hat I h a d m issed is a sm all rectangle at th e bottom o f th e card that

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 Checkpoint

stales in S inhala, “T h e R eg istratio n o f P ersons A ct, No. 32 o f 1968.”

D in in g a p re se n ta tio n o f this p a p e r at ICES in C o lo m b o , a d istin ­
g u ish ed hu m an -rig h ts attorney ex p lain ed to m e, in the course o f p ro ­
vid in g com m ents o n my work, th a t the R egistration o f Persons A ct h ad
m ad e th e NIC possible. It was only after I h ad tak en notes, re re a d the
n o tes, an d reex am in ed the card th at I realized th at the title o f th e act
was w ritten on th e card. In legal term s, the act an d th e act alone secures
this card; yet this d etail h ad b een illegible to m e, as it is to a large n u m ­
b e r o f my fellow citizens.
T h e act itself is fascinating (see G o v ern m en t o f Sri L anka [1972]
1998). M ost stu n n in g is that it has little to do w ith establishing identity',
in relatio n to p erso n s, in a ra n d o m an d reg u lar way. R ather, th e act is
a b o u t m ain tain in g a book: a n u m b e re d register o f persons who a re cit­
izens o f Sri L anka. T h e card is a certificate o f registration. A com m is­
sioner, the registrar, is charged w ith m ain tain in g th e book, th e register.
To my m ind, this is clearly the o th e r h alf of th e p ro je c t o f e n u m eratio n ,
w hich is carried o u t in the census.'2 F or if the census counts p erso n s an d
th e n classifies th e m in acco rd an ce with a certain logic, thereby #
aggre-
g a tin g them in to well-known fields, how is th e state itself to p ro d u c e a
d isag g reg atin g p ractice? By re c o rd in g a n am e a n d address in a boo k
a n d issuing a certificate with a p h o to g ra p h — a k in d o f receip t o f that
entry. H ence, th e re is n o n eed to aggregate id en tity — Sinhala, Tam il,
a n d so o n —o n this certificate, fo r th at is n o t th e w ork it does in relatio n
to th e “p o p u la tio n ” practices o f th e state.
T his certificate, u n d e r c o n d itio n s unenvisaged in 1968, beco m es
th e card that every Sri L ankan citizen carries o n his o r h e r p e rso n for
p u rp o ses of identity. B ut a re a d in g o f the act m akes it crystal clear th at
n o provision o f th e act requires p e o p le to carry th e card. Section 15(1)
specifies that “th e h o ld e r of a n identity card shall, o n a req u est m ade
by th e C om m issioner o r any o th e r prescribed officer, p ro d u ce th e card
a t su ch tim e a n d p lace that sh all b e specified in such a re q u e st, an d
p e rm it it to be in sp e c te d ” (G o v ern m en t o f Sri L anka [1972] 1998:7).
T h e card n e e d o n ly be p ro d u c e d w ith p rio r n o tic e , so it n e e d n o t,
u n d e r the law, b e carried o n o n e ’s p erso n . N o te th at th e p la c e o f
p ro d u c tio n itse lf m u st be sp ecified in th e re q u e st, to g e th e r w ith the
tim e. This is to b e an individuated request; it has to be, since this d o cu ­
m e n t is a d o c u m e n t o f individuation, as I have arg u ed above. It is not

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P radeep J e g a n a t h a n

possible, therefore, to declare a checkpoint as a specified “place" a pri­

ori, where at “all" tim es such a card should be show n by all “citizens.”
Furtherm ore, only th e com m issioner and his officers may m ak e such
individuated requests. A nd while Section 5(2) o f the act allows fo r wide
delegation of pow er, each of such “agents” m ust be “subject to th e gen­
eral direction a n d co n tro l of the C om m issioner” (G overnm ent o f Sri
Lanka [1972] 1998:3), not the com m ander of th e arm y or the secretary
to the m inistry o f d efen se, who com m and tro o p s at ch eck p o in ts. In
N ovem ber 2001, a h an d fu l of hum an-rights atto rn ey s ex p lain ed that
they shared my in terp retatio n of the law.3They said that several su p rem e
court justices had in d icated that th e court eagerly awaited a test case so
that the illegality o f ubiquitous checkpoints m ig h t be elaborated up o n
in judgm ent. (N o postcolonial Sri Lankan regim e has ever ig n o re d or
countered a d ire c t o rd e r o f the su p rem e c o u rt.) B ut that was a fine
question of law. N o t only was this situation not w idely known at th e tim e
in popular or scholarly circles, but also nearly every critical intellectual I
knew had acquiesced to the illegible magic of th e checkpoint.
The checkpoint is, I wish to suggest, m ore central, m ore co n stitu ­
tive of the ep istem o lo g ical a rch itectu re of m o d e rn ity than is a t first
apparent. I shall try in the rest o f this chapter to discuss this centrality,
returning as I m u st to the state a n d its m argin at the end. As a beg in ­
ning, let m e sug g est th at a ch eck p o in t is a p lace w here we w ho have
seen, heard, and felt destruction, terror, pain, a n d death and w ho antic­
ipate with u n certain anxiety that w hich is to co m e to us and ours, sense
fo r a m om ent a stillin g of that foretelling o f d e a th , a m o m en t w here
retu rn in g to th a t ever-so-fam iliar way of re a d in g and w ritin g will
allow foreknow ledge and therefore safety. This, o f course, is a fantasy.
N everthelessritis a crucial one fo r many. It is w o rth noting th at check­
points are n o t u n iq u ely Sri Lankan. In fact, after 9 /1 1 they seem to be
m ore w idespread th a n before, all over the w orld. F or exam ple, every
dom estic airport in th e U nited States is a giant checkpoint.
I draw several stran d s from my b rief description of checkpoints in
Sri Lanka. T he first begins with a reiteration; I have already trie d to
underline the p o in t th at the checkpoint works betw ixt and betw een the
recollection an d an ticip atio n o f violence; it is th a t place in th e lived
w orld that ack n o w led g es the e m e rg e n t qu ality o f violence w ith o u t
producing a no rm alizatio n that is also its effacem ent.
 C heckpoint

T h e seco n d stra n d is th e re la tio n sh ip of the c h e c k p o in t to th e

state, w hich is crucial to th e co n cern s o f this volum e. W hile on the one
h an d , th e relationship o f the c h eck p o in t to the state is su tu re d through
its very location in a tem p o ral field o f recollection an d anticipation, it is
also lo cated at the m arg in o f a spatial field, which it defines. It may be
useful h e re to contrast a ch eck p o in t w ith a sentry or g u a rd post, or even
an im m ig ratio n post. T h e latter seem s to m ark b o u n d aries that are well
m ap p ed an d defined; it m arks the b o u n d a ry o f the state, im plying dif­
feren t fo rm s o f citizen sh ip an d su b je c t on eith er sid e. A ch eck p o in t
may be different, fo r it o p erates w ithin a given state, w ith a regim e o f
citizenship and subjection. It is m obile in particular ways, for recall th at
it is re q u ire d by targets, w hich them selves are co n stitu ted by anticipa­
tions. A ch eck p o in t— in th e way it em erg es h ere— is lo cated perhaps,
n o t at th e boundary o f th e state, b u t a t its shifting, flu id m argins. Yet
the very existence o f a checkpoint, as an operational en tity and a con­
cept, ch allen g es the clarity o f the b o u n d ary , b lu rrin g its distinctiveness.
T he b o u n d a ry m ight also be a m argin.
T his m arginal lo catio n o f the c h e c k p o in t is m a p p e d again through
the identification card, w hich, as 1 have described, is th e illegible, illegal
d em a n d o f the ch eck p o in t. T he p o in t is n o t only th a t checkers at th e
c h eck p o in t d em an d this card; it is also th a t all those w ho anticipate this
d e m a n d th e n carry th is card . T his, I su b m it, is an o b serv atio n th a t
should give pause.
W h at is the form o f subjection im p lied by this practice? It is not sim ­
ply th a t th e state has a p ro ject of e n u m eratio n and individuation. T his
has b e e n n o ted earlier, an d u n d o u b ted ly the id en tificau o n card can be
u n d e rsto o d as such. As I also n oted, in th e Sri L ankan context, that has
n o th in g to do with checkpoints as d escrib ed , logically o r historically. It
seem s to b e a m ore g en eral po in t. T h e p ro d u ctio n o f th e ubiquitous
“pictu re ID ” at US dom estic airports, it seem s now, has th e sam e logic. It
extends th e uncertain, fluid m argin o f th e state to o n e ’s wallet.
T h e bringing o f th ese th ree e le m e n ts to g eth er— th e ch eck p o in t,
the card , an d the subject— then form s a new space fo r reflection. T h e
citizen w ho carries a card , an ticip atin g th a t it will be ch eck ed , is sub­
jected th ro u g h th at very act. It ties th e citizen to th e state, the card
always p o in tin g tow ard th e m argin o f th e state. How is this triangulation
to be fully th o u g h t th ro u g h ? T h e re a re u n d o u b te d ly m an y ways to

75
 P rade e p J e ga n at ha n

think th ro u g h these m argins, and several authors in this volum e offer

i n s i g h t s far m ore acute than mv own.
To reflect on this triangulation, on my way o f g rasp in g so m eth in g
of the state’s m argins, I retu rn to th e process of ch eck in g itself, asking
for a conceptualization o f the question th at is being asked. At its h eart,
the q u e stio n is this: “A re you an e n e m y o f the state, a n d does y o u r
enm ity e x te n d to violence upon it o r its citizens?’’ T h is q u estio n is
surely a specific form o f a m ore g en eral question: “W h at is your politi­
cal identity?” E laborated, the q u estio n m ig h t be so m e th in g like this:
"Do you rep resen t a politics that lies o u tsid e th e b o u n d s o f the state,
that is an in su rrectio n ary one, fthat in its d ep lo y m en t a n d o p e ra tio n
may ex p lo d e a bom b in the vicinity o f a well-known targ et?” If the sol­
dier d ecides that the answ er is yes, th e n he may d etain you.
But the crucial q u estio n is this: H ow w ould th at be decided? H ow
can an acco u n t o f political identity, w hich m ight be an ad eq u ate answ er
to this q u estio n , be o b ta in e d by q u ic k a n d polite in te rro g a tio n ? My
concern h ere, let m e h asten to add, is w ith th e logic o f th e qu estio n ,
n o t with th e success o r otherw ise o f th ese in terrogations. It is my claim
that follow ing the logic o f th e q u estio n m ay take us so m e distance in
our ap p reciatio n of th e “ch eck p o in t.”
T h e answ er to th e “W h at is y o u r p o litical id e n tity ? ” q u estio n , I
argue, is re a d off a series o f in te rp re ta tio n s o f w hat a re tak en to be
social o r cultural signs o n the card. In this, it seem s to m e, th e soldiers
participate in the w ork o f anthropology, w hich th ro u g h its disciplinary
provenance m arks privileged access to, a n d m akes au th o ritativ e claim s
about, th e “cultural,” u n d erg ird ed , o r secured, p e rh a p s even sim ulta­
neous w ith th e “social.” If th e soldier can be seen in o n e sense as asking
an an th ro p o lo g ical q u estio n , let m e qualify quickly th a t I do n o t see
him as an an th ro p o lo g ist, fo r he is n o t a disciplinary practitioner. W hat
I want to analogize h e re is th e form o f th e question, “W ho are you?”
T h e blanks on the card— as in “n a m e .......... ” and “o c c u p a tio n ........... ”
—are w ritten in b o th S in h ala and T am il. T hese are b o th official la n ­
guages o f Sri Lanka a t p resen t. H ow ever, the blanks a re filled o u t in
one la n g u a g e , as o n e m ig h t expect. My card is filled o u t in S inhala.
This, fro m th e point o f view of d e c ip h e rin g the sociocultural, is signifi­
cant, sin ce som e card s a re filled o u t in Tam il. A c a rd filled o u t in
Sinhala — cards are h an d w ritten —w ould m e a n , of course, th at the offi­

7^
 Checkpoint

cial who w rote it o u t could w rite Sinhala. It w ould n o t be certain that he

was “S in h ala” in th e classificato ry .sen se-o f th e cen su s, since by th e
sta te ’s own ru les, all state b u re a u c ra ts m ust have so m e proficiency in
S inhala. T h a t is to say, b u re a u c ra ts w ho are T am il, in a classificatory
sense of the census, may well w rite Sinhala script. B ut in the no rth an d
east o f the co u n try , m o re o fte n th a n the south, adm inistrative affairs
are co n d u cted in Tam il, so a c a rd w ritten in Tam il m ay well have o rig i­
n a te d in the n o rth . T h e ad d ress a n d place of b irth o n the card are also
crucial. T hey p lace th e h o ld e r o n a m ap of L anka, n o rth , south, east,
west. But n o n e o f this in fo rm atio n gives a “conclusive” reading o f th e
h o ld e r’s so cial-cu ltu ral identity, since one can b e b o rn in the so u th ,
have a card w ritten in S inhala, a n d be th o u g h t to be “Tam il,” o r vice
versa. O r o n e m ig h t be a M uslim w ho speaks Tam il b u t is n o t “Tam il” as
such. T h e n a m e m ig h t well p ro v e a clincher. It can be read, again w ith
an a n th ro p o lo g ic a l eye, fo r th e so cio cu ltu ral: S in h a la nam es, T am il
nam es, M uslim nam es, an d so o n . T h ese readings, to o , can co n fo u n d —
o r not. A nth ro p o lo g ical logics can often be quite*effective.
But w hat I w an t to draw a tte n tio n to is n o t th e co n fo u n d in g (o r
n o t) as su ch — w hich is to say, n o t th e possibility o f th e so cio cu ltu ral
b e in g so radically h e te ro g e n e o u s th a t it defies easy classification, a po si­
tio n o f o n e c ritiq u e o f social scien tific k n o w led g e, b est know n as a
c ritiq u e o f essen tialism .4 T h a t is n o t th e p o sitio n I take o r w ish to
develop. R ather, my con cern is w ith the play o f th e two questions. T h a t is
to say, the play betw een th e first question, “W hat is your political id e n ­
tity?” w hich is logically p rio r to th e second q u e s tio n , “W hat is y o u r
so cial/cu ltu ral identity?” It is cru cial to think o f th e situation as play, fo r
even after th e seco n d q u estio n is answ ered, let us say securely, as in “a
Tam il from th e N o rth ,” this d o e s n o t answ er th e first question securely.
If it did, th en th e state w ould sim ply have to arre st all persons answ er­
ing “a Tamil fro m th e N o rth .” T h is is logically possible an d would th e n
call for a c h aracterizatio n o f fascism , b u t even so, it w ould n o t answ er o r
p u t th e e la b o ra te d form o f th e first q u estio n to re st in a secure way.
(Even after th e N azi state a rre ste d its Jewish citizens, it still could co n ­
ceive of en em ies.) Given th e state o f this play, th e n , the answer to th e
second q u estio n only allows a re tu rn to the first in a circular way.
In two b rillia n t an d in creasin g ly w ell-know n essays, the p o litical
p h ilo so p h e r E tie n n e B alibar th eo rizes this state o f play that m o d e rn

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P radeep J e g a n a t h a n

beings— th at is, we and o u r interlocutors— o p e ra te (see B alibar 1991,

1994).^ H is fo rm u latio n s, I suggest, will illu m in a te my n av ig atio n of
these ch eckpoints. T he m o d ern citizen, B alibar argues, is d e fin e d by
the u n iq u e co n flu en ce o f equality and the sovereignty of th a t collec­
tive equality. T h e citizen is th e conceptual rep resen tatio n o f this con­
fluence, b u t th a t duality is an irred u cib le co n trad ictio n . T h e play is
betw een eq u ality on the o n e h a n d and th e p a rtic u la r e x p re ssio n of
sovereignty, freedom , or liberty on the other. Equaliberty is a neologism
that B alibar coins to capture this play, w hich results in the p ro d u c tio n
of an u n p re d ic ta b le excess. F orm s of su b je c tio n are fo rm s o f this
excess. To be a citizen is also to be a subject, doubly, p arallelin g here,
of co u rse, F o u c a u lt’s e m p iric o -ira n sc e n d e n ta l d o u b le t o f M an
(F oucault 1970:318; see also B alibar 1991:51). T he citizen is that
abstract b e in g o f equality w ho, w ith th e d e m a n d of fre e d o m in an
in su rrectio n ary sense, o r its g ran tin g , as a rig h t, in a c o n stitu tio n a l
sense m ust be subject in th e d o u b le sense o f self-subjection a n d being
to that field B alibar calls "com m unity.” In this form ulation, “co m m u ­
nity” is irred u cib ly m o d ern , sintfe its very fo rm is p ro d u ced by a play
betw een two m o d e rn co n d itio n s o f “M an,” equality and liberty. This
com m unity th e n can take th e specific form o f the nation, a n “e th n ic”
group, o r a political party. T h e com m unity itself m ight m ake claim s to
egalitarianism , o r it m ight well be hierarchical; th at is not cru cial to its
constitution. W hat is crucial is the claim th at it m ediates b etw een equal­
ity and freed o m . Subjection, in o th e r words, is th at which m ed iates the
contradiction o f citizenship.6
Let us re tu rn to the checkpoint. C onsider th e two, necessarily dou­
ble, o p e ra tio n s o f subjection. T h e first is b o th inscribed a n d re in te r­
preted by th e agents o f the state on the d o c u m e n t o f identity. T h e re is
som e so cial-cu ltu ral id en tity th a t c o rre sp o n d s to som e co m m u n ity ,
which m ig h t b e m arked as a m ix o f both e th n ic an d regional p ro d u ced
in the rea d in g o f th at card. T h e n there is th e cardholder, th e navigator
of the ch eck p o in t. His self-subjection may o r m ay not m atch th a t o f the
state’s— b u t it does exist in som e form : w hen o n ce arrested a t a check­
point, w ith a detailed m ap o f the country th a t aroused suspicion in my
bag, I claim ed to be a-scholar w orking at a ren o w n ed research center,
which, o f co u rse, was only o n e such com m unity I could claim . F o r the

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 Ch ec k p o in t

ch eck p o in t to do th e w ork it claim s— th at is, check identity— the d o u ­

ble play on-both sides o f th e divide m u st m atch up: th e soldier an d I (o r
w h o ev er is ch eck ed ) m u st agree o n th e re su lta n t an sw er o f the irre ­
d u cib le play betw een citizen an d subject. In this case, it did not w ork; I
was arrested.
B ut in m ost cases it seem s to w ork: m ost people pass through ch eck ­
p o in ts w ithout d isag reem en t, th e ir id en tities “c h e c k e d ,” ju st as m an y
e th n o g ra p h ie s a re w ritten by d iscip lin ary an th ro p o lo g ists. Surely we
now see the precario u s n atu re o f this ag reem en t betw een checker an d
checked. F or each citizen, to position his political affiliation in term s o f
alliance o r enm ity w ith th e state is also th en to w ork th ro u g h his ow n
su b je c tio n — an d th a t resu lt, clearly, is n o t fixed. Surely, m ilitants o n
b o m b in g m issions will carry false p ap ers. M any w ho d o not, who are in
fact arrested , do n o t in te n d to c o m m it projects o f violence u p o n th e
state. Yet the c h e c k p o in t persists. T h e hig h an d alm o st u n im ag in ab le
stakes o f the m assive explosion it entails keep it in place, a testam en t,
n o t to w hat it can tell us ab o u t the identities of those w ho pass th ro u g h
it, b u t to what it c a n n o t, given the irred u cib le co n trad ictio n s o f citizen­
ship, w hich are th e irreducible co n trad ictio n s of politics itself.
T h o se c o n tra d ic tio n s o f p o litics d efin e, in te rm s o f this c h a p te r,
w hat I take to be th e m argin o f th e state. F or the state takes its d o m a in
to be th a t of p o litics— in B alibar’s term s, c o n stitu tio n a l politics. T h e
field o f co u n terp o litics that presses ag ain st the sta te ’s dom ain is w h at
h e calls in su rre c tio n a ry politics. W h ere they m e e t m ig h t well b e th e
m arg in o f the state. Such m argins, I have argued, are m arked by ch eck ­
p o in ts th at ask q u estio n s o f identity', social and political, with reco u rse
to th e d o cu m en tary practices o f th e state. Such m arg in s o f the state are
n o t fixed, I have arg u ed . N ot only are they m obile, in as m uch as targ ets
are lived and m a p p e d in.fields o f an tic ip a tio n a n d reco llectio n , b u t
they also b lu r th e clarity o f th e s ta te ’s b o u n d a rie s. A n id e n tificatio n
card, carried in a p o c k e t o r bag, an d all th e o th er p a p e r associated w ith
it, w hich is elsew here— consider w hat o n e w ould n e e d to replace a lost
card — are m ediators o f that m argin, th e tiny com passes that have w rit­
ten u p o n them selves, th at very co n trad ictio n of politics, which itself is,
o f course, a m in iatu re m ap of th e m arg in o f the state, guiding us back
to th e checkpoint.

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 P radee p J e g a n a t h a n

Notes
This ch ap ter has gained m u ch from ex ten ded discussion at th e School.-of
Am erican R esearch in Santa Fe an d the In tern atio n al ("enter lo r E th n ic Studies in
Colom bo. I am grateful to D iane N elson, D eborah Poole, Veena D as, Talal Asad.
•Lawrence C o h en , Radhika Coom araswamv, Justice P. R am anathan. jeevan Hoole.
and Dileepa V itharana for their careful com m ents an d questions. I am also
indebted to D esm ond Fernando, PC, for his com m en ts and for several personal
com m unications afterw ard.
1. Tins questio n is not the sam e in Yavuniya, w hich has a d iffe re n t “docu­
m entary reg im e,” given its differential location in a field of an ticip ation . Vavnniya
is a special case, yet what is at stake th ere is also a d o cu m en t that d ep en d s upon
o th er docum ents, an iteration.
2. O n the logic of the census, see C o h n ’s (1987) classic essay.
3. An activist hum an-rights g ro u p founded by A m ara H u p u arach ich i in the
wake of several discussions su rro u n d in g the NIC is in the process o f publicizing
these contradictions in the m edia an d challenging them before th e H um an
Rights Com m ission and the suprem e court, and th ro u g h direct actio n. Malathi
De Alwis an d I are active m em bers o f this group.
4. This position is well know n; perhaps In d en (1990) could b e taken as a
good exam ple o f it. My thoughts on essences owe m uch to David S c o tt’s (1999:9)
questions, even tho u g h my own critical direction m ay diverge fro m his.
5. My read in g of both essays is indebted to Vivek D hareshw ar’s engagem ent
with them (see D hareshw ar 1995a, 1995b).
6. In an earlier work, I attem p ted to work th ro u g h this co n trad ictio n by
reading M arx’s “T h e Jewish Q u estio n ”; see Jeganathan (1994). I am now'
persuaded, given Balibar (1994:46), th at Marx is in c o rrect on this p o in t.

8o
 4
Deterritorialized Citizenship and the Resonances
o f the Sierra Leonean State

Mari ane C. Ferine

T h e S ta te ...is a p h e n o m e n o n o f in trac o n sisten cy : It m akes p o in ts

re so n a te to g e th e r .. .very diverse p o in ts o f o rd er, g e o g ra p h ic , e th n ic ,
linguistic, m o ra l, eco n o m ic, te c h n o lo g ic a l p artic u laritie s.
— D eleu ze an d G u a tta ri, in A Thousand Plateaus

Since th e 1990s, political theorists o f the state have had a field day
in Africa— a c o n tin e n t that has b e e n th e setting fo r scholarship o n the
co llap sed , p riv atized (H ib o u 1 999), c rim in alized (Bayart, Ellis, and
H ib o u 1997), sh ad o w (R eno 1995, 1998), a n d even fo rg erer state, or
sta te as a g e n t o f d e c e p tio n (Petal falsificateur).1 T h e m ore innovative
c o n trib u tio n s h av e so u g h t to d e p a th o lo g iz e sch o larly d isco u rse on
th e state in A frica, by re th in k in g “c o rru p tio n ” w ith in the fram ew ork
o f alternative p o litical idiom s, fo r instance (see B ayart 1981), a n d in
th e c o n tex t o T th e h isto rical legacy o f co lo n ialism in c o n te m p o ra ry
A frican p o litics (fo r ex am p le, B ayart 1993; C o o p e r 2002; G esch iere
1997; M am dani 1996). In particular, th e civil w ars in L iberia a n d S ierra
L eo n e (and th e flow o f refugees they sen t in flight tow ard n e ig h b o rin g
co u n trie s, w ith d estab ilizin g effects in the re g io n ) u n d e rsc o re d th e
porousness o f A frican b o rd e r zones an d b ro u g h t to the fore th e n eed
to reflect on the state at its territo rial m argins. L iberia and S ierra L eone
w ere referred to as “shadow states”— th at is, states characterized by “the
e m e rg e n c e o f ru le rs draw ing a u th o rity from th e ir ability to c o n tro l
m arkets and th e ir m aterial rew ards” (R eno 1995:3), especially th ro u g h

8i
M a r i a n e C . F e r me

the exploitation of precious resources. A ccording to Reno, this co n tro l

over wealth allow ed the shadow state to disregard th e absence o f in te r­
national recognition of its sovereignty and o f o th e r standard e n ta n g le ­
m ents o f legitim acy. A m o n g o th e r things, th e shadow state co u ld
p ro d u ce statelik e enclaves in resource-rich p a rts o f its territory, with
th eir ow n reg u lato ry practices. F or ex am p le, S ierra L e o n e ’s K ono
region, w here th e country’s rich est diam ond veins are located, h ad its
own security, licensing, an d pass system to conLrol the m ovem ents o f a
large an d p o ten tially restless p o p u latio n o f y o u n g m ale d ia m o n d
diggers— a n d this for welt over two decades b e fo re the onset o f th e civil
war. But as lo n g as shadow states need to c o n tro l natural an d m ineral
resources th a t bring hard cu rren cy to survive, they also need to co n tro l
the territorial enclaves w here these resources a re located. W h eth er the
state controls these enclaves itself o r tem porarily cedes the rig h t to do
so to private businesses, it still exercises its prerogatives as an ap p aratu s
o f cap tu re th a t operates th ro u g h specific p laces, and h e n c e on the
territory— the classic site o r location o f sovereignty. This is th e case no
m atter how selectively this ap p aratu s is activated in practice (D eleuze
a n d G u a tta ri 1987:432ff.).
Thus, even sem iprivatized, sem icrim inal states achieve a m easu re
o f “in teg ratio n ”— in D eleuze an d G uattari’s term s— at least e n o u g h to
p ro d u ce w hat Tim othy M itchell has called a “state effect.” O n e way a
state effect is produced is hv th e draw ing o f b o u n d aries, for instance,
betw een state and society, o r state and econom y, u rb an an d ru ra l, in
ways that m ake the state a p p e a r as an “inert ‘s tru c tu re ’ that som ehow
stands a p a rt from individuals, precedes them , a n d contains an d gives a
fram ew ork to their lives” (M itchell 1999:89). T h is is partly becau se the
state is a “tran slo cal” in stitu tio n “m ade visible in localized p ra c tic e s”
(G upta 1995:376). In this ch ap ter, I exam ine th e relationship betw een
two sets o f practices that in te rp o la te betw een local an d tra n slo c a l—
even g lo b al— scales on w h ich th e reso n an ces con stitu tiv e o f a state
effect are p ro d u ced , with special reference to S ierra Leone. T h ese are
first som e o f the legal an d adm inistrative p ra c tic e s in w hich various
states (in clu d in g Sierra L eo n e) have en g ag ed , having as th e ir object
Sierra L e o n e a n citizens a n d th e ir m ovem ents as m igrants, travelers,
an d m o re recently war refu g ees. A m ong th e se practices are th o se of
co n tro l o v er territory (in c lu d in g its d e lim ita tio n w ith b o rd e rs, th e ir

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 D eterritorialized C itizenship

policing, a n d so on) a n d populations (fo r instance, th ro u g h the issuing

of identity docu m en ts o r restrictions over m obility).
B ut th e bulk of th e c h a p te r situates such practices in th e context o f
the e x p erien ces of S ie rra L eoneans affected by th e m , a n d those w ho
engage in border- a n d identity-m aking an d -crossing practices o F th eir
own. T h e se social a c to rs, an d th eir rela tio n sh ip to S ie rra L eone a n d
various h o st countries w h ere I have e n c o u n te re d th e m , h ighlight ways
in w hich form s of b e lo n g in g characteristic o f citizenship are d eterrito ­
rialized, particularly th ro u g h the fig u re o f the im m ig ra n t and the w ar
refugee. B roadly sp eak in g , th en , th is c h a p te r ad d resses problem s in
the biopolitical m a n a g e m e n t of p o p u latio n s and territo ry , in this case
specifically thro u g h th e p ro d u ctio n o f a social body— th a t is, counting,
tracking, an d identifying citizens w ith identity docu m en ts (see Foucault
1994:67—8 5 )— as well as th ro u g h c o n tro l o f flows o f h u m a n s and goods
at state b o rd ers. T hese practices have effects on citizen-subjects, who, in
turn, sh a p e the term s o f this e n g a g e m e n t in critical ways. Because this
part o f m y analysis focuses on ways th e state ap p aratu s reterritorializes
and w orks as a point o f resonance b ey o n d its borders, m u ch o f it deals
with S ierra L eoneans o u tsid e their n a tio n a l territory.

A R B I T R A R I N E S S A N D T H E LAW
In w h a t ways are th e laws and w o rk in g s of th e (su p ra )sta te a rb i­
trary? F o r o n e thing, th ey are ex p e rie n c ed to be so by p eo p le who find
them selves consistently disadvantaged by them : the law appears then as
a w ell-guarded secret th a t exists to serve th e interests o f particular cate­
gories o f p eo p le. T h e re is also a rb itra rin e s s in th e ways laws a re
applied— a problem n o t so m uch in th e law itself as in its enfo rcem en t.
But a fu rth e r way in w h ich th e law a n d state rule are se e n as arbitrary—
one e x p e rie n c ed by th e S ierra L eo n ean s en c o u n te re d in the course o f
my re se a rch — is that th e state can a rb itra te , decide, o r create situations
in w hich co m p etin g in terests o r in te rp re ta tio n s o f th e com m on goo d
obscure the th resh o ld betw een legality an d illegality. T h e an teced en ts
for this arbitrariness a re fo u n d in c o lo n ial rule, as o th e rs have p o in te d
out (for exam ple, M am d an i 1996; M b em b e 2001).
U n d e r colonial ru le in Sierra L e o n e , conflicting statu tes setting th e
b o u n d aries betw een th e colony (ced ed in 1807 to th e B ritish Crown by
the S ie rra L eo n e C o m p an y ) an d th e p ro te c to ra te (d e c la re d in 1896

83
M a r i ane C. F erme

over the adjo in in g h in te rla n d — a m uch vaster territory) trig g ered flows
of people an d goods across internal b o rd e r regions. T hus, ru ral people
in h a b itin g n e ig h b o rin g villages se p a ra te d by the invisible b o rd e r
betw een p ro tecto rate and colony ex p erien ced ap p aren tly arb itrary dif­
ferences in treatm en t by th e state s agents: o n the p ro te c to ra te side,
taxation was ann o u n ced in 1896, the sam e tim e foreign ru le was estab­
lished, a n d was enforced b eg in n in g in 1898 w ith o u t ex em p tio n s; on
the colony side, taxes w ere established a full century after th e inception
o f colonial ru le— later th an in the p ro tecto rate— and with exem ptions.
T he choice was clear for those w anting to avoid taxes. B ut it was in the
dom ain o f courts and th e ap p licatio n o f d iffe re n t b o d ies o f law7 th at
ordinary p eo p le m ost felt th e arbitrariness o f ju risd ictio n al boundaries,
for in the colony they w ere subjects of the British Crown u n d e r English
law, w hereas in the p ro tecto rate they w ere subject to native courts and
the oversight o f summary7justice m eted o u t by the F ro n tier Police (Fyfe
1962:545). W hile u n d er ord in ary circum stances, people in th e protec­
torate seeking legal redress felt that they co u ld be b etter served by the
colonv courts, during th e 1898 anticolonial “tax war,” th e situ atio n was
reversed. O f the 158 peo p le convicted o f m u rd e r after the reb ellio n was
suppressed (Fyfe 1962:588—89), chiefs in th e colony w ere h an g ed for
treason as C row n subjects, w hereas p ro te c to ra te ru lers w ere tried as
ex tern al en em ies an d su ffe re d a variety o f p u n ish m e n ts, in c lu d in g
exile a n d im p riso n m en t. Finally, th e d iffe re n t tre a tm e n t o f slavery
(legal in th e p ro te c to ra te u n til 1927, o u tlaw ed from 1787 on th e
co lo n y ’s “B ritish soil”) p ro d u c e d th e strateg ic b ack -an d -fo rth m ove­
m en t o f a population set in m otion by all th a t this b o u n d ary im plied.
Far fro m being ig n o re d , th e div id in g lin e re p re s e n te d by th e
p ro tecto rate-co lo n y b o rd e r, an d th e d iffe re n ce s in ju ris d ic tio n th at
cam e w ith it, gave rise to new m eanings a n d uses. A nd th e se b o rd e r
p ractices w ere n o t circu m scrib ed to ru ra l in h a b ita n ts o f th e S ierra
L eonean hinterland. T h e F ro n tier Police— a n d the co m p o site colonial
state on w hose b eh alf they acted — in v e n te d th e ir ro le as they w ent
along. T h ey had the vague m an d a te o f k e e p in g the p e a c e in a vast
territory w hile being explicitly fo rb id d en to in terfere w ith th e rule o f
local chiefs an d the courts. Police could n o t even p ro tect citizens o f the
colony in the protectorate, because they w ere outside B ritish jurisdic­
tion. O fte n posted in sm all n u m b ers to re m o te areas, fa r from th e

s4
 D eterritorialized Citizenship

supervision o f th e ir E u ro p ean su p erio rs, m em bers o f this param ilitary

bo d y to o k on ro les th a t ran g ed fro m stan d in g by w hile local w itch
h u n ts p ro d u ced d o zen s o f casualties, to taking on abusive en fo rcem en t
roles in stam ping o u t dom estic slavery an d en fo rcin g taxation (see Fyfe
1962:487, 506—07, 5 1 5 ). F u rth e rm o re , u n c e rta in ty a b o u t w here th e
b o rd e r betw een colony an d p ro te c to ra te lay periodically pro d u ced inci­
d e n ts th a t h ig h lig h te d th e social a n d political effects in p ractice of
ap p aren tly abstract m atters of law.
T h e tw en tieth c e n tu ry b ro u g h t legal refo rm s th a t m ade B ritish
p o licies on e ith e r side o f the b o rd e r m o re co n sisten t an d eventually
u n ified colony an d p ro tecto rate u n d e r a single ju risd ictio n th ro u g h a
series o f c o n stitu tio n a l reform s in itia te d in 1951. B ut, to p ara p h ra se
M itchell, th e “b o rd e r effect” o f th e B ritish colonial sta te ’s policies in
th e a rea co n tin u es to resonate in in te rn a l divisions w ithin postcolonial
S ierra L eone. In this aspect, S ierra L e o n e appears to be a classic “b ifu r­
cated state” in h e rite d from the “d ecen tralized d esp o tism ” o f co lo n ial
ru le (M am dani 1996), w here on th e o n e hand th e colonial (and p o st­
co lo n ial) state ex e rc ise d “cu sto m ary ” power, th ro u g h native a u th o ri­
ties, over trib a liz e d p e a sa n t su b je c ts in th e ru ra l h in te rla n d — a
h in te rla n d th a t o v erlap s with th e fo rm e r p ro te c to ra te . O n the o th e r
h a n d th e colony m ostly ov erlap p ed w ith the F reeto w n p en in su la an d
th e re fo re c o rre sp o n d e d to spaces w h ere the co lo n ial state held “civil”
p o w er over B ritish su b jects— u rb a n -b a se d citizens a n d non-A fricans
subject to m odified fo rm s o f m etro p o lita n law, an d peasants subject to
h y b rid , in te rm e d ia te ju risd ic tio n a l form s. H ow ever, this w ould b e a
reductive, all too literalist read in g o f th e state’s territorializin g pow er—
its p o w er to ex p ress in spatial te rm s specific fo rm s o f co n tro l— given
th e m any ways in w hich the colonial state, how ever m ultiple an d d iso r­
g an ized its practices, p ro d u ced a n effect o f cohesion in the ex p erien ce
o f its subjects.
In the ex trem e, colonial p o w er exercised a fo rm o f absolute co n ­
trol over th e body o f th e colonized, with its in d iscrim in ate use o f th e
“rig h t to kill an d m ak e force prevail. Exercising co m m an d thus m e a n t
to com pel p eo p le to p erfo rm ‘o b lig atio n s.’ It also m ean t, as in an army,
to p ro ceed by o rd e rs a n d dem ands. Commandement itself was sim u ltan e­
ously a tone, an a c c o u tre m en t, a n d an attitu d e ” (M bem be 2001:32).
O n e could go fu rth e r an d say th a t th e colonial state was “a sta/cm ent, an

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M ariane C . F e rme

ongoing assertion: it [gave] voice to an au th o ritativ e worldview, som e­

times backed by (open o r co n cealed ) displays o f m ig h t” (C o m aro ff
1998:342), and in this capacity it was effective even when it lacked orga­
nizational unity, w hen it a p p e a re d to sow th e seeds of “c o lla p se d ” or
“shadow” postcolonial states. In o th er w ords, I w ould tend to disagree
with the “totalitarian” rea d in g M bem be gives o f both the co lo n ial and
postcolonial successor states, given that o n e n eed s to take in to account
the distinction betw een “state effect”— in c lu d in g th e p h a n ta sm a tic
constellation in which th e state project is c o u ch ed , thus p ro je c tin g a
totalizing im age of itself— an d the extent to w hich it may o r m ay n o t be
integrated at particular tim es an d in p articu lar sites.
Successor states held on to the absolute rights claim ed by colonial
rule, inclu d in g the “rig h t to kill,” and ex ercised them o ften w ith the
same im punity. T he pow er o f the postcolonial state in co n tem p o rary
Sierra L eo n e m anifested itself in the p e rio d ic d eclaratio n o f em er­
gency curfews, am ong o th e r things. T hese w ere m ost recently justified
bvthe gov ern m en t’s provision o f security in th e context o f th e civil war
and were accom panied by an escalation o f abuses linked to “checking
docum ents” (on the linkages between states o f generalized insecurity,
checkpoints, an d the fetishism o f docum ents, see also the ch ap ters by
Poole and Jeg an ath an in this volum e). U n d e r norm al circum stances,
blocking th e m ovem ents o f p o p u latio n s to inspect d o c u m e n ts was
linked to p re d ic ta b le sites an d in cid en ts (fo r exam ple, th e b o rd e r
crossing, th e airp o rt arrival lounge, the com m ission of an in fractio n ),
but under states of em ergency, the sites o f arbitrary blocks m ultiplied.
Thus, as re p o rte d in F re e to w n ’s The New Breed (July 7 -1 3 , 1993), a
soldier’s d em an d that a citizen produce an identity card a n d pay a fine
for leaving his house at n ig h t (during the curfew ), even th o u g h h e had
left only to relieve him self in the outhouse in back, escalated in to the
citizen’s d e a th . I m e n tio n this exam ple as a caricatu re o f th e rou-
tinized, socialized ch aracter th at the portrayal o f the state’s “absolute
power” takes on in contexts in which it sh o u ld n o t have to b e invoked.
The pro secu tio n o f th e soldier who co m m itted this killing belies
the fact th at his gesture was far from illegal— it was authorized, as such
gestures always are, u n d e r th e em ergency stip u latio n s o f th e S ierra
Leonean constitution. F u rth erm o re, it belies the fact that, increasingly,
such g estures are n o t on ly a feature o f em ergencies b u t a re also

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 D eterritorialized C itizenship

ex p erien ced in o rd in ary life, a featu re o f the co m m an d em en t in p o st­

colonial Africa (M bem be 2001). In S ierra Leone a n d elsew here, th en ,
the arb itrarin ess at th e h e a rt o f co m m an d em en t b ecam e socialized— it
b ecam e a featu re o f th e p o p u la r a n d political im a g in a tio n a n d an
in sep arab le attribute o f th e state as an apparatus of c a p tu re and a p p ro ­
p riatio n . However, this arbitrariness was unable to h in d e r practices o f
m obility an d self-fashioning am ong acto rs seeking, u n d e r different cir­
cum stances, to red efin e them selves acc o rd in g to altern ativ e logics o f
b elo n g in g — w hether religious o r political o r in relatio n to h u m an itar­
ian d isc o u rse . It is p arad o x ically th e latter, d esp ite its refusal to be
b eh o ld e n to the logic o f sovereign states, that has facilitated the search
by S ie rra L eo n ean s— m ig ran ts, re fu g e e s— for a lte rn a tiv e citizenship
options. T his they have d o n e by ex p lo itin g em ergency m easures taken
elsew here to protect th e m as “war re fu g e e s”— for in stan ce, in countries
to w hich they flee, w h ere such “states o f em ergency” have been used to
lift restrictio n s on im m ig ratio n . Such practices h ig h lig h t the limits and
flexibility o f citizen sh ip in th e new e ra o f rights h e ra ld e d bv g lo b al
hum anitarianism .
C ritiques of liberal-dem ocratic m o d els o f the political (for exam ple,
Carl S ch m itt) have u n d e rsc o re d th e ir w eakness in failin g to recognize
that u ltim ately sovereignty is ab o u t th e pow er to su sp e n d the (o rd i­
nary) ru le o f law. T h o u g h in practice th e decision o n w hat constitutes
an e x c e p tio n usually b eco m es relev an t only in e m erg en cy situations,
S ch m itt saw it as a g e n e ra l co n cep t in th e theory o f th e state, to th e
e x te n t th a t he re d e fin e d state so v ereig n ty as b e in g “n o t ab o u t th e
m o n o p o ly to coerce o r to rule, b u t as th e m o n o p o ly to d e c id e ”
(Schm itt [1922] 1988:5—13). Sovereignty is therefo re always a b o rd e r­
line c o n c e p t, one th a t m u st be legally circu m scrib ed th ro u g h pro v i­
sions th a t g ra n t only c e rta in offices o r bodies th e rig h t to d ecid e
u p o n — an d hence d e c la re — the ex cep tio n , b u t it lim its tem porally th e
d u ratio n o f states of em erg en cy that a re usually the p rag m atic result of
c o n stitu tio n a l ex cep tio n s, w ithout h a m p e rin g th e m w ith p a rtic u la r
laws. T h e decision is p ro v id e d for in law, b u t at th e m o m en t o f its
exercise, it is not of th e law— it m ust tran scen d the law as an included
but e x te rn a l m o m en t/p ro v isio n of legality. T he sovereign is the legally
san ctio n ed outlaw7.
T h u s, the border betw een norm a n d exception, legality and illegality,

8?
M a r i a n e C. F e r me

is precisely w here, acco rd in g to Schm itt, the ord in ary business o f sov­
ereignty is transacted. O n e is n o t aware o flth e sovereign in ord in ary
circum stances, only in em erg en cies that call fo r a decision a b o u t excep­
tions. If a sovereign body is to rem ain legitim ate— an d S chm itt's critics
hardly ever pay a tte n tio n to th e g reat care h e p aid to legitim acy— it
m ust rev ert to the rule o f law o n ce the em ergency is over. U ltim ately,
Schm itt was m o re in terested in dem ocratic form s o f sovereignty than in
totalitarian ones, but he saw th e contradictions em b ed d ed in the weak
m odels o f sovereignty b e in g developed by th e liberal, p arliam en tary
dem ocratic regim es o f E u ro p e in the interw ar period.
S c h m itt’s n o tio n o f th e legality or illegality o f the sta te can be
tested at th e various p o in ts o f intersection a lo n g g eo g rap h ic borders
w here S ierra L eo n ean citizens an d refugees clash with th e law in the
state’s m u ltip le resonances. B orders are sites fo r the territorial m anifes­
tation o f state sovereignty in its classic sense: w here practices o f inclu­
sion (o f c e rta in categ o ries o f citizens) o r exclusion (o f u n w an ted
others) take place. But even w here state au th o rity is d im inished, w here
sovereignty is in question a n d regulatory practices are n o t visibly dis­
played ex cep t in an arbitrary' m anner, en co u n ters with b o rd ers still tell
us m u ch a b o u t the sh iftin g co n to u rs o f state interests in d iffe re n t sub­
jects an d territories. In d e e d , th e arbitrariness with which th e state dis­
plays a n d im poses its in te re s t in d ifferen t bodies o f su b jects is
c o m p o u n d ed by the com plicity o f those very subjects, w hose practices
o f self-fashioning p ro d u ce u n p red ictab le (an d som etim es equally arbi­
trary) outcom es. For th e e ffo rt to comply with arbitrary’ a n d capricious
laws o ften p ro d u ces u n p re d ic ta b le outcom es. T his is tru e, too, w hen
the arb itrarin ess is only a p p a re n t— in o th er w ords, wrhen it is th e p ro d ­
u ct o f o p a q u e in te n tio n s a n d appears to p ro te c t th e in te re sts o f the
p riv ileg ed few w ho are “above th e law” o r w hose in terests are best
served by existing laws.
In his political w ritings, F oucault has show n the in tim ate links in
m o d ern E u ro p e betw een th e erection of state borders and th e pro d u c­
tion o f a social body th ro u g h th e control o f p o pulations. In d e e d , he
a rg u e d th a t in m o d e rn tim es th ere has b e e n a “sh ift o f a c c e n t”
(F oucault 1994:67) from territo rial states to states in terested in regulat­
ing p o p u la tio n s th ro u g h o rd in a ry and u b iq u ito u s m ech an ism s that
p ro d u ce specific kinds o f know ledge— the census; birth, m arriage, and

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 D eterritoriamzed Citizenship

d eath records— at the sam e tim e th a t they e n a b le th e delivery ol ser­

vices to p o pulations. Foucault saw this m odern fo rm of pow er as p ro ­
d u c in g b io p o litical regim es w h e re states c o n tro l p o p u la tio n s in
increasingly in tim ate spheres o f th e ir bodily ex isten ce, to the p o in t of
p ro d u c in g new form s o f subjectivity an d even life.
O n th e face o f it, b io p o litical regim es a p p e a r very d istan t fro m
S ierra L eone, w hich, with its n e ig h b o r Liberia, h as h a d the distinction
of b e in g dubbed “th e basket case o f A frica” in m atters ranging fro m the
viability o f the state to chances fo r a lasting peace a fte r a decade o f civil
wars (see M oran a n d P itcher 2003). T h e arg u m en t against the ap p lica­
bility o f a biopolitical m odel to S ierra Leone is th a t th e state as a reg u ­
latory and governing apparatus has failed to such a spectacular e x te n t
h e re th a t one can invoke n e ith e r g o v ern m en tality n o r older c o n tra c ­
tual, ju rid ical m o d els o f sovereignty. Instead, I a rg u e that a hybrid o f
these two m odels applies to p o stco lo n ial states like S ierra L eone an d ,
m o re generally, th a t postcolonial S ierra L eo n e’s political subjects are
m o re at hom e in th e “control" m o d els o f the state esp o u sed by D eleuze
and G u attari—w ho see the state as an apparatus o f cap tu re, in teg rated
m o re as a netw ork th an an o rg an ism — than in th e purely biopolitical
ones spaw ned by p artial readings o f Foucault. P ostcolonial states like
S ierra L eone w ork m o re according to the logic o f co d e than life-form s,
d isco n tin u ity and resonances th a n organism s, a n d as such are fu n d a ­
m entally at odds w ith the supposedly organic m o d els o f the biopoliti-
cal. T h e m odal fo rm o f related n ess in a digital system is the netw ork,
w ithin w hich the state can c a n e o u t an area o f c o n tro l w ithout c o m ­
p ro m isin g the w hole system, as o p p o se d to the in te rd e p e n d e n t in te g ra ­
tion o f (pre- o r post-genom ic) o rg an ism s and th e ir co m p o n en t parts
(see Riles 2000). -
Paradoxically, th e biopolitical ad m in istratio n o f life and o v er th e
living, an d the incom pleten ess of its projects, paves th e way to d iffe re n t
c o n stru c ts of th e n a tio n a l os su p ra n a tio n a l subject-citizen . S ie rra
L eo n ean s with w hom I have w orked, in and o u tsid e th eir country, are
su b je c t to d isc o n tin u o u s form s of state and su p ra n a tio n a l in te rv e n ­
tions, w hich, w hile apparently ra n d o m and arbitrary, m ake up an ex p e­
rie n c e th a t as a w h o le re in fo rc es th e ir “b e in g S ie rra L e o n e a n ”—
c o n stitu tin g re so n a n c e s th at m ig h t p ro d u ce a sense of sh a re d
nationality w hen they find them selves elsew here. As I show7below7, this
M ariane C. F e r m e

reinforcem ent o f a n atio n al id en tity is n o t b o u n d up w ith clearly

marked territo rial boundaries b u t rath er w ith a lingering, d eterrito rial-
ized fetishism o f th e origin, o f belonging. T hus, for exam ple, o n e can
have the p arad o x of M oham m ed, a Sierra L eo n ean I m et in Egypt in
1993 and w ho eig h t years later was adm itted in to the U nited States as a
“war refugee,” thanks to the intervention o f a h u m an itarian organiza­
tion—even th o u g h he h a d n o t lived in S ierra L eone since 1961, let
alone directly ex p erien ced th e upheavals o f th e 1991-2002 civil war.
Indeed, his transform ation over the years in to a devout M uslim whose
main com m unity o f belonging was based on religion had b e e n so th o r­
ough that h e h a d even shed his original nam e. T his situation p oints to
another “layer” in the in teg ratio n o f the state, fo r in the p o st—civil war
context, it is th e global h u m an itarian ap p aratu s that often in terv en es
with statelike form s of governm entality— p ro d u cin g d em o g rap h ic data
on populations, issuing identity docum ents, delivering h ealth care and
other services— th at re c o n stitu te a d e te rrito rialize d S ie rra L eo n e
through th e assem blage o f the co u n trv ’s refugees and m igrants.
The e m e rg e n t figure o f th e refu g ee in co n te m p o ra ry political
debates— re p la c in g the tra d itio n a l “citizen ” attach ed to th e la n d by
blood and territoriality and, in the process, rep resen tin g “th e ex trem e
phase of th e separation o f th e rights o f m an from the rights o f th e citi­
zen” (A gam ben 1998:133)— raises crucial questions about th e ju rid ical
implications o f deterritorialization. People beco m e refugees a t territo r­
ial borders betw een states (otherw ise, h u m an itarian organizations clas­
sify them as ID Ps— internally displaced persons— a category7p red icated
on other kinds o f intrastate b o u n d aries). A nd it is often at th e b o rd e r
that ex cep tio n s to the ru le o f in c lu sio n /e x c lu sio n th at necessarily
define th e lim its o f citizen sh ip are m ade. A dditionally, re fu g e e s in
hum anitarian cam ps raise th e question o f territoriality and b o u n d aries
in wavs th a t h ig h lig h t th e “b o rd e rlin e ” n a tu re o f sovereignty as the
decision a b o u t the ex ception, fo r it is u n d e r the conditional, tem p o ­
rally b o u n d ed , an d regulated vigilance o f a sovereign state th a t a terri­
tory within it can be created — a territory over w hich the state shares
control w ith, say, the U nited N ations H igh C om m issioner for R efugees
or other h u m an itarian organizations (see M alkki 1995:38). T h u s, the
refugee is th e negative im age th ro u g h w hich new m odes o f citizenship
can be perceived (and, too, a new gen eratio n o f rights linked to th e m ),

9°
 Deterritorialized C itizenship

and th e bo rd er, both c o n c e p tu a l and territo rial, is a privileged site fo r

eliciting certain kinds o f legal practices.
R efu g ees ex p erien ce in practice the exclusionary n a tu re o f state
sovereignty in relation to th e state from w hich they have fled b u t also in
re la tio n to th e host sta te , w h ere they a re tre a te d as b arely in c lu d e d
e x c e p tio n s w ith o u t c itiz e n sh ip rights (see M alkki 19 9 5 :1 6 2 -6 4 ).
F u rth e rm o re , a n e g le c te d aspect of th e fo rm s o f ex clu sio n set in
m o tio n by violence a n d w arfare is th eir im p act on ho st p o p u latio n s.
R efugees co n fro n t citizens w ith the lim its o f th e ir own rights an d so m e­
tim es b e c o m e catalysts fo r processes o f n a tio n b u ild in g am o n g th e ir
hosts. T h e exclusions in c lu d e d in the n o rm a l exercise o f state sover­
eignty a re h ig h lig h te d by th e p resen ce o f refugees in p a rt becau se
states often-G ontain th em in carhps near territo rial b o rd ers, as was th e
case w ith large cam ps fo r L iberian and S ierra L eonean w ar refugees in
the “P a rro t’s B eak” re g io n , w here the two co u n tries a n d G u in e a jo in
b o rd e rs (see H enry 200 0 :8 7 , 2002). A m o n g o th e r reasons, states
choose these locations to isolate the p o ten tial logistical a n d o th er p ro b ­
lem s represented*!)}’ refu g ees an d som etim es to ch an n el the in te rn a ­
tional h u m a n ita ria n re so u rc e s th at n o rm ally c o n c e n tra te a ro u n d
refu g ee cam ps into u n d e rd e v e lo p e d fro n tie r zones, w here host states
have an in terest in b e tte r co n tro llin g th e ir own citizens an d interests.
T hus, L iisa M alkki p o in ts to th e T an zan ian g o v e rn m e n t decision to
locate a m ajo r cam p fo r H u tu refugees o f th e 1972 B u ru n d ian civil w ar
in an u n in h a b ite d , “fo rb id d in g ” region in o rd e r to use refu g ee labor to
develop th e area for a g ric u ltu ra l use. T h e refugees u n d e rsto o d th a t
th eir ro le in the area was to develop the fro n tie r (M alkki 1995:40—44,
1 2 1 -2 4 ). In som e cases, th is process p ro d u c e s situ atio n s in w hich
refugees in teract with citizens o f a foreign state, and fam iliarity is estab­
lished rap id ly because o f sh a re d histories, languages, a n d cultures— as
with re fu g e e s from th e L ib e ria n and S ie rra L eo n ean civil wars in
G u in ean cam ps— but n ew tensions arise because th eir presen ce h ig h ­
lights th e m arginality o f h o st populations w ithin th eir ow n countries.
T h a t th e flight o f re fu g e e s from S ierra L e o n e can be, as
M o h a m m e d ’s case suggests, m o re the p ro d u c t o f im agination than his­
torical fact is precisely p a rt o f th e a rg u m e n t here: postcolonial S ierra
L eone as a state is first a n d forem ost a state o f th e im agination— alb eit
o n e th a t has “real” effects such as points o f legal decision, co ercio n ,

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rights o f life and death, an d so on. This is especially tru e of pqst-civil

war Sierra L eone, w here international m edia and h u m an itarian in ter­
ventions have projected on a global stage this p articu lar state's “reso­
nances.” Since its inception in 1991, the civil war in S ierra L eone lias
been n o tab le first for its invisibility on th e global scene, an d from 1996
on, for the attention paid by the in tern atio n al m edia an d h u m an itarian
organizations to the youthfulncss of th e p erp etrato rs o f violence, the
m utilated bodies of th eir victims, and th e role of global d iam o n d and
crim inal interests in th e p ro lo n g atio n o f th e war. T h ese im ages have
helped p ro p el Sierra L eone to the top o f the charts o f h u m an itarian
interventions, to the ex ten t that despite its relatively sm all size and p o p ­
ulation (few er than five m illion in h ab itan ts), it has b een the th eater of
the larg est d ep lo y m en t o f UN p eac e k e ep e rs anyw here in th e w orld
(m ore th a n 17,000 tro o p s), has the h ig h est c o n c e n tra tio n o f N G O s,
and has seen an investm ent o f funds by th e global h u m an itarian ap p a­
ratus th a t dwarfs the co u n try ’s gross n atio n al product (see Ferine and
H offm an 2002:27-28).
T h is m ajo r exercise in h u m a n ita ria n in te rv e n tio n a n d in te rn a ­
tional aid has not m erely supported the state apparatus: it has becom e
a key p o in t o f integration o f the state, reso n atin g from th e global to the
local level. In the process, these in terv en tio n s have b eco m e factors in
the very processes of destabilization they seek to am elio rate, while p ro ­
d u cin g m o re “points o f reso n an ce.” F o r instance, d o n o rs o r len d in g
agencies such as the W orld Bank and th e IM F m ake aid to A frican states
co n d itio n al up o n hum an-rights reform s in ways that m an ag e to u n d e r­
m ine th e old system o f legitim ation, b u t w ithout m o n ito rin g the th o r­
ough im p lem en tatio n o f reform s. T h u s, th e old is d estro y ed , but the
new p o litical forces th a t m ay em erg e in its place a re n e v e r given a
chance to becom e stro n g enough to subvert co rru p t regim es (Bayart,
Ellis, an d H ibou 1997:19). These interventions have c o n trib u te d to the
loss o f cen tral pow er in A frican states a n d to th eir privatization— the
c o n tra c tio n o r red ep lo y m en t o f state sovereignty in m an y parts o f
A frica (H ib o u 1999), p erh ap s even a lto g e th e r privatized sovereignty,
th ro u g h form s of “private, indirect g o v ern m en t” th at p ro lo n g by new
m eans colonial form s o f rule (M bem be 2001:80-85). S u ch perspectives
on th e postcolonial A frican stale rightly link the p riv atizatio n o f the
state to th e increasing involvem ent o f la rg e r and la rg e r p arts o f th e

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 D eterritorialized Citizenship

state ap p aratu s in crim inal activities that have b ru ta l effects on th e p o p ­

ulations in h ab itin g particu lar territories.- In S ierra Leone, com plicities
am ong state actors acting for private gain an d global business interests,
especially a ro u n d precious m in eral resources, have been at w ork m ostly
in d iam o n d -p ro d u cin g areas, w hich in w artim e w ere placed u n d e r the
effective co n tro l o f private security firm s acting in lieu of the state (see
R eno 1997a, 1997b). However, since the 1990s, privatization has taken
on positive co n n o tatio n s too, with PPPs, “public-private p a rtn e rsh ip s”
am o n g states a n d business interests, b ecom ing kev discursive a n d p rag­
m atic vehicles fo r d e v e lo p m e n t p o licy m ak in g in African T h e ir m ain
in stitu tio n al fram ew o rk is N EPA D , the New P a rtn e rsh ip fo r A frican
D ev elo p m en t, a body w hose n e o lib e ra l p rem ises are exposed by the
eclectic m ix o f p riv ate e n te rp rise s, staters, N G O s, and in te rn a tio n a l
h u m a n ita ria n o rg an izatio n s th a t have ch o sen to ch an n el th ro u g h it
activities ran g in g from business investm ents to developm ent aid.
H u m an itarian o rg an izatio n s’ practice's o f reg istratio n — in w artim e
an d postw ar settin g s— o f m u ltitu d es o f refu g ees, internallv d isp laced
people, co m b atan ts, and civilians, in o rd e r to identify' those in n e e d of
d ev elo p m en t, h e a lth aid, an d fo o d relief, fall w ithin the b io p o litical
o rd e r within w hich so-called failed states do n o t o p e ra te consistentlv. In
S ierra L eone, th e n , su p ran atio n al m echanism s fo r regulating p o p u la ­
tions succeeded w here the state' failed. F o r'ex am p le, a range' o f regis­
tratio n , co u n tin g , an d id en tificatio n exercises to o k place after January
2002, when the w ar was declared officially over, so m ost Sierra L eoneans
have acq u ired m u ltip le id en tificatio n d o cu m en ts an d reg istratio n s in
o v erlap p in g ex ercises o f “h y p e r-id e n tific atio n ”: p re p a ra tio n s fo r the
first postw ar n atio n al census; th e draw ing up o f voter'lists for th e May
2002 national b allo t; the draw ing u p o f lists o f ch iefd o in electors fo r the
2002-2003 c h ie fd o m elections; D D R (d isa rm a m e n t, d em o b ilizatio n ,
a n d re in te g ra tio n ) pro g ram s; an d so on. E veryone has m u ltip le IDs,
each en titlin g th e h o ld e r to so m e th in g d ifferent, a n d each c o rre sp o n d ­
in g to a nam e o n a d ifferent ag en cy ’s list.
And yet th e S ierra L eo n ean state lias n o t b een entirely unsuccess­
ful in its p ra c tic e s o f g o v ern m en tality , especially in reg u la tin g fiscal
beh av io rs th a t o th e rs have id e n tifie d a m o n g th e key “b o u n d a ry ­
m a rk in g ” p ra c tic e s o f the state (R o itm an 1 998). T hus, fo r m o st o f
th e d ecad e le a d in g up to th e civil war, th e “S A P ped” (S tru c tu ra l

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M a r i a n e C. F e r m e

A d ju stm en t P ro g ra m -d e b ilita te d ) 1980s, w hen th e S ierra L e o n e a n

sta te ’s ability to d eliv er services o r h ealth care, o r even to carry o u t a
census, had d e te rio ra ted so m u ch th a t the state co u ld only en g ag e in
su ch practices w h en they were m ostly org an ized a n d b a n k ro lle d by
in tern atio n al ag en cies (For exam ple, the U N -sponsored 1985 popula.-
tion census), taxes, fines, and fees w ere collected w ith im pressive reg u ­
larity in rural areas. Indeed, well in to the 1990s, th e annual tax receip t
was th e only id e n tity d o c u m e n t valid fo r travel w ith in th e c o u n try
issued with any regularity, as o n e national identification schem e after
a n o th e r failed o r was n o t im p le m e n te d . T he re c e ip t vo u ch ed fo r a
m a n ’s identity a n d residence (it d o cu m en ted a tax on “a d u lt h ead s
o f h o u seh o ld s”— generally m a le ). It in clu d ed th e m a n ’s n a m e a n d
village/chiefdom o f residence, a lo n g with the a m o u n t paid and th e sig­
n a tu re o f the c h ie f collecting th e tax. Since the re c e ip t could be issued
only by a chief o r his representative, it am ounted to an en d o rse m e n t by
th e local authorities th at the b e a re r was a person in good stan d in g in
th e area. As such, th e tax re c e ip t a n d the fiscal p ractices it sto o d fo r
acted precisely as o n e o f th e'“lo cal” points of reso n an ce that m ad e fis­
cal governm entality an aspect o f th e overall “state effect.”3 T h o u g h this
schem e, too, failed to achieve full com pliance— a n d left open th e issue
o f how to keep track o f people w ho were not re q u ire d to pay taxes, such
as th e young, o ld , an d fem ale d e p e n d e n ts o f th o se (m ostly m ale)
“h o u seh o ld h e a d s”— m en who d id n o t have th e ir tax receipts d id n o t
d a re travel the “fa ile d ” Sierra L e o n e a n state’s m a in roads fo r fe a r o f
ru n n in g into h arassm en t by th e p o lice'at checkpoints.
In the section th a t follows, I tu rn to a m ore d etailed analysis o f p re ­
cisely this aspect o f th e “state effect,” namely, th e ways in w hich individ­
u al S ierra L e o n e a n s (in this case th o se living in th e d iasp o ra) have
refashioned th e ir sense o f b elo n g in g to the Sierra L ^o n e nation-state in
th e ir encounters w ith the deterritorialized aren a o f in tern atio n al legal
a n d h u m a n ita ria n in terv en tio n , som etim es e x p lo itin g it in u n p r e ­
dictable m anners.

R E F U G E E S , M I G R A N T S , A N D THE L I M I T S
OF CITIZENSHIP
W hen 1 m et h im in Cairo in 1993, the “eld er” o f th e resid en t S ierra
L eo n ean com m unity, M oham m ed Mussa Ibrahim (n o t his real n am e),

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 D eterritorialized C itizenship

had n o p ro sp ects o f im m ig ra tin g to A m erica, even th o u g h he h a d

taught h im self English to im prove his em ploym ent prospects in a c o u n ­
try that was suffering serio u s econom ic setbacks as a resu lt o f the 1991
G ulf W ar. T h e w ar-linked exodus o f ex p a tria te w orkers from P ersian
G ulf states— and the re la te d decline in rem ittances— h ad significantly
affected th e livelihoods o f m any A rab -sp eak in g A frican s in C airo,
whose seaso n al e m p lo y m en t in th e oil-fueled g u lf e c o n o m ie s su p ­
ported th e ir sem ilegal existence in E gypt. As no n citizen s, they co u ld
not legally w ork in C airo , an d th o u g h th e p a rtic u la r g ro u p I g o t to
know' h a d originally e n te re d the co u n try as scholarship students at al-
Azhar U niversity— o n e o f th e em in en t institutions o f h ig h e r learn in g in
the M uslim w orld— th e ir scholarships h a d long since ceased to be ad e­
quate to su p p o rt th e m .4T hus, M oham m ed jo in ed a grow ing n u m b er o f
noncitizen W est A fricans w ho lived in precarious c o n d itio n s— having
ceased to be al-Azhar stu d en ts, e ith e r because they h ad g rad u ated o r
had b een forced to d ro p o u t to su p p o rt them selves, an d yet n o t being
able to find adequate em ploym ent to m ove on and leave th e country.
T heir m ovem ents were circum scribed to o , because with respect to th eir
earlier lives as fully reg istered students with official p ap ers, travel o u t o f
the c o u n try now co u ld very well leave th e m stra n d e d a n d u n ab le to
legally reen ter. For S ierra L eonean stu d e n ts in particular, th e absence
of any d ip lo m atic rep resen tatio n in C airo presen ted a fu rth e r problem ,
m aking th em d e p e n d e n t o n the m ail, o r on increasingly rare visits by
staff from th e em bassy in Saudi A rabia (in 1993, n o o n e h a d com e for
m ore th a n two years). Finally, the fact th a t m any in M o h a m m e d ’s o ld er
g e n e ra tio n w ere m e n w ho had a rriv e d alone, a n d h a d m a rrie d
E gyptian w om en an d h a d fam ilies, was an in d icatio n o f crucial g e n ­
dered a n d g en eratio n al dim ensions o f this precarious existence at th e
m argins o f legal and political citizenship. In Egypt as elsew here, p a te r­
nity d e te rm in e s citizenship, so S ierra L eo n ean m en have no h o p e o f
b eco m in g citizens o r p assin g th eir citizen sh ip on to th e ir E gyptian-
Sierra L eo n ean offspring.
H en ce th e parad o x o f th e case o f S heku, a Sierra L eo n ean whose
m ixed p a re n ta g e c re a te d a ra th e r d iffe re n t citizen sh ip c o n u n d ru m
than d id M o h am m ed ’s. S h ek u was b o rn in Cairo o f an E gyptian m o th er
and a S ierra L eonean fa th e r and grew u p both in E gypt an d in Sierra
L eone. W h e n we m et,“lie was a co sm o p o lita n a n d w ell-ed u cated
M a r i a n e C. F e r m e

stu d e n t in th e first year o f a .h e a lth ad m in istra tio n m aster ’s p ro g ram

at the A m erican U niversity o f C airo (AUC). H e had paid fo r his m uch
m o re ex p en siv e private e d u c a tio n at th is in te rn a tio n a l E nglish-
language university with m o n ey earn ed on a su m m er jo b as a tran slato r
in the A rabic d e p a rtm e n t o f C h ristie’s a u ctio n house in L o n d o n and
with o d d w hite-collar jo b s tak en d u rin g sch o o l holidays in E gypt and
Saudi A rab ia. Yet, as a n o n c itiz e n (b ecau se his E gyptian b irth and
A rabic m o th e r tongue w ere p ro d u cts o f m atern ity ra th e r th a n p a te r­
nity), S h ek u , too, could rely only on his active en ro llm e n t statu s as a
stu d en t to get the p ro p e r p ap ers needed to travel out of th e country.
T he m u c h younger S h ek u (he was twenty-seven years o ld w hen we
m et in C airo ) h a d already d e c id e d that h e w anted to go to A m erica.
B orn in E gypt, educated in Sierra L eone b etw een the ages o f e ig h t and
twenty, th e n flown back to C airo to atten d university, S heku h a d com e
som ew hat clo ser to his A m erican dream a lte r leaving C airo University,
w here he h ad begun his studies, and e n ro llin g instead at A U C . By co n ­
trast, M o h am m ed was a b o u t fifty, and in m any ways he re p re se n te d a
different S ierra L eonean g en eratio n . H e h a d arrived in C airo in his late
teens o r early tw enties w ith virtually no fo rm al schooling, a n d his heav­
ily accen ted A rabic was th e only in te rn a tio n a l language h e spoke. H e
h ad left S ierra L eone in 1961, only a few w eeks after th e c o u n try had
becom e in d e p e n d e n t o f B ritish colonial ru le , an d had trav eled th ree
years o v e rla n d before a rriv in g in Egypt— it co u n try he re m e m b e re d
leaving oniy to go on p ilg rim ag e to M ecca. Yet bo th these m e n h ad to
becom e “S ierra L eonean w ar refugees” b e fo re they were a b le to m ove
to the U n ite d States u n d e r th e auspices o f h u m an itarian N G O s devoted
to su p p o rtin g refugees.
D u rin g th e second h a lf o f the 1990s, th e in tern atio n al h u m a n ita r­
ian m o b ilizatio n trig g ered by the civil w ar e n h a n c e d th e p ro sp ects o f
S ierra L e o n e a n s em ig ra tin g to diasporic co m m u n ities in th e U n ited
States, E u ro p e , and elsew here. Sheku, M o h am m ed , an d o th e r S ierra
L eoneans in Egypt were p a rt o f the d eterrito rialized “re so n a n c e s” that
suddenly m a d e their putative origins in an A frican state a t w ar a ticket
to their /A m erican dream s. T h e fact that fo r Sheku. born in Egypt, and
M oham m ed, b o rn in S ierra L eone, the fetish o f territorial orig in s still
operative in the in te rn a tio n a l o rd e r o f things w orked alo n g th e axes o f
paternity an d birth respectively underscores th e m ultiple ways in which

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 D e t e r r it o rialized C it iz e n s h ip

the articu latio n of b lo o d , birth, and territo ry works to d e te n itorialize

and reterritorialize th e state. Always th e lucky one, Sheku arrived in th e
U nited States in 1999, having won o n e o f 55,000 Diversity Im m ig ran t
Visas g ra n te d th ro u g h an an n u al lo tte ry acco rd in g to an u tte rly
A m erican logic o f th e gift, “profitlessness,” and excess, w hich B ataille
(1989: esp. vol. 1, pt. 1; vol. 3) so perceptively linked to tru e sovereignty'.
Sheku was issued an A lien R egistration R eceipt C ard, also known as a
“g reen card,'* w hich official US g o v e rn m e n t W eb sites h elp fu lly
describe as no lo n g er g re e n but p in k w ith blue security m arks. N o te
th at fo r th e U n ited S tates too— as fo r th e Sierra L e o n e a n state— th e
link is m ad e betw een fiscal m atters a n d th e in co rp o ratio n o f p o ten tial
citizens: the green card is a “receip t.” T h an k s to his lo ttery luck, S heku
m ight n o t have to live fo r years in v u ln erab le states of illegality or legal­
ity lim ited by partial rights, as was th e case with M oham m ed and m any
o th er S ierra L eoneans I m et in the U n ite d States. T hus, if the m odality
o f the p o stco lo n ial A frican state is a n arb itrarin ess of ru le in h e rite d
from its co lo n ial a n te c e d e n ts — as M b e m b e argues— th e m odality o f
o th er em pire-states can also be the d ecisio n to leave th e m atter o f citi­
zenship for som e lim ited n u m b er o f ap p lican ts to th e random ness o f
luck an d the lottery. F o r Sierra L eo n ean s like M oham m ed, a green card
will be fo u n d at th e e n d o f th e o rd in a ry , m ore c irc u ito u s and tim e-
consum ing, b u reau cratic channels.
E m p ires new an d old have so m e tim e s delegated th e m ost re c e n t
arrivals in to th eir territo ries to policing b o rd ers and p o rts o f entry, so in
som e ways M o h a m m e d ’s first jo b in A m erica, as a re fu g e e screen in g
travelers in the P h o en ix , A rizona, a irp o rt, was only the m ost recent ver­
sion o f an an cien t strategy. W hat has m ad e m ore m ark ed the p arad o x
of a p erso n w ithout th e rig h t to p e rm a n e n tly reside in a country— let
alone rig h ts o f citizen sh ip — p ro v id in g a form of “b o rd e r security” is
that in th e age o f air travel, this task has m oved from d istan t land fro n ­
tiers o r p o rts at th e ed g e o f th e sea to the h e a rt o f o u r cities.
In te rn a tio n a l a irp o rt em ployees in M o h a m m e d ’s p recario u s positio n
with resp ect to citizen sh ip an d e m p lo y m en t work to screen o th ers in
very sim ilar positions to th eir ow n— p e o p le whose fates are d ifferen t
only because o f aspects o f th eir d o c u m e n ta tio n . T hese m ake the d iffer­
ence betw een being able to reside in a country and find em ploym ent
th ere— if only at h a lf th e hourly pav o f b etter-ed u cated citizens, as was

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M a r ia ne C. F e r m e

th e fate of M oham m ed after the 9 /1 1 tightening o f security reg u latio n s

th a t cost him his airp o rt screening jo b . O thers n ev er step on the sta te ’s
sovereign territory to enjoy m o re o r less of th e benefits of citizenship.
Instead, they rem ain trapped in th e zones d ’a ttente— the a irp o rt b u ild ­
ings and room s w here asylum seekers, refugees, a n d o th er “alien s” with
irreg u lar d o cu m en tatio n rem ain w ithout rights w hile w aiting for deci­
sions to be m ade on their fates. In these places, they som etim es feel the
sta te ’s policing force w ithout th e m itigating re stra in t o f th e law. F or
exam ple, in early 2003, ZAP1 3, o n e o f C harles d e G aulle In tern atio n al
A irp o rt’s several zones d'attente pour peisonnes en instance (ZAJPIs, w aiting
areas for p erso n s w ith p e n d in g ap p licatio n s a n d ju d g m e n ts ), cam e
u n d e r in q u est a n d public scru tin y for ep iso d es o f police b ru ta lity
against foreigners (Zappi 2003; see also A gam ben 1998:175).
But M o h am m ed ’s short-lived em ploym ent in th e a irp o rt security
business was only o n e o f the ironies of his p red icam en t. A n o th e r was
th a t, as m en tio n ed earlier, a lth o u g h he arrived in th e U n ited States
u n d e r dispensations g ran ted to refugees o f th e S ierra L eo n ean civil
war, M oham m ed had n o t resided in Sierra L eone for som e forty' years.
N onetheless, his A m erican jo u rn e y was m ade possible because fo r sev­
eral years the US attorney general had designated Sierra L eo n ean citi­
zens as having th e right to “tem porary p ro tected status,” or T PS.5 TPS
g ran ts to n atio n als o f specific states— or aliens w ith “no n a tio n a lity ”
residing in the U nited States w ho last resided in those states— p erm is­
sio n to regularize th eir positions an d h en ce legally reside o r w ork in
th e U nited States. A special em erg en cy p ro v isio n explicitly targ ets
th o se “in n o n im m ig ran t and unlaw ful status” (D e p a rtm e n t o f Ju stice
1997:59736-37), including those whose applications for refugee status
have already b een d en ied by th e US governm ent. Like all em erg en cy
procedures, th en , TPS designation suspends law's th a t w ould o rdinarily
apply to Sierra L eoneans who w ant to en ter an d rem ain in th e U n ited
States, and as lo n g as it is renew ed, it grants th e m (an d p eo p le from
o th e r designated countries) the rig h t to rem ain an d work in th e c o u n ­
try regardless o f th e conditions u n d e r which they en tered .
However, it takes m ore than laws to facilitate th e m ovem ent o f m u l­
titu d e s reclassified as “refu g ees” (always in d iv id u alized as “sp ecial
cases”) or ex cep tio n s by h u m a n ita ria n d isco u rse (always carefu lly
c o u n te d -in a n n u a l TPS e x ten sio n d o cu m en ts). In 1997, w h en TPS

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 D et erritoria lized C itizenship

began, a m axim um o f 4,000 “nationals o f S ierra L eone (a n d aliens hav­

ing n o n atio n ality w ho last habitually re sid e d in S ierra L e o n e )” were
estim ated to be “in n o n im m ig ra n t o r unlaw ful status a n d th erefo re
eligible fo r T em p o rary P ro te c te d S ta tu s” in th e U n ite d States
(D e p a rtm e n t o f Ju stic e 1997), but by 2002 th at fig u re h a d been
red u ced to an estim ated 2,209 eligible individuals (N1LC 2002). H ere
again th e logic o f d e te rrito ria liz a tio n in tru d e s, for to th o se Sierra
L eoneans w ho still n eed to go th ro u g h th e regular ch an n els an d apply
for a visa to e n te r th e U n ite d States fro m th e ir own c o u n try , o th er
obstacles loom large. At several points d u rin g th e civil war, an d contin­
uing in its afterm ath, th e re w ere no ro u tin e A m erican c o n su la r services
in S ierra L eo n e (and som etim es no US d ip lo m atic re p re se n ta tio n at
all). S ierra L eoneans seeking visas to travel to the U n ite d States m ust
first find th e ir way to A bidjan in C ote d ’Ivoire. As the F reeto w n press
routinely po in ts out, this situation excludes all but th e w ealthiest and
m ost co sm o p o litan (in tern atio n ally c o n n e c te d ) S ierra L e o n e a n citi­
zens fro m attem p tin g to e n te r th e U n ite d States legally, as they m ust
risk w asting the airfare an d costs of staying in A bidjan w hile th e ir visa
ap plications are processed w ithout the certainty o f success— a different
kind o f lo tte ry an d risk fro m those re su ltin g in S h e k u ’s g re e n card,
which also underscores th e fact th at in p ractice there are obstacles to
m obility o th e r than legal proscriptions.
N o r is th e in tern atio n al traffic in visas an d the desire to im m igrate
a one-way street from p o o re r to w ealthier countries. D u rin g th e latter
p a rt o f th e civil war, S o lo m o n M us^, th e h e a d o f th e S ie rra L eo n ean
im m ig ratio n service, was im p riso n ed in a H o n g K ong ja il. F reetow n’s
Progress new spaper re p o rte d on A ugust 27, 1999, that h e was “still lan­
guishing [th ere] for th e illegal sales o f S ierra L eonean d ip lo m atic pass­
ports to H o n g Kong citizens.” T he desirability o f passports
K fro m a small
A frican co u n try m ired in civil w ar for w ealthy Asians m ay b e difficult to
u n d erstan d , even as an ex trem e m anifestation o f the “w eakness fo r for­
eign p a ssp o rts” am o n g H o n g K ong b u sin essm en on th e eve o f the
colony’s 1997 transition fro m British ru le to reu n ificatio n w ith m ain­
land C h in a (see O ng 1999b:l). U n certain ties about th e p o ten tial haz­
ards o f th e tran sitio n fro m B ritish ru le — u n d e r w h ich capitalist
accu m u latio n and lab o r circulation w ere relatively u n fe tte re d by gov­
e rn m e n t in te rv e n tio n — to o n e o f th e last “actually e x istin g ” socialist

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 M ariane C. -F erme

regimes may have m ad e H o n g Kong elites ra th e r u n selectiv e ab o u t

their pursuit of m ultiple citizenships. Perliaps. too, H o n g K ong busi­
nessmen were aware o f th e econom ic o p p o rtu n itie s o ffered by the
exploitation of Sierra L eo n ean n a tu ra l an d m in eral resources.
However, it would be a m istake to see this passport story lin k in g a Sierra
Leonean im m igration official seeking p riv ate gain an d H o n g Kong
businessmen in search o f double citizenships as m erely an ironic, fate­
ful coincidence in the o rd e r o f things in th e age of globalization, for
both sides o f this e n c o u n te r are linked by th eir unsettled locations at
the opposite spatiotem poral extrem es o f a single British E m pire.
Indeed, it was the in te rp o la tio n o f th ese edges o f e m p ire with
another “e m p ire /’ the U n ite d States, th a t shaped the im p ro b a b le
alliance betw een w ealthy H o n g K ong citizens and S ierra L eo n ean
immigration officials. F or despite his own im m obilization in a C hinese
jail, Mr. M usa’s activities w ere em bedded w ithin a transnational project
of his ow'n, one not unlike those of the m o re m obile C hinese citizens
who hrought ab o u t his dow nfall. In d eed , p ro ceed s from th e sale o f
diplomatic passports fin an ced d ie co m fo rtab le relocation o f his wife
and children to the U nited States— a relo catio n facilitated by the US
government designation o f Sierra L eoneans u n d er TPS. F u rth erm o re,
even though in this case a state agent acted illegally to g ran t docum ents
to people w ho were n o t en title d to th em , just as often th e dynam ics
were reversed, and citizens found them selves dispossessed by the arbi­
trary withdrawal of th eir rights and docu m en ts by state agents, o r thev
m anipulated their paperw ork to circum vent these agents in the pursuit
of traveling papers.6
So far, th e different circum stances u n d e r which M oham m ed and
Sheku e n te re d the U n ite d States from C airo as “S ierra L eo n ean
refugees” have h ig h lig h te d som e o f th e ways in w hich th e S ierra
Leonean state is territorialized even u n d e r cleterritorialized conditions,
for it can cast its shadow o n to A m erican soil through the assem blages
of its refugees, who as cleterritorialized lines o f flight (quite literally in
flight from Sierra L eone) nonetheless u n d e rg o “all kinds o f 1 eterritori-
alizations an d red u n d an cies— redundancies o f childhood, village-life,
love, bureaucracy, etc.” (D eleuze and G uattari 1987:89). At the sam e
time, this process can p ro d u c e d eterritorialized vectors o f b elo n g in g
to the nation-state, so as refugees in .America, Sheku and M oham m ed

1 oo
 D eterritorialized C itizenship

p e rh a p s are now m o re “S ierra L e o n e a n ” than they w ere in C airo— at

le a st acc o rd in g to official state d o c u m e n ta tio n . In th e process,
A m erican officials have so m etim es unw ittingly e n g a g e d in p ractices
th a t have m ag n ified prev io u s b u re a u c ra tic e rro rs a n d forgeries to
c h a n g e th e id en tities they have b e e n so careful to' d o cu m en t. T hus, I
m e n tio n e d e a rlie r th a t I co u ld o n ly guess M o h a m m e d 's age to be
a ro u n d fifty7w hen we m e t in C airo. I d id so after th e fact because w hen
1 m e t him bearing an unfam iliar n am e b u t a very fam iliar face, I discov­
e re d th a t he was a close relative o f m y first M ende lan g u ag e teacher, a
fellow g ra d u a te s tu d e n t in th e U n ite d States, a n d o n e o f my clo sest
S ierra L eonean frien d s— a Freetow n n u rse w ho h a d m oved to L o n d o n
b efo re th e civil war. M oham m ed h a d left Sierra L eo n e a sju su L., b u t on
th e way he h ad ta k e n on th e n a m e o f a N ig erian p a tro n w ho h a d
in sp ire d him an d his two trav elin g c o m p a n io n s to go to C airo fo r a
h ig h e r religious e d u c a tio n at al-A zhar U niversity. T h is p atro n also
fo u n d th em w ork to fin an ce th e trip ah ead a n d , m o re im p o rtan tly ,
m a d e a rra n g e m e n ts fo r Ju su a n d frie n d s to h ave a sch o larsh ip at
al-A zhar w aiting fo r th em once they arrived in C airo.
F or m any years, I h a d know n M o h am m ed ’s fa th e r and siblings in
ru ral Sierra L eone. W h en I re tu rn e d th ere after m y visit to C airo an d
to ld th em I h ad m e t him an d re c o n stitu te d th e ir sid e o f his story, it
b ecam e clear th at h e was b o rn w ell b efo re 1949, th e b irth date he gave
m e. B ut this was th e only b irth d ate M oham m ed knew , an d w hen I h ad
ex p re sse d d o u b ts a b o u t his age, h e h a d p ro v id ed as su p p o rtin g evi­
d e n c e an e x p ire d S ie rra L e o n e a n p assp o rt. In a d d itio n to th e 1949
b irth date, the p assp o rt gave M o h a m m e d ’s “new er” n am e, alth o u g h , as
we shall see below, th e tran sitio n fro m his b irth n a m e — listed o n th e
p assp o rt with w hich h e h ad left S ierra L eone— to his new identity was
n o t as u n p ro b lem atic as ch an g in g his b irth date. E ach d o cu m en t legit­
im ized the issuing o f successor d o cu m en ts, so e rro n e o u s initial in fo r­
m a tio n (th e d ate o f b irth ) o r c h a n g e d in fo rm a tio n (th e nam e) was
re p ro d u c e d o r m ag n ified . By th e tim e M o h a m m e d arrived in th e
U n ite d States with only Red Cross “refu g ee” p ap ers, th e need to re c o n ­
stitu te his birth certificate so th a t h e could apply fo r a green card h ad
m oved the nam e M oham m ed, a n a m e acquired as an ad u lt in an act o f
relig io u s conversion an d loyalty, b ack in tim e to his b irth . T h u s, th e
q u estio n of M o h am m ed ’s Sierra L eo n ean p ro v en an ce an d his status as

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M a r i a n e C. F e r m e

an “alien having n o nationality w ho last resided in Sierra L e o n e ” w ere

deceptively clarified and fixed in new docum ents by the h u m a n ita ria n
organization th at b ro u g h t him to th e U nited States, and th e re a fte r by
A m erican authorities in the process o f issuing him a new b irth certifi­
cate. In the process, his (changed) nam e was also inextricably lin k ed to
his (w rong) b irth d a te in a falsified d o c u m e n t o f b irth a n d o rig in s.
L ’etat falsificateur, th e state as ag en t o f decep tio n , indeed!
As Ju su /M o h a m m e d told th e story of his jo u rn e y o u t o f S ierra
L eone, his nam e ch an g e was a g estu re of gratitu d e toward the N ig erian
m an w ho had given spiritual d ire c tio n to a trip th a t had b e g u n as an
im pulse to see the w orld. But from th at en c o u n te r onw ard, it b e c a m e a
focused quest for a M uslim religious ed u catio n an d for the c o n c re te
m eans to attain it. His account was essentially a narrative of co n v ersio n ,
a n d his nam e change was a n atu ral way of signaling th e p ro fo u n d tran s­
fo rm a tio n he e x p erien ced . B u t th e circu m stan ces u n d e r w h ich
M o h am m ed ’s g en ero u s patron h a d traveled to S ierra Leone in th e first
place, an d the circum stanceV of M o h am m ed ’s visit to him , b e sp o k e a
p a tte rn of m obility n o t only linked to the religious im agination a n d to
historical Muslim netw orks such as those of th e Tijaniyya Sufi o rd e r to
w hich both of th em belonged. It also was a m obility m ade p ossible by
th e fact that their respective h o m elan d s in n o rth e rn N igeria a n d so u th ­
e rn Sierra L eone w ere linked by th e ir com m on b elo n g in g to th e B ritish
im p e ria l political econom y, d e sp ite the d ista n c e se p a ra tin g th em .
W ith in this e m p ire , p eo p le like M o h a m m e d ’s p a tro n w ere se t in
m o tio n from far-flu n g co rn ers by colonial p o licies “d isc rim in a tin g
ag ain st indigenous e n tre p re n e u rs” in Sierra L e o n e a n diam ond m in in g
in o rd e r to u n d e rm in e p o ten tial in tern al c h a lle n g e s to th e s ta te ’s
au th o rity over resource-rich areas (R eno 1995:50).
At the b o rd er crossing betw een C had and S u d an on the m a in ro ad
to w ard el-O beid (S u d a n ), M o h am m ed and h is fellow travelers w ere
sto p p ed on grounds th at they w ere “too young” to travel on th e ir own.
T h is was a significant an d highly ch arg ed b o rd e r crossing— o n e situ­
a ted on the overlapping topographies of an cien t land routes ta k e n by
W est A frican M uslim s on the p ilg rim ag e to M ecca an d th e p o litic a l
econom y of the postcolonial S u d an ese state a n d th e massive, intensive
cotton-grow ing sch em e in h e rite d fro m its c o lo n ial p red ecesso r. T h e
G ezira Schem e req u ired large lab o r inputs, and “th e largest farm in th e

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 De t er r it o r ia liz ed C itizenship

world u n d e r o n e single m a n a g e m e n t” (Y am ba 1995:68ff.) gradually

cam e to sh a p e the S udanese colonial and postcolonial s ta te ’s efforts to
control fo r this purpose th e m ultitude o f W est African pilgrim s passing
th ro u g h on lan d routes to M ecca. It was th is latter d im e n sio n — the
state's o p p o rtu n istic policing o f potential la b o r traffic o ver the border,
red u cin g en trie s w hen th e sch em e was d o in g poorly w h ile trying to
entice m ig ra n ts to settle u n d e r b etter circu m stan ces— th a t probably
resulted in M o ham m ed's exclusion on g ro u n d s that h e a n d his com ­
panions w ere “too y o u n g ” fo r u n a c c o m p a n ie d travel. Eventually
M oham m ed m anaged to illegally cross th e b o rd e r with th e su p p o rt o f a
C hadian M uslim w ho was m oved by th e sto ry o f his q u e st for an al-
A zhar ed u catio n .
W hen M oham m ed w en t to the E gyptian embassy in K hartoum to
get a visa fo r his trip to C airo, “history” c a u g h t up with him . Up to that
point, he h a d m anaged to travel across th e newly in d e p e n d e n t states of
West A frica w hile still en jo y in g to som e e x te n t the m obility that had
b een p o ssib le in the la rg e territo rial e x p a n se s o f c o lo n ia l em pires
with variable interests in p o licin g their in te rn a l bo rd ers. O ften these
policing efforts were lin k ed to particular fiscal or labor n eed s (as in the
case of co lo n y -p ro tecto rate b o rd ers in S ierra L eone discussed earlier,
and in th e S udanese case). B u tin K hartoum , M oham m ed en co u n tered
a d ifferen t in stan tiatio n o f th e Sierra L eo n ean state w ithin term s
still fram ed by its form er colonial ruler. T h e Egyptian em bassy inform ed
M o h am m ed th a t his B ritish passport was n o lo n g e r valid, and h e
was d ire c te d to the B ritish em bassy to have a new o n e issued. At th e
British em bassy, the three-year “British C o m m o n w ealth ” passport that
M oham m ed had been issued in Sierra L eone was declared invalid, and he
was given o n e week to secu re new identity p ap ers and a passport from
Sierra L eone. In issuing this direction, the British embassy in K hartoum —
and the S ierra L eonean state it rep resen ted in the ab sen ce o f its own
diplom atic m ission— placed M oham m ed in a vulnerable position on the
m argins o f legality, with only o n e week to regularize his position.
T he B ritish N ationality A ct (1948), u n d e r w hich M o h am m ed ’s first
passp o rt h a d b een issued, h a d g ra n te d h im in th e o ry easy access
to o th e r C o m m o n w ealth c o u n trie s u n d e r colonial p o licies that saw
in such m o v e m e n t th e key to econom fc p ro sp erity in th e im perial
econom y (see Mukwaya 1997:4). In d eed , d iam o n d m in in g in S ierra
M a r ia ne C. F erme

Leone an d cotton ta n n in g in th e Sudan w ere am ong th e p ro jects that

benefited from such p o p u la tio n m ovem ents, as we have seen . B ut with
the in d e p e n d e n c e o f m an y A frican c o lo n ie s from th e m id-1950s
onwai cLand th e “d a rk e n in g ” skin hues o f w hat once was know n as “the
W hite C o m m o n w e a lth ,” o n th e o n e h a n d B ritain b e g a n to enact
increasingly restrictive legislation to co n tro l access to its ow n territory
by fo rm e r co lo n ial subjects, a n d on th e o th e r h an d th e n ew n a tio n ­
states b eg an to regulate th e ir b o rd ers w ith th e ir own im m ig ratio n laws.
Some o f these laws w ere d irectly triggered by th e w eakening reciprocity
in B ritain’s policy tow ard C om m onw ealth citizens and th e fo rm e r colo­
nial p o w e r’s in creasin g ly selective a p p ro a c h to g ra n tin g citizen sh ip
rights. F or exam ple, the 1948 Nationality' A ct an d 1962 C om m onw ealth
Im m igrants A ct specified th a t B ritish su b jects in newly in d e p e n d e n t
states w ho fo u n d them selves excluded by new citizenship laws h ad the
option o f rem ain in g B ritish. T his provision, u n d e r the guise o f p ro tect­
ing them from b eco m in g “stateless,” gave com m unities su c h as white
settlers o r .Asians in A frican states the privilege o f retain in g U K citizen­
ship. T h e o th e r side o f this provision was th a t in the process o f decolo­
nization th ese c o m m u n itie s h a d m o re o p tio n s w hen it cam e to
citizenship th an did p e o p le o f .African d e sc e n t, w ho b e c a u se o f their
race (disguised in language a b o u t birth a n d descent) w ere tu rn e d auto­
m atically in to citizens o f th e newly in d e p e n d e n t states w ith o u t any
choice in th e m a tte r (see M ukwaya 1997 fo r a d iscu ssio n o f the
U gandan “A sian q u estio n ” from this p erspective). T he C om m onw ealth
Im m igrants A ct o f 1962 also m ad e the issuing o f C om m onw ealth docu­
m ents valid for travel to th e U n ited K ingdom conditional u p o n apply­
ing for selectively issu ed w ork v o u ch ers. L a te r im m ig ra tio n laws
in tro d u ced distinctions b etw een “p atrial” a n d “n o n -p atrial” B ritish sub­
jects— to distinguish th o se w ith a p a re n t o r g ra n d p a re n t b o rn in the
U nited K ingdom from th o se (m ostly no n w h ites) who c o u ld n o t m eet
this re q u ire m e n t— th a t ju stifie d g ra n tin g partial citizen sh ip rights to
som e an d ra th e r fuller o n es to o thers (see H o p e 1997).
M oham m ed unw ittingly got caught in th e changes e n a c te d by the
1962 C om m onw ealth Im m ig ran ts Act a n d its radical restrictio n on his
m ovem ents as a Sierra L eo n ean national. S om e thirty years later, w hen
lie told m e his story in C airo , o n e co u ld still h e a r his su rp rise at the
arbitrariness he perceived in the way in w h ich his passp o rt’s validity and

i 04
 D eterritorialjzed C itizen sh ip

the rig h ts it secured h im w ere altered. H is “B ritish” p assp o rt, which was
su p p o sed to have a th ree-y ear validity, was taken by an em bassy b u re a u ­
crat, w h o w ithout a w o rd sh o rte n e d it to o n e w eek “b ecau se S ie rra
L eone is now in d e p e n d e n t, and you can n o lo n g er have a British pass­
port. So you have o n e w eek to get y o u rself th e p ro p e r passport. A nd
th ere was n o Sierra L e o n e diplom atic m ission th e re .” B ecause o f th e
d ifficu lties involved in se c u rin g th e p r o p e r d o c u m e n ta tio n by m ail
from Freetow n and L o n d o n , the n eed to earn m oney for this process
and th e rest o f their jo u rn ey , and com plications linked to the fact th a t
M o h am m ed w anted his new passport issued in his new nam e, he an d
his two friends e n d e d u p rem aining in K hartoum fo r m o re than n in e
m o n th s. H e recognized th a t th e problem s linked to his nam e ch an g e
were o f his own m aking, so he did not re se n t the delays this caused. B ut
he ex p erien ced the re d u c tio n within a few seconds o f a vital d o cu m en t
with a three-year validity to a tem porary, one-w eek p a p e r as an arb itrary
act. H e had taken his o rig in al passport to be g u aran teed by the laws in
force at th e time it was issued. H e assum ed th at any ch an g es in policy
w ould n o t affect a lre a d y existing d o c u m e n ts an d co n sid e re d that ex
post facto invalidation to be arbitrary’ a n d unjust.
T h e form er co lo n ial state's unilateral suspension o f rights and d o c ­
u m en ts an d its ex clu sio n ary practices p ro d u c e d illegalities beyond its
b o rd e rs bv tran sfo rm in g a citizen of th e B ritish C om m onw ealth w ith a
valid traveling d o c u m e n t in to a stateless p erson. T h e exclusionary p ra c ­
tices th a t accom pany even m ore o rd in a ry tran sactio n s betw een states
an d citizen s were e x a c e rb a te d by th e tran sitio n al n a tu re o f the very
q u estio n s o f national b elo n g in g on w hich M o h am m ed 's identity d o c u ­
m e n ts d e p e n d e d in th e sh ift from co lo n ialism to in d e p e n d e n c e . In
o rd e r to get new p assp o rts an d earn e n o u g h m oney to c o n tin u e -th e ir
journey, M oham m ed a n d his friends w aited for n in e m o n th s and two
weeks, w hile the co rresp o n d en ce, form s, m oney, an d p h o to g rap h s c ir­
cu lated am ong L o n d o n , Freetow n, a n d K hartoum . O n e factor le n g th ­
e n in g th e w ait was th e absen ce o f a d e v elo p ed in fra stru c tu re fo r
d ip lo m atic rep resen tatio n for the newly in d e p e n d e n t S ierra L eo n ean
state a n d its re lia n c e o n the em bassy o f its fo rm e r colonial ru ler.
A n o th e r facto r was th e am b ig u o u s legal status o f M o h a m m e d ’s new
n am e. H e and his frie n d s ex p erien ced , as a loss o f tim e carefully m e a ­
su red in its passing (n in e m onths an d two w eeks), th e ir im potence in

1 05
M a r i a n e C. F e r m e

th e face of b u reau cratic powers a n d the in tern atio n al o rd e r o f th in g s

a n d th e ir re d u c tio n to an illegal status (th e ir c rim in a liz a tio n ) as a
resu lt o f the S udanese, British, a n d Sierra L eonean states’ doings.
By the tim e M oham m ed finally reached C airo in 1964, his ch an g e
o f identity becam e once again a stu m b lin g block. T h e d o cu m en ts th at
h e h ad so carefully carried from N igeria to e n su re th a t he w o u ld be
aw arded a scholarship becam e an im p ed im en t in th a t d irection, since
they were issued in his birth n am e, a nam e th at n o lo n g er a p p e a re d in
his (new) passport. This situation caused a fu rth e r six-m onth delay in
his receipt of th e scholarship th at w ould allow him to begin his studies,
alth o u g h he was able to prove w ith his earlier p assp o rt in h an d th a t h e
was th e sam e p e rso n with a d iffe re n t n am e in his new d o c u m e n t.
M o h am m ed ’s delays w ere partly lin k ed to historical co n tin g en cies in
th e w ider w orld (th e changing in tern atio n al o rd e r o f the 1960s, avail­
ab le travel an d co m m u n icatio n tech n o lo g y in A frica, and so fo rth ),
p artly to ch an g es in his own id en tity , an d p artly to e d u c a tio n a l an d
o th e r so cio eco n o m ic circu m stan ces th a t p re v e n te d him from trav el­
ing fasten
As S heku’s co n trastin g story m akes clear, th e re w ere m arked g e n e r­
a tio n al d ifferen ces in the e x p e rie n c es o f o th e r W est A fricans in th e
diasp o ra who m ad e th e ir way to C airo as m igrants, refugees, o r business
travelers. M o h am m ed stood fo r th e alm ost classic figure o f th e young
p e rso n m oved to travel by w an d erlu st, an d tak in g his tim e to g ain
e x p erien ces a lo n g th e way, only to u n d e rg o a life-tran sfo rm in g re li­
gious conversion o n th e road, w hich th en gave his m ovem ents a sp e­
cific goal. His n arrativ e did n o t dw ell on the b u reau cratic m ishaps or
delays that he a n d his traveling com panions e n c o u n te re d w hile cover­
in g th e c o n sid e ra b le land d ista n c e (an d several b o rd e r crossings)
b etw een S ierra L e o n e and N igeria. It was only after his e n c o u n te r in
n o rth e rn N igeria w ith the p atro n w hose nam e he now carries, afte r his
religious reaw akening gave him th e u rg e to do so m eth in g with h im self
a n d acquire a “p ro p e r” advanced ed u catio n th a t w ould give h im th e
necessary fluency in A rabic to re a d advanced religious and p h ilo so p h i­
cal texts in the Islam ic tradition, th a t the tem poral im p ed im en ts to his
jo u rn e y and th e very detailed acco u n tin g for w asted tim e lo o m ed large
in his narrative. By th en he was in a hurry to g et w here he was going,
so his account o f d o cu m en t m ishaps in C had, S u d an , and Egypt w ere
 D e t e r r i t o r i a i .iz e d C i t i z e n s h i p

p e p p e re d w ith ex p ressio n s such as “W e started th e p ap erw o rk to

apply fo r a new p assp o rt.. .in o rd e r to g et th ro u g h all this it took us nine
m onths a n d two weeks. N ine m onths a n d two weeks in K h arto u m ” and
“But in C airo 1 e n c o u n te re d a n o th e r p ro b le m __ So it to o k m e
six m o n th s to get a sch o larsh ip once I cleared up th e business o f my
nam e. I show ed them th e old passport, it is Jusu L., the new one, it is
M o h am m ed M ussa Ib ra h im , bo th are th e sam e p e rso n , I ch an g ed
nam es.” In M o h am m ed ’s a cco u n t of his en co u n ters with b o rd e r guards
and o th e r state au th o rities, his feeling o f pow erlessness in front of the
agents o f th e state was always expressed as a conflict of spatiotem poral-
ities, as an excessive a m o u n t o f tim e sp e n t in a p articu lar (other) state
or space, ro o ted in im m obility for a lo n g tim e, his m obility disrupted
because o f yet a n o th e r p ro b lem prising w ith his passport.
By contrast, Sheku, th e binational son o f a m ixed m arriage, ap p ar­
ently at h o m e in E u ro p e, th e M iddle East, a n d Africa, even though in
the end just as foreign a n d displaced in Egypt as M oham m ed was, gave
a verv d iffe re n t account. H e, too, ran in to “roadblocks” p u t up by the
Egyptian g o v ern m en t to favor its own citizens. H e had w an ted to study
m edicine, an elite su b ject req u irin g e n tra n c e ex am in atio n s, at C airo
University. B ecause th e bulk o f his sch o o lin g h ad been in Sierra L eone,
he was n o t allow ed to e n ro ll w ithout d o in g a p re p a ra to ry year. Even
when he placed first in his class in the final exam s, he still was d en ied a
scholarship to m edical school. W hile w aiting for so m eth in g to clear the
im passe, h e d ecid ed to take advantage o f an o p p o rtu n ity to p erfo rm
the U m ra (a m in o r p ilg rim a g e to th e holy places in S audi A rabia).
W hile th e re , he stayed o n a few m o n th s to m eet u p w ith his g ra n d ­
father, w ho was co m in g fro m S ierra L e o n e fo r th e hajj. H is fam ily
had p o litical c o n n e c tio n s w ith the g o v e rn m e n t in S ierra L eo n e (his
uncle was a m inister), a n d his g ran d fath er in tro d u ced h im to a n o th e r
m inister on hajj with him . T h ro u g h th e m in iste r’s in flu en ce with the
Egyptian am bassador to S ierra Leone, S h ek u m anaged u p o n his retu rn
to C airo to find a scholarship to go to m edical school.
T h u s, th ro u g h th e d e te rrito ria liz e d d isp lacem en ts o f S ierra
L eo n ean —E gyptian d ip lo m atic, religious, a n d business in terests, an d
the political an d family co n n ectio n s a m o n g Sierra L eo n ean s at hom e
and ab ro ad in tersectin g in Saudi A rabia, th e m atter o f S h ek u ’s univer­
sity sch o larsh ip and “fo re ig n ” status was solved— at least tem porarily.
M ari ane C. F e r m e

His privileged socioeconom ic b ack g ro u n d in S ierra L eone was a key

factor, p o in tin g to yet a n o th e r asp ect of the w orkings of th e s ta te ’s
territorializing tendency, namely, its role in th e rep ro d u c tio n o f class
differences and th e difference class m akes in access to th e rig h ts of
citizenship. T h ese differences a re , in turn, key elem en ts in u n e q u a l
access to ed u c a tio n a l o p p o rtu n itie s and th e m o b ility to w h ich such
ed u catio n gives access. Thus, w hile S heku’s flaw less sta n d a rd A rabic
and English an d his family co n n ectio n s in th e U n ited K ingdom gave
him access to a legal, well-paying sum m er jo b a t C hristie’s in L o n d o n ,
M oham m ed w o rk ed illegally as a “fo reig n er” w ith o u t w o rk in g cle a r­
ance in C airo, giving rem edial private lessons to sc h o o lc h ild re n at
hom e. But the outcom es of their encounters w ith state b u reau crats and
ag en ts w ere n o t always radically different: a fte r two years a t C airo
University, S h ek u ’s scholarship was abrupdy term in ated d ue to a tech­
nicality, and he fo u n d his university studies in te rru p te d for th re e years.
Like M oham m ed and so many o th ers w hen they e n co u n tered th e legal
a n d b u reau cratic ap p aratu s o f th e state, S heku cam e u p a g a in st the
arb itrary re d u c tio n o f the d u ra tio n o f a d o c u m e n t— in this case, the
Egyptian gov ern m en t docum ent granting him a fellowship.
W ith the assistance of his Egyptian m o th er a n d a n o th e r very good
su m m e r jo b , h e was able to save enough m o n e y fo r tu itio n a t the
A m erican University' in Cairo— w here his foreign status m ade n o differ­
en ce as long as h e could cover th e fees—and cam e closer to his dream
o f m oving to A m erica. But for him too, it was ultim ately th e ran d o m
lottery an d the designation “S ierra Leonean re fu g e e ” that h a d to in ter­
vene to transform th e fantasy in to a landing o n A m erican soil.
O th e r W est A frican students I m et in Cairo fell som ew here betw een
th e ex trem es re p re se n te d by M oham m ed a n d Sheku. M any o f the
m o re recen t arrivals who were n o t partly Egyptian like S heku h a d fol­
low ed family con n ectio n s to expatriate Arabic speakers or.M uslim s in
th e ir c o u n tries, such as L eb an ese traders. S o m e o f th em h a d b een
raised in these p e o p le ’s houses. F or these young m en, o th er A rab coun­
tries h ad som etim es been in term ed iate points in th eir jo u rn ey s. Even
a m o n g th e y o u n g er g en eratio n , it was m ostly m e n w ho h a d co m e to
E gypt— the y o u n g er Sierra L eo n ean women w ere eith er the offspring
o f m ix ed m arriages contracted by an earlier g en eratio n o f A frican m ale
im m igrants o r th e rare wife w7hose husband's seasonal em p lo y m en t in

j 08
 D eterritorialized C itizenship

Gulf states had e n a b le d him to b rin g h e r from “h o m e .” Som e o f these

m en h a d been sen t as dom estic w orkers to relatives in L eb an o n by th e ir
W est A frican-based em ployers, an d th e re they m an ag ed to begin th e ir
ed u catio n before b e in g g ran ted scholarships to co m e to Egypt. O th e rs
h ad w orked as co u riers in illicit in te rn a tio n a l businesses, such as d ia­
m o n d sm u g g lin g fo r th e L eb an ese o r m oney la u n d e rin g fo r illicit
S audi interests. H av in g acq u ired flu en cy in A rabic an d links to A rab
states (n o t to m e n tio n M uslim religious netw orks) in th e process, they
w ere now enjoying th e fruits o f th e ir lab o r by ad v an cin g th eir e d u c a ­
tio n in m o d e rn E g y p tiah u n iv ersities. M any y o u n g e r stu d e n ts h a d
bypassed th e official sch o larsh ip ro u te and fu n d e d th e ir studies w ith
in c o m e from th ese b u sin ess v e n tu re s. Som e h a d b o u g h t p assp o rts
ra th e r than face th e delays o f official b u reau cratic channels.
N o te th a r th e p ra c tic e o f b u y in g p assp o rts usu ally a m o u n te d to
“b u y in g tim e” a n d d id n o t necessarily en tail falsification o f th e k in d
th at lan d ed S olom on M usa, the S ierra L eone im m ig ratio n official dis­
cussed in an earlier section, in a H o n g K ongjail. H e h a d engaged in fal­
sification o f d o cu m en ts an d identity by g ran tin g d ip lo m atic passports
to H o n g K ong businessm en w ho w ere n o t diplom ats. H e had falsified
th e ir o ccu p atio n s, if n o t th eir n am es (as S ierra L e o n e a n a u th o ritie s
h ad su sp ected M o h am m ed o f d o in g w hen h e a p p lie d fo r a new pass­
p o rt u n d e r a d iffe re n t nam e an d w h en he w ent to claim his sc h o la r­
sh ip ). B ut in m ost cases I cam e across, “buying p assp o rts” m ean t u sin g
m o n ey to lu b ricate b u reau cratic ch a n n e ls, to e x p e d ite p a p e rw o rk —
h e n c e buying tim e. As M oham m ed p o in te d o u t w hen we m et in C airo,
h e h a d paid for his n am e change by w aiting n in e m o n th s an d two w eeks
in K h arto u m w hile a new passport was bein g issued.
T h e jo u rn ey s o f m any others I m e t in C airo seem ed to be sh o rte r
a n d quicker, partly because air travel was m ore accessible in 1980s a n d
1990s Africa—^specially for u rb an -b ased peo p le— th a n it h ad b e e n in
th e 1960s for M o h am m ed , an illiterate rural teenager. B ut the jo u rn ey s
w ere(som etim es n o m o re straightforw ard. T he m o d e o f tran sp o rtatio n
was m o re direct, b u t th e travelers o ften had to en g ag e in d eto u rs they
n e ith e r p lan n ed n o r w anted because o f arbitrary in terv en tio n s o f state
ag en ts o r b u reau crats at crucial sp atio tem p o ral ju n c tu re s. T hese travel­
ers, to o , h ad e x p e rie n c e d stre tc h e s as illegal w o rk ers, d a n g e ro u s
b ru sh es with crim inals o r the police in foreign co u n tries, and sum m ary7

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M a r j a n e C. F e r m e

expulsions with th e excuse that th ey carried “in v alid ” d ocum ents. In

particular, the fact th a t they used air travel for each leg o f their trips
d e fe rre d for th e m q u estio n s a b o u t n ational b e lo n g in g th at fo r
M oham m ed w ere raised d ifferen tly every tim e h e cro ssed successive
la n d borders. T hey h a d to face th ese questions on ly w hen d ep artin g
an d arriving at “san itized ” custom s a n d passport ch eck p o in ts at foreign
in tern atio n al airports. Because th ese a re shared w ith all categories o f
passengers, in clu d in g th e elite w ho can afford ra p id a ir travel, these
“check p o in ts” m ay a p p e a r to be ru n according to m o re efficient, less
arb itrary principles th an rem ote la n d b o rd e r crossings.
B ut the state’s co n tro l over te rrito ry and time, even in these zones
o f apparently rapid transit, becom es a p p a re n t as soon as a “pro b lem ” is
fo u n d in a traveler’s docum ents. S om e o f the young m e n in Cairo told
harrow ing stories a b o u t being iso lated in the m uch less sanitized envi­
ro n m e n t of separate room s or buildings, to which only state authorities
h a d access, in the zones d ’attente o f th e Charles d e G aulle A irport in
Paris. T here, once again, the state to o k control over tim e. O nce con­
fined in these “w aiting areas,” as th e term zone d ’a tte n te im plies, th e
m en lost control over th e tim e they h a d cleverly “b o u g h t” by paying for
a n airlin e ticket in ste a d o f o th e r m e a n s o f tra n sp o rt, by e x p ed itin g
th e ir passport an d visa applications, a n d so on.

CONCLUSION
T h e state’s c o n tro l over territo ry a n d popu latio n s is often experi­
e n c e d as co n tro l o v er space-tim e— th e d u ratio n o f p assp o rts, visas,
scholarships, resid en ce an d work p erm its, and so fo rth . O n e key ad d i­
tio n al “state effect,” th e n , is the s ta te ’s capacity to a p p e a r e tern al—
in d e e d “th in g lik e” in its eternity— in its pow erful d e te rm in a tio n s o f
w ho m ight and m ig h t n o t have access to what, in its ro le as gatekeeper,
even w hen the d o o r o r gate its ag en ts g u ard appears to be dem ocrati­
cally an d transparently o p en to th e d eserv in g am ong th e m ultitudes. In
“B efore the Law,” a m u ch analyzed section in The Trial, Kafka portrays
“th e m an from th e co u n try ” arriving to consult the law a n d finding th e
d o o r o p en b u t w atch ed by an im p o sin g guard, w ho tells him that h e
m ay go in if he w ants b u t will n o t b e ab le to get p a st o th e r doors o r
gu ard s inside. T h e m an ends up w aitin g for the rest o f his life, outside
th e o p en door to th e law, to be g ra n te d perm ission to enter. Law, too,

1 1o
 Deterritorialized C itizenship

operates this way then, ap p aren tly open b u t playing for tim e (an d with
tim e) to lim it access an d d e te rm in e th e -o u tc o m e o f cases. W ho “has
tim e'’ to b rin g a co u rt case, fo r in stan ce, a g a in st a g o v e rn m e n t that
unlawfully d e n ie s one a d o c u m e n t o r access to a territory? If o n e has
m oney, o n e pays for a law yer’s tim e— carefully clocked to th e m in u te at
hourly ra te s— to follow th ro u g h a case. O th erw ise, one invests e n o r­
m ous am o u n ts o f o n e’s ow n tim e and know ledge. But even th e n , edu­
cation is key: it is significant th a t Kafka p o rtray s the m an in a lifelong
wait to gain access to the law as a peasant, n o t an urban.dw eller. T he
m an from th e country in K afka’s story is M o h am m ed , n o t S heku. But
ultim ately b o th o f them sim p ly got up a n d w en t to a d iffe re n t door,
even th o u g h in Kafka’s story, th e guard tells th e m an from th e country,
ju s t before h e dies, that this p articu lar access to th e law had b e e n there
exclusively fo r him and w ould after his d e a th close forever.
Thus, if th e “state effect” an d “law effect” are partially o p erativ e on
the level o f co n tro llin g narratives o f lived tim e a n d literally m ak in g peo­
ple wait (M o h am m ed , for his passport and th e n his scholarship; Sheku,
fo r his sc h o la rsh ip ), they a re also ab o u t sin g u larizin g re la tio n s with
people. S tates co n tro l p o p u la tio n s and territo rie s, and su p ran atio n al
entities su ch as h u m an itarian organizations a n d in te rn a tio n a l bodies
like the U N , th e W orld T rad e O rganization, a n d so on, exercise o th er
g overnm ental form s of co n tro l, b u t they o ften do so th ro u g h a logic of
sin g u larizatio n . Passports a n d o th e r d o c u m e n ts ten d to p lace people
w ithin “p o p u la tio n s” (the cen su s is a good ex am p le, classifying people
as it does by ag e, o c c u p a tio n , an d so f o rth ), b u t they also serve to
singularize id en tities and fix th em in tim e— rigidly so, in fact, since a
single p assp o rt can n o t acco m m o d ate the m u ltip le nam es th a t over the
course o f a p e rso n ’s life sp an o ften signal im p o rta n t identity transfor­
m ations. In stead , each ch an g e requires a new passport. T he state allows
th e in d iv id u al to ch an g e n a m e , m arital sta tu s, a p p e a ra n c e , an d so
forth, b u t it can accom m odate only a single facet at any given tim e and
req u ires th e d o c u m e n t to b e ch an g ed w ith every change in identity.
T h e US a tto rn e y g en eral a rg u e s for re n e w in g S ierra L e o n e ’s TPS
designation o n th e basis o f specific estim ated co u n ts o f individual “eli­
gible ap p lican ts” and on th e claim that refu g ees from p articu lar areas
are “special cases” at any given tim e and, as su ch , deserve to_be treated
as e x c e p tio n s to n o rm al im m ig ra tio n laws. T h e w hole lo g ic o f the

i 11
M a r i a n e C. F e r m e

d ecisio n on th e e x c e p tio n — if w e tak e seriously S c h m itt’s a rg u m e n t

th a t it has to serve as a general th e o ry o f the sta te ’s au th o rity a n d n o t
m erely as applying to “states o f em erg en cy ”— is o n e o f singularization,
fo r each ex cep tio n m ust be d e cid ed on a case-by-case basis an d n o t fo r
an en tire class o f p h en o m en a.
In this process o f singularization, th e state effect works differently
o n different citizen-subjects. T h e issue o f race cam e to the fore in my
discussion o f ch an g in g UK im m ig ratio n laws in th e transition fro m an
alm o st exclusively “W hite C o m m o n w ealth ” to a slightly m ore cafe-au-
la it o n e o n ce th e S o u th A sian co lo n ies a tta in e d in d e p e n d e n c e in
1947-1948 (trig g e rin g th e N atio n ality Act o f 1948) an d e n d in g w ith
th e A frican in d e p e n d e n c e s in th e 1950s a n d early 1960s (w hich
b ro u g h t ab o u t th e 1962 an d 1968 Im m igration A cts). Finally, th e 1971
Im m ig ratio n A ct, a p re lu d e — p e rh a p s a p re re q u isite ? — to B rita in ’s
jo in in g the E u ro p e a n U n io n , explicitly d istin g u ish e d betw een w h ite
a n d nonw hite citizens o f th e U n ited K ingdom an d colonies by re q u ir­
in g a “direct link o f d escen t by b lo o d with th e U K ” in o rd e r fo r fo rm e r
subjects to.gain access to its territo ry (H ope 1997). B ut a n o th e r singu-
larizing effect acts alo n g the axis o f gender.
T h e fact th a t m atters o f citizen sh ip are d e te rm in e d acco rd in g to
p a te rn ity in E gypt a n d S ierra L e o n e , o r th a t ta x a tio n in ru ral S ierra
L e o n e applies only to (m ostly m ale) heads o f h o u seh o ld , m ean s th a t
m ale an d fem ale subjects e x p e rie n c e th e “state effect” d ifferen tly in
th ese contexts. T h e Egyptian m o th e rs o fS h ek u a n d those like h im w ho
a re n o n citizen s d e sp ite b e in g b o rn o f m ixed m arriag es su ffered th e
effects of the sta te ’s exclusionary practices in th e m o st intim ate sp h eres
o f th e ir lives. T hey ex p erien ced th e m as the su d d e n d isru p tio n o f th e ir
dom estic an d affective lives, a k in d o f d eterrito rializatio n o f th e h e a rt
w h en a sh o rt visit back h o m e by a fo reig n h u sb a n d an d an E gyptian-
b o rn child— as th e jo u rn e y th a t to o k Sheku to S ierra L eone at age eig h t
was supposed to b e— becam e a twelve-year sep aratio n . T h e su d d e n ill­
ness and th e n d e a th o f S h e k u ’s fa th e r d u rin g th e ir jo u rn e y to S ierra
L eo n e left th e son in th e h an d s o f his p atern al relatives for th e re st o f
his form ative years, with his E gyptian m o th e r u n a b le to get him back.
My stay in C airo was p u n ctu ated by en co u n ters w ith o th e r such m o th ­
ers, w ho in th e know ledge th a t 1 w ould be g o in g from th ere to S ierra
L e o n e p lied m e w ith n am es, p ictu res, a n d m essages fo r s tra n d e d

1 12
 D eterritorialized C it iz e n s h ip '

ch ild re n fro m m ixed m a rria g e s, c h ild re n w ho so m etim es suffered

m ore th a n o th ers the u n certain ties and displacem ents of' th e unfolding
civil war.
A spects o f M o h am m ed ’s an d S heku’s b u reau cratic a n d legal en tan ­
glem ents a re com m on to th e m igrant e x p e rie n c e , an d in som e ways
this is precisely the point: if all states, no m a tte r how close they ap p ear
to be in th e ir fu n ctio n in g to m odal p a rlia m e n ta ria n , to ta lita ria n , o r
socialist (a n d so on) states, subject th eir citizens to a g re a te r o r lesser
extent to th e “blockages” a n d detours, th e loss o f tim e e x p erien ced bv
these an d o th e r Sierra L eo n ean m igrants a n d refugees, th e n w eighing
in on the relative strength o r w eakness o f a state, or w h e th e r it is “solid”
o r “sh ad o w ,” is a so m ew h at m isp laced e ffo rt. F u rth e rm o re , th o u g h
M beinbe m ay be right to arg u e that the reg im e o f im punity developed
in colonial a n d postcolonial A frican states b ecam e a historically specific
p h e n o m e n o n because o f th e ways in w hich it was grafted o n to the polit­
ical eco n o m y a n d (so cialized ) m em o ry o f slaverv an d th e form s o f
racism it g e n e ra te d , it w o u ld be m islead in g to draw th e co n clu sio n
from this a rg u m e n t that th e re is such a th in g as a state th a t does not act
with im punity7. All states, as D eleuze a n d G u attari p o in t o u t, are in te­
grated “in tra-co n sisten tly ” a t d ifferen t p o in ts an d on d iffe re n t levels,
and p erh ap s to different d eg rees— d e p e n d in g on the c o n te x t and his­
torical m o m e n t— in ways th a t constitute m o re a system o f resonances
th at p ro d u c e an overall “state effect” (in M itchell’s w ords) th an som e­
thing o f consistency in th e o th e r sense o f th e term , so m e th in g with a
certain firm n ess, even solidity. Even th e “w eak” Sierra L e o n e a n state
m ade its effects felt locally as well as on th e global scene a n d pro d u ced
an in terio rity as well as an exteriority in th e experiences o f its citizens—
in c lu d in g th o se , like M o h a m m e d , w ho h a d sp e n t th e b e tte r p art o f
their lives o u t o f its territory. F or “it is a vital co n cern o f every S tate.. .to
control m ig ra tio n s and, m o re generally, to establish a zo n e o f rights
over an e n tire ‘exterior,’ o v er all the flows traversing th e e c u m e n o n ”
(D eleuze a n d G uattari 1987:385; see also Sassen 1998), a n d it is at th e
very least in this sense— in th e exterior a n d at the global level— that the
state o p erates as an ap p aratu s o f capture. T h is does n o t m e a n that the
state is re d u c ib le to foreign policy “or a set o f relations a m o n g States”
(D eleuze a n d G uattari 1987:360), because in its ex terio r m anifestations
it is always also pulled tow ard internalizing an d ap p ro p riatin g locally. It
 M ariane C. F e r m e

is always situated betw een different polarities. A m o n g these, th e urb an -

ru ra l polarity is a key one u p o n w hich m any o th e rs are m a p p e d in
o rd e r to p ro d u ce th e “state effect”— hence K afka’s re p re se n ta tio n of
th e man denied access to the law as being “from th e country,” n o t to
m ention M am d an i’s bipartite m o d el o f postcolonial A frican states as
polarities betw een m ostly u rb an citizens having access to “T h e Law”
a n d rural subjects ru led by native adm inistrations th ro u g h the colonial
invendon of custom ary law.
But the state effect is also ecum enical in its reach . T he absence o f a
S ierra Leonean em bassy in K hartoum in the 1960s o r in C airo in the
1990s slowed e ffo rts by holders o f th a t co u n try ’s passports to secu re
traveling or id en tity papers. But th e closure of th e A m erican em bassy in
Freetow n d u rin g th e 1991-2002 civil w ar and its afterm ath also b ro u g h t
a b o u t spatial d e to u rs and added (w asted) time fo r U S citizens in S ierra
L eo n e, who h a d to travel to A b id jan or C onakry to regularize th e ir
papers. T heir ex p erien ces of such com plications m ay not have b e e n as
traum atic as they w ere for M oham m ed, the m an from the country, or
fo r som e of his fellow Cairo-based Sierra L eoneans, w ho literally died
th e re while w aiting for a chance to retu rn “h o m e ” to Sierra L eo n e, or
even for the C airo -b o rn Sheku. T h e p o in t re m a in s th at b o th S ierra
L eo n ean and A m erican citizens are subject to th ese form s o f c a p tu re
o n ce they find them selves in the am biguous zones devoid of rights that
all states pro d u ce. In these am biguous zones th ere are also possibilities
fo r flight, and it is h e re that the reconstitution o f subjectivity beyond
th e categories o f citizenship, refugees, and m igrants can unfold.
Notes
I thank D eborah Poole and Veena Das for inviting m e to jo in in April 2001
th e collegial and productive atm osphere o f their advanced sem inar at the School
o f A m erican R esearch in Santa Fe, for w hich an earlier d ra ft o f this ch ap ter was
w ritten. I am grateful, too, for their feedback and for that o f the other sem in ar
participants, especially Ja n e t Roitman, as always a close re a d e r and robust critic.
F or com m ents on later versions, I thank P eter Geschiere, a n d the reviewers for
th e SAR Press. As always, Luca D ’lsanto was there when it m ost m attered w ith his
exem plary analytical clarity. I alone am responsible for th e final outcom e.
 D eterritorialized C itizenship

1. O n th e idea of Fetal falsificatcur, see H ibou (1997).

2. See M ichel Galy (1998) for the Liberian case, understood as a “p er
version” of the relationship with th e “war m ach in e” that Deleuze an d G uattari
argue must ultim ately rem ain sep arate from — albeit susceptible to b eing
captured by— th e state apparatus.
3. See F erm e (1998:563—65) an d Fyfe (1962). F anth o rp e (2001:380)
discusses early-tw entielh-century policies of the colonial state in this reg ard and
the use of tax receipts as identification d in in g that period.
4. Sierra L eonean stu d en ts in C airo were o rganized in the S ierra L eone
S tudent U nion (SLSU), a g ro u p w ith som e four h u n d re d m em bers. O f these, just
u n d e r fifty w ere officially en ro lled at al-Azhar. By com parison, there w ere about
340 Senegalese students am ong th e 6,400 foreign stu d en ts at the university
(al-Azhar U niversity 1991:26—40). M any o f those not officially enrolled e ith e r were
lapsed stu d en ts o r were in th e process o f acquiring the necessary co m p eten ce in-
Arabic and ed u catio n al qualifications to gain adm ission to the university.
5. T he designation o f S ierra L eonean citizens u n d e r TPS began in O ctober
1997 u n d er th en A ttorney G en eral J a n e t Reno (D ep artm en t o fju stice
1997:59736-37). Like all em erg en cy provisions, TPS designation m ust be revised
regularlv, in this case annually. In S eptem ber 2003, Sierra L eone’s TPS status was
revoked, effective May 3, 2004, by th e D ep artm ent o f H om eland Security, u n der
whose ju risd ictio n such m atters now fall (Federal R egister 2003).
6. Passport dealings o f the sort attem pted by Mr. M usa becam e m ore
difficult with the intro d u ctio n in May 2001 o f state-of-the-art, falsification-proof,
and m achine-readable passports in Sierra Leone. For a conceptual an d m aterial
history o f the passport, especially w ith reference to the state’s relative in terest in
surveillance o f populations a n d th e ir m obility w ithin its territory (for instance,
betw een rural an d urban areas) as op po sed to beyond national b o rd ers, see
T o rp e y (2000).

1 15
 5
Anthropologist Discovers Legendary
Two-Faced Indian!

Margins, the State, and Duplicity

in Postwar Guatemala
Diane M. Nelson

T h e su b je c t is h e re “b e h e a d e d ,” “lost in th e c ro w d ,” yet the

tran ssu b jectiv e m ech an ism w h ic h regulates th e p ro cess (g a m e s...
carnivals) is clearly o f a sy m b o lic nature: it c a n b e u n e a rth e d by
m eans o f th e ac t o f in te rp re ta tio n :
— S la vo jZ ilek, Enjoy Y o u r Sym ptom !

In D e c e m b e r 1996 th e G u atem alan state an d th e URNG

(G uatem alan N ational R evolutionary U nity) guerrillas sig n ed a peace
treaty e n d in g thirty-five years o f civil war* T h e official e n d o f th e war
unleashed a n explosion o f o rg an izin g a ro u n d M ayan rights, rein co rp o ­
ration of refu g ees, w om en ’s issues, en v iro n m en tal co n cern s, an d his­
torical re in c o rp o ra tio n o f m em o ry — especially how to re m e m b e r the
war. I have recen tly noticed th e violence b e in g explained as th e result
o f engano (d e lu d in g , b e g u ilin g , d u p in g )— by th e arm y, th e govern­
m ent, the g u errillas, the N G O s, o r even th e p erso n te llin g th e story.
Som e a ttrib u te th eir survival to their ability to d u p e others, to live with
“two faces.” B u t often p e o p le explain th e ir ow n actions as based on
engano, a re su lt less of th e ir ow n will th an o f som eone else ’s will work­
ing on th em . I do n o t w ant to suggest th a t p e o p le really a re d u p ed by
som e beguiling, insidious pow er. Rather, I am curious why th e concept
o f duping ex p lain s things to p eo p le now.
In this c h a p te r I ex p lo re th is idea of d u p in g to fram e th e puzzle of
the state at its m argins. T h e m etaphors o f co re and p erip h ery , capital

1n
 D ia n e M j N el son

and border, position th e less pow erful— the poor, w om en, indigenous
p eo p le— struggling, as bell hooks (1984) put it, to m ove “from m argin
to c e n te r.” D ictionaries define th e c e n te r as so m e th in g th at co n tain s
pow er an d control, th^ point a ro u n d w hich a n y th in g revolves, fro m
w hich ideas and in flu en ces e m a n a te , to w hich m an y p eo p le a re
attracted — in o th er w ords, the trad itio n al notion o f th e sovereign state.
M ore recen t thinking has displaced th e state into various apparatuses,
th e b ro k e n landscape o f civil society, a netw ork ra th e r th an a n o d e
(A lth u sser 1971; G ram sci 1989; C astells 1989). F ollow ing this d e ­
cen terin g and the ep ig rap h from 2i2ek, I propose th e m e ta p h o r o f the
sideshow as my “act o f in terp retatio n ” to think a b o u t p e o p le ’s ex p e ri­
ences o f engano, o f being lost in th e crowd. I draw fro m a n u m b e r o f
th e o rists w ho d ep lo y a sim ilar th e a tric a l o r carn iv alesq u e m o d e l
(B akhtin 1984; B oone 1999; d e e rtz 1980; G uha 1983) o r who focus on
the m agical, fantastic, o r im aginative aspects o f th e state (Brown 1995;
C oronil 1997; H ansen and S tep p u tat 2001; Rose 1996; Taussig 1997). I
w ant to explore th e sim ultaneous suspicion, u n certain ty , fascination,
an d d esire that su rro u n d the state, w hile keeping in m in d F o u cau lt’s
w arning: “[PJerhaps th e state...d o es n o t have this unity, this individual­
ity, this rigorous functionality, nor, to speak frankly, this im p o rta n c e .”
(1991:103)
A m argin is a b o rd e r or brink. Em ily M artin im agines certain p e o ­
ple w ho seem to live o n the outskirts, in traditional u n c h an g in g places,
as actually the ones “inhabiting an exposed cu sp ...feel[in g ] acutely th e
raw im p a c t o f forces o f change.” A cadem ics like m yself, based in th e
global n o rth , are n o t necessarily o n th e fo refro n t o f changes. In fact, we
m ay b e m arginal, as M artin says, “th e last to learn a b o u t som e o f th e
—p ro fo u n d shifts sh ak in g m ost of o u r m ajo r in stitu tio n s.” (1994:8—9)
H ere I discuss a “m arg in al” place— G uatem ala— an d o n e o f its m argins,
a h ig h la n d village called Joyabaj an d its even m ore m arg in al ham lets, at
a m arg in al tim e— a p erio d betw een w ar and (hopefully) peace. I also
e x p lo re th e m argin betw een the state an d its subjects, th a t fraught cusp
b etw een the life o f th e collective a n d th e life o f th e individual.
S trin g in g to g eth er a series o f stories ab o u t e n g a n o an d two-faced
In d ian s to explore th e state m ore as sideshow th an c e n te r attractio n , I
am in te re ste d in the uncanny sense o f d u p in g as b e in g acted on from
o u tsid e . I am cu rio u s how the G u a te m a la n state, w hich c a rrie d o u t

i 18
 A n t h r o p o l o g i s t D i s c o v e r s L e g e n d a r y T w o -F aced I n d i a n !

g e n o c id e in th e early 1980s a n d is grossly in e ffic ie n t and c o rru p t,

still exerts a stran g e, am bivalent ap p eal for its subjects, becom ing th e
g u a ra n to r o f M ayan rights an d p eace accords (CO PM A G U A 1995). As
Slavoj Z izek asks, “ [H ]ow d o es a n em pirical, positively given o b je c t
b e co m e an o b je c t o f d esire; how d o es it b eg in to co n tain som e X
...so m eth in g w hich is ‘in it m o re th an it’ and m ak es it worthy o f o u r
desire?” (1989:119). I suggest th a t th e state seem s fixed (static), a c o n ­
d itio n or form o f being. However, w hen we explore its operations at the
m arg in , it is actu ally ecstatic (X -static), c o m in g o u t of stillness,
a m obile force (sideshow s are all a b o u t m obility). D ictionaries d efin e
ecstatic as “su b ject to ecstasy,” a n d m y inquiry is m oved by this d o u b le
e n te n d re o f “su b ject to ”— the id ea th a t a self is acted on by an o u tsid e
fo rce in o rd e r to b e c o m e a s u b je c t a t all (B u tler 1987, 1993; H e g e l
[1807] 1977). S tories ab o u t d u p in g assum e a d o u b le — two faces, two
lives, this d o u b le m ove that is th e en try p o in t to identification. W hile
th e g ru eso m e sta te violence o f G u a te m a la ’s civil w ar may seem
ab erran t, p e o p le ’s experiences o n this cusp may aid in u n d erstan d in g
su b jectio n m o re g en erally a n d c a p tu re p ro fo u n d shifts that affect
us all.

THE TWO-FACED INDIAN

A catechist is in his second h o u r o f speaking in Maya-K’iche’ a b o u t
m artyrs. H e links th e m arty rd o m o f th e biblical Israelites with Je su s
C hrist, th en w ith th e 1980 assassination o f the local priest, and finally
with th e recen t state-sponsored g e n o cid e o f the “M ayan people.” H e is
a co rn farm er w ho also m igrates to pick coffee, a n d unlike m ost m e n
his age, he w ears traje (trad itio n al clo th in g ). It is Ju ly 2000, and this is
th e first day in a w eek o f m issio n w ork c o n n e c te d to th e V atican ’s
Ju b ile e Year. G en o cid e is n o t p a rt o f the stan d ard ized lesson plan dis­
trib u te d by the C h u rch .
I am sitting on a d irt floor co v ered with p in e n eed les in a sch o o l­
ro o m in an o u tly in g h a m le t o f th e h ig h lan d G u a te m a la n tow n o f
Joyabaj and feelin g a b it su rp rise d w hen he uses th e term Maya. It is
usually associated w ith u rb an -b ased , w hite-collar in d ig en o u s activists.
In fact, w hen I h a d asked th e in d ig e n o u s m ayor (alcalde indigena) o f
Jo y ab aj w h e th e r th e re w ere “M aya” in th e area, h e lo o k ed p uzzled,
th e n asked if I was looking for a m u se u m . 1 As I d o som e d eep “h an g in g

9
D i a n e M. N e l s o n

o u t” (th a t is, sle e p in g in th e sc h o o l), I le a rn th a t th e G u a te m a la n

M avan L anguage A cadem y (A LM G ), an in d ig en o u s-ru n , au to n o m o u s
state agency, is p ro v id in g the village with culturally sensitive cu rric u la r
m aterials in b o th Spanish and Maya-K’ich e’. AU th re e official teach ers
in this p u b lic sc h o o l are local K’ic h e ’ sp eak ers. Som e have b e e n
involved in M ayan revitalization efforts for m any years, and several are
stu d y in g “in te rc u ltu ra l e d u c a tio n ” th ro u g h a N ational U niversity
extension p ro g ram tau g h t by M ayan activists I know from earlier w ork
in G uatem ala City. T h e p ro g ram is partly sp o n so red by USAID (U n ited
States Agency fo r In tern atio n al D evelopm ent).
D om ingo G onzalez, th e p re s id e n t o f th e h a m le t’s im p ro v e m e n t
co m m ittee, h a d ju st re tu rn e d fro m a se m in a r o n M ayan rig h ts in
G uatem ala City, also partly fu n d e d by the G u atem alan g o v ern m en t and
USAID. In fact, w hile the co m m u n ity (and Mr. G onzalez, also a co rn
farm er w ho m ig rates to pick coffee ) seem s very- o u t o f the way, it is co n ­
n ected in m u ltip le wavs with th e governm ent. T h e state, in tu rn , is re p ­
resen ted in th e p erso n of Mr. G onzalez w hen he re tu rn s to th e ham let.
H e freq u en tly visits th e d e p a rtm e n ta l an d n a tio n a l capital, seek in g
fu n d s an d m a te ria l su p p o rt fo r e d u c a tio n a n d road b u ild in g .
Ind ig en o u s in tellectuals created th e ALMG in th e early 1980s, a n d they
stru g g led for a d e c a d e to gain legal re c o g n itio n fo r th e academ y. In
1990 it becam e an au to n o m o u s state agency. At th e sem inar o n M ayan
educational rights, Mr. G onzalez h eard a p resen tatio n by Dr. D em etrio
C ojti Cuxil, o n e o f th e fo u n d ers o f the ALM G a n d now vice m in ister of
ed u catio n . H e re was the state in th e p erso n o f a M ayan m an . As Mr.
G onzalez d escrib ed it:
[T ]here were people from all over the country, the twenty-
three languages all had representatives. Those Kaqchiqueles,
from C him altenango, they are really adelantado [advanced].
There was the viceministro who gave a talk. His nam e is Cojtf.
H e’s a doctor! We d o n 't have any doctors, lawyers, engineers
here. We need to work m ore on education so our children
can learn and come back, like they do there. Cojti started his
speech speaking p erfect K aqchiquel, it was very sm ooth.
T hen he w ent right into Spanish—he has accom plished so
m uch, b u t he hasn’t lost his language! Y ou’d never know
h e ’s a doctor! He was very hum ble. 1

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Mr. G onzalez tells m e th a t th e catechist w ho spoke of m artyrdom was

the driving force b eh in d g e ttin g a- road b u ilt to the ham let, organizing
state fun d in g an d com m unity labor crews. T h e catechist also organized
the com m unity-controlled bilingual school a n d served several term s as a
m in o r elected official in Joyabaj. W here is th e state, and w here are its
m argins in these m ovem ents o f people, projects, and m oney thro u g h the
countryside? H ow could th e sam e state accused of genocide against the
Mayan peo p le be em bodied by indigenous m en and w om en w hen local
people arrive in the capital, o r w hen the state arrives in m arginal ham lets
via representatives o f th e AJLMG (as well as in d ig en o u s soldiers)? Are
these simply m asks to hide th e state’s “real” face?
Several days later I learn from the catech ist that he was a lead er of
the h a m le t’s civil p atro l— th e arm y-run m ilitias responsible for atroci­
ties d u rin g th e war. “I have two faces,” he said. “O n e I show to th e army,
the o th er I show to my p e o p le .”
This im age o f two faces ap p ears in m any eth n o g rap h ies o f postw ar
G uatem ala (G onzalez 2002; G reen 1999; M cA llister 2002; Z u r 1998) as
people explain how they survived the g o v e rn m e n t’s counterinsurgency
cam paigns. T h e civil patrol system , in stitu ted in 1981, was q u ite diabol­
ical, in d u cin g com m unity m em b ers to surveil, incrim inate, an d punish
o n e an o th er. T h is system gave th e m ilitary state som e d ista n c e from
these crim es, w hich, in tu rn , w arped and u n d e rm in e d co m m u n ity soli­
darity. T h ro u g h o u t m uch o f th e country, b u t especially in indigenous
com m unities, every single m an from age fo u rte e n to sixty was incorpo­
rated in to th e patrols. In so m e cases, lead ers w ere fo rm er soldiers o r
m ilitary com m issio n ers w hose faces already p o in ted tow ard th e state
(although som etim es these sam e people u sed th e ir m ilitary ex p erien ce
to train local y o u th s as g u errillas). In m an y cases, how ever, th e arm y
laid this o n e ro u s task on resp ected local lead ers, often catechists, coop­
erative m em b ers, o r schoolteachers. C o m p a re d to o th er d irty wars in
Latin A m erica, G uatem ala’s co u n terin su rg en cy w ar was ex cep tio n al for
its alm ost total in co rp o ratio n o f civilians.
M any n o n in d ig e n o u s (la d in o ) G u a te m a la n s I have in terv iew ed
seem to believe th at the in d ig en o u s p eo p le, a m ajority in G uatem ala,
are h id in g so m e th in g — o fte n plan s for rev o lt, rape, a n d p lu n d er.
G u atem alan state policy seem s to assum e th a t indigenous p eo p le are
untru stw o rth y an d m ust b e co n tro lled th ro u g h any m eans necessary.
D iane M . N el so n

The thirty-five years o f civil war (and c o n tin u in g divisions betw een
indigenous h ighlands/m argins and the nonin d ig en o u s city /cen ter) are
often re a d as proof that th e Indians (rep resen ted in tourism literature as
alluring a n d welcoming) a re actually attem p tin g to p en etrate and over­
come th e u rb an corfe. H o m i B habha (1994b) rem inds us th at these
stereotypes (stereo as d u al, n o t m ono) of m asked m im icry a n d two-faced
natives u n d erg ird colonial pow er relations and had already appeared in
the fo rm o f “noble savages” with cannibalistic tendencies in E uropean
sideshows som e five h u n d re d years ago (H u lm e [1986] 1992).
In Joyabaj, as elsew here, m asked m en d o enact scenarios o f revolt,
sly re sista n c e , and c o u n te rin su rg e n c y d u rin g the y early festivals.
Fabulously costum ed d a n c e rs perform a m o n g food stalls, F erris wheels,
and b in g o an d video te n ts in tersp ersed w ith p ro cessio n s th a t move
local sain t figures aro u n d town. It is easy to g et lost in th e crow d, mes­
m erized by the battle b etw een M oors an d C hristians (tran sp o sed to the
in d ig en o u s Tecun U m an versus co n q u istad o r Pedro A lvarado) or the
struggles o f exploited mozos (field hands) to rid them selves o f th eir mas­
ters th ro u g h serpent v en o m in the Baile d e la C ulebra (S nake D ance).
Played by indigenous m e n b eh in d blond, fair-skinned m asks, year after
year A lv arad o wins, a n d th e m aster is b ro u g h t back to life by his
sham an. B ut these o u tco m es are not static. They are o p e n to m ultiple
acts o f in terp retatio n (T edlock 1992).
T h e title o f this c h a p te r, “A n th ro p o lo g ist D iscovers L egendary
Tw o-Faced In d ia n !” is a carnyiike a tte m p t to lure in re a d e rs. But it
is m isle a d in g . A n th ro p o lo g ists do n o t “fin d ” tw o-faced p eo p le in
u n to u c h e d h in terlan d s. T h e very id eas o f m argins o r d u p licito u s
natives a re products o f states and co lo n ial capitalism . T h e two-faced
Indian is a figure of m yth a n d legend p ro d u c e d by the traversals of the
state th ro u g h labor regim es, tax and m arriag e laws, a n d co u n terin su r­
gency protocols. Zi2ek suggests that we can u n earth the transsubjective
m ech an ism that regulates such processes. I h o p e to trace th e processes
here by searching for th e state at its m arg in s in the fig u re o f the two-
faced In d ia n and by asking, in turn, why the state is also u n d ersto o d to
be tw o-faced— sim ultaneously desirable, deceptive, a n d dangerous? A
play o f m asks, a theater, it m oves about th e countryside like a terrifying
and a llu rin g circus, a p p e a rin g to v en trilo q u ize its d e m a n d s through

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local people w ho seem enganado (d u p ed ). B ut it also, strangely, consti­

tu tes a site o f agency.
To push th is insight, 1 u se th e m e ta p h o r o f the sideshow : co n ­
n e c te d to b o ard w alk s, carnivals, m idways, sideshow s are m arg in al
th in g s, geo g rap h ically , tem p o rally , m orally, a n d categorically. T h e
im ag e o f the sideshow evokes th e unsettled, m o b ile, and pow erful but
n o t always su ccessfu l state e ffe c t th at (th ro u g h “freaks” like two-
fa c e d Indians) is m o n stro u s a n d sim u ltan eo u sly n o rm alizin g . It is a
m etap h o r, b u t everyday ex p e rie n c es of the state are like th e carnival
co m in g to town. We blessed souls living outside totalizing state institu­
tio n s like p riso n s can m ostly go a b o u t o u r daily lives as if th e state
w ere n o t there. It is easy to ig n o re how deeply reg u lated o u r lives are by
state fu n ctio n in g . However, th e re are tim es w h en — Boom !— th e state
su d d e n ly arrives (via the “Hey, y o u ” o f th e p o lic e , a jury su m m o n s,
b e in g called to w ar), and it is all-engulfing, terrifying, full o f prom ise.
M ariane Ferm e rem in d s m e th a t sideshow s are also like the state in that
th e ex p e rie n c e is o ften ''d eath ly b o rin g : lo n g lin es and s h a rp disap ­
p o in tm e n t in th e failure of the sh o w ’s aw esom e prom ises.
I have discussed elsew here how the state seem s desirous o f “fixing”
o r h o ld in g still everything, from p eo p le to m ean in g s, and how its con­
fu sin g legitim acy m ay rest in p a rt o n its prom ise o f “fixing” in th e sense
o f repairing (N elson 1999, 2003). But 1 find th e sideshow' a p roductive
m e ta p h o r for th in k in g about th e state because it focuses on m obility,
a n d because it m im ics the ex p e rie n c e of m oving through th e strange
m ix o f now an d th e n , here a n d th e re (m edieval Spanish d a n c e s p er­
fo rm e d in jo y a b a j), distraction a n d fascination, rationality a n d fraudu-
le n c e at a carn iv al m idway to show how th e state is sim u ltan eo u sly
m ag ic and b an al. T his strange m ix is a cen tral puzzle in m any o f the
c h a p te rs here: P o o le questions why Peruvians tu rn to the law, know ing
th a t they will n e v e r win their cases. A shford p o n d e rs w itchcraft beliefs
c o n c e rn in g A ID S a n d the state (supposedly th e site o f m o d e rn iz in g
rationality) as it fails to address this crucial crisis (an d the role o f road
show s). H e asks, w hat if th e sta te was read as a witch? F e rm e , like
Je g a n a th a n an d R oitm an, ex am in es the centrality to the “state effect”
o f traveling, b o rd e rs , flo atin g p o p u la tio n s, a n d c irc u la tio n s, and
C o h e n describes m obile body o rg an s as part o f th e (w)holc.
D ian e M . N elson

Historically, sideshows have been vital passage p o in ts for the leth al

transnational brews concocted in colonial “laboratories o f m o d ern ity ”
(C esaire 1972; D riscoll 2000; R abinow 1989; S to le r 1995), w h ere
hum ans like Squanto, O ta Benga, an d S arah B artm an n w ere displayed
(B radford and Blum e 1992; G ilm an 1985). As I discuss th e re la tio n
betw een Maya and the state, I want to keep this history in view. D uring
the war, and increasingly after 1996, th e G uatem alan state is expressed
th ro u g h circulation a n d by its a p p e a ra n c e in a p p a re n tly m arg in al
indigenous places, n o t as an outside, external power, b u t as em b o d ied
th ro u g h local people taking on d u al roles, such as th e catechist, th e
M ayan vice m inister, a n d Mr. G onzalez. Its pow er is less in any static
cen tral place than in its m obility th ro u g h these o th e r bodies. T h is
process may explain th e stereotypes o f indigenous p e o p le as d u p lici­
tous, untrustw orthy, a n d sly (G onzalez P onciano 1 999), an d p e rh a p s
why th e state is also seen as tw o-faced, deceptive, yet sim u ltan eo u sly
alluring— a site and stake o f struggle (A lthusser 1971:147).
Binary dichotom ies obviously red u ce the com plexity o f lived ex p e­
rience, yet images o f two-facedness an d a truth h id in g b eh in d a m ask
ab o u n d in analyses o f postw ar G u atem ala and p o st—cold w ar g lo b al­
ization (the nation-state is simply a m ask for the In tern atio n al M onetary
F und [IMF] or “em p ire"). T he G u atem alan political scientist C arlos
F igueroa Ibarra (1991) also figures th e state as d u a l th ro u g h th e
m etap h o r o f the cen tau r— both rational and bestial— a carnivalesque fig­
ure (see also Jonas 2000; K antorow icz [1957] 1981). R ath er than rely
on a dual m odel by asking w hether this is true o r false, I p o n d e r why
doubles an d duplicity, w ith th eir a tte n d a n t u n c e rta in ty an d su sp icio n ,
are such alluring term s. Focusing o n m obility via th e sideshow tro p e
plays up, as do the o th e r chapters h e re , the crisscrossing o f a p p a re n t
b oundaries between state and m argin, cen ter and p erip h ery , ethical an d
crim inal, city and country, m odern a n d traditional. Carnivals (like the
state) travel through th e G uatem alan countryside, settin g u p in h ig h ­
land villages for each tow n’s titular fiesta. Midways (like the state) are
aim ed at picking y o u r pocket, se d u c in g you in to c irc u la tin g y o u r
m oney as you yourself are circulated. Like the state, th e m arginality o f
the sideshow may lie in its suspicious m erging o f legitim ate e n te rta in ­
m e n t and stealing.
B ut there is a n o th e r face that is like the state: sideshow s are p o p u ­
lar, ch eap entertainm ent. Everyone I know in Jovabaj goes to the carn i­

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val w hen it co n ies to town. T h e state, too, can seem accessible to the
“p o p u lar classes” via public services o f ed u catio n , tran sp o rtatio n , com ­
m unication, a n d health care. I arg u e that m oving through th e sideshow
illu m in ates th e d o u b lin g e x p e rie n c e s o f d e sire and id e n tific a tio n ,
belief anci subjectivity, aw fulness an d the everyday, an d the sim ultaneity
o f susp icio n a n d giving o n e s e lf over th a t c h aracterize th e m arg in
betw een th e state and us. D uplicity always suggests a double. T o ju m p
ahead, co u ld th e som ething e x tra that m akes th e state so “m ag ical” be
the effect o f a d o u b le bind? T h a t it sim ultaneously must be em b o d ied
in the flesh (came) of those w ho rep resen t it yet it transcends th e indi­
vidual body (carne-vale, “farew ell to flesh”) to re p re se n t the body politic?

THE STATE-EFFECT A N D IN D IG E N O U S O RG ANIZING

This c h a p te r grows out o f mV research o n th e relations b etw een the
G uatem alan state an d the M ayan cultural-rights m ovem ent. B eginning
with studies I co n d u cted in th e m id-1980s o f th e co u n terin su rg en cy war
in the co u n try sid e (N elson 1988), in 1988 1 b eg an to follow th e surpris­
ing rise in M avan organizing— surprising b ecau se the scale o f d estru c­
tion has b e e n called g en o cid al (CEH 1999; S an fo rd 2003; S c h irm e r
1998), seek in g to destroy in W'hole o r in p a rt th e in d ig en o u s p o p u la ­
tion. T h e U n ite d N ations C om m ission fo r H istorical C larificatio n
(C om ision d e E sclarecim ien to H istorico [C E H ]) reports th a t 93 p er­
cent of th e hum an-rights ab u ses it investigated w ere carried o u t by the
arm y an d th e sta te -sa n c tio n e d p aram ilitary civil patrol. M o re than
200,000 p e o p le w ere killed, a n d 1,000,000 p e o p le (o ne-eighth o f the
p o p u la tio n ) w ere d isp laced . T h e CEH sin g le d o u t four a re a s o f the
country w h ere genocidal actio n s occurred, in clu d in g Joyabaj, h o m e of
the self-identified, two-faced in d ig en o u s m an .
In the early 1990s I follow ed M ayan o rg an izers from the h ig h lan d s
to the capital city, w here they w ere struggling fo r inclusion in th a t very
state. T rying to u n d erstan d this situation as th e binary o f state versus
civil society, o r th e ladino (n o n in d ig en o u s) state versus the in d ig en o u s
people, left m e confused. In fo rm atio n , identifications, mestizaje (geno­
typic an d c u ltu ra l “m ixing”), class d istin ctio n s, an d , of co u rse, trans­
n ational fo rces such as g rin g a an th ro p o lo g ists, structural a d ju stm e n t
packages, a n d im ages o f m o d e rn ity cro sscu t th ese su p p o sed ly clear-
cut lines. As D as and Poole p o in t out in c h a p te r 1, we m ust go bevond

!
D iane M. N elson

those approaches that focus only on th e repressive practices o f the state

and that think of m argins as being only ab o u t the clear-cut dynam ics o f
inclusion and exclusion.
T h e cu rren t M ayan m ovem ent is a long-term p o litical p ro je c t
(Bastos an d Camus 1995, 2003; G randin 2000; Fischer a n d Brown 1996;
Coju Cuxil 1991, 1995, 1996) that also responds to th e h o rro rs o f the
war and to transnational indigenous-rights activism. It focuses on codi­
fying cultural rights, stim ulating pan-ethnic organizing, an d rethinking
relations between Maya an d ladino. T h e term Maya is an invented tra ­
dition, deployed since th e late 1980s by M ayan in tellectu als to n am e
the m ajority in d ig en o u s p o p u latio n m o re com m only id en tified by
place of origin or language. By 2003 Maya was generally accepted in th e
cities by ladinos and M aya alike, a p p e a rin g in press re p o rts, go v ern ­
m ent rhetoric, W orld B ank reports, an d ethnographies. However, so m e—
critics co n ten d th at th e urban-based m ovem ent, w hich includes th e
state-funded ALMG an d several M ayan governm ent m inisters, is elitist,
out of touch with the m o re “au th en tic” indigenous cu ltu re o f the rural
highlands it seeks to revitalize. Increasingly, activists are rep resen ted as
two-faced m anipulators. T h e su p p o sed cen ter-m arg in relatio n sh ip
between the form al institutions and political projects o f th e organized
Mayan m ovem ent a n d th e ap p aren tly o rg an ic, lived ex p e rie n c e o f
highland villages like Joyabaj may give rise to the traversals that m ake
duplicity such a pow erful discourse.

THE T W O -F A C E D STATE
T h e m argins o f th e state are o ften d ep icted , as in Jam es S c o tt’s
w ide-ranging Seeing Like a State, as sites th a t have y et to b e m ap p ed ,
m iniaturized, fixed, u n d ersto o d . T hey are o u tsid e state co n tro l,
grasped m ore through m yth and stereotype than accu rate inform ation,
full o f often contradictory figures resisting state rationality. People d o
not have last nam es, taxes are irregularly collected, an d native guides
are few an d untrustw orthy. W hile Scott balks at any im pulse to ro m an ti­
cize, h e seems, like m any others, to see th e m argins as spaces outside
full state control (a n d th u s as sites o f possible resistan ce) b u t th a t
nonetheless will be p en etrated by that state.
My first sense o f h ighland G uatem ala (in 1985) was definitely as a
place d istan t from m o d e rn statecraft (N elson 1999). It was far away

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fro m th e state g eo g rap h ically , in fra stru c tu rally (m an y places w ere

an d are inaccessible biy ro ad ), a n d snperstructurally. It was h ard to find
o u t w hat h a p p e n e d th ere, as th e state w o rk ed to d u p e o b serv ers—
w avering b etw een denying m assacres and claim in g th a t “only su b v er­
sives” w ere b e in g killed, n o t “p e o p le .” Local id e n tity seem ed very
stro n g , ex p ressed in village-specific dress; d eep ly h eld id en tificatio n s
w ithin a m atrix o f spiritual u n d e rsta n d in g s, tem p o rality , and k in sh ip
stru ctu res tied to specific landscapes; structures o f local authority; an d
g e o g ra p h ic iso la tio n (A dam s 1998; T edlock 1992; W atanabe 1992;
W ilson 1995). H u m an -rig h ts a n d a n th ro p o lo g ic a l e x p la n a tio n s fo r
b o th the b ru tality an d govdrn m en tality o f arm y actio n s th e re — fro m
m assacring, selectiv e killing, a n d ro u n d in g u p n o m ad ic d isp la c e d
p eo p le an d e n sco n cin g th em in “m o d ern ist” p la n n e d m odel villages,
to th e m assive investing in in fra stru c tu re p ro jects, especially ro a d s—
rely on the m o d el o f a state p e n e tra tin g zones fo rm erly closed to it.
Ideas o f “au th e n tic c u ltu re,” m argins outside state control, a n d th e
tw o-faced In d ian sim ultaneously fit colonial stereo ty p in g and d isru p t
sta n d a rd u n d e rsta n d in g s o f id en tity . C arefu l h isto rical w ork on
G uatem alan e th n ic id en tificatio n shows that it has always been “in ter-
c u ltu ra l” an d cro sscu t by class a n d caste relations. Ideas, in stitu tio n s,
an d individuals have been highly m obile th ro u g h o u t th e national te rri­
tory an d b e y o n d fo r five h u n d r e d years (B astos a n d C am us 1995;
G ra n d in 2000; H a le 1997; L oucky a n d M oors 2000; C. Sm ith 1990;
W arren 1998). F o r exam ple, C arol Sm ith (1990) arg u es th at in th e past
five h u n d re d years it is h ard to fin d a tim e w hen th e G uatem alan h ig h ­
lands w ere n o t closely in te rc o n n e c ted with b o th co lo n ial an d p o stco lo ­
nial state fo rm atio n . From th e S panish settling in d ig en o u s allies fro m
c e n tra l M exico th ro u g h o u t th o se h ig h lan d s to facilitate assim ilation
a n d trib u te p ay m en t, to c e n tu rie s o f in d ig en o u s m ilitary service a n d
articu latio n to th e various p la n ta tio n systems, th e divide betw een h ig h ­
lan d m argin a n d state cen ter has lo n g been b reach ed .
In fact, Joyabaj, w here I “fo u n d ” th e tw'o-faced In d ian , has b e e n a
finca de mozos for close to one h u n d re d years (C EH 1999; Oglesby 2001;
R em ijnse 2002). Ju st as d iffe re n t areas w ere given over to e x p o rt
m o n o cro p cultivation—fincas de cafe, banano, azucar, algodon (plantations
o f coffee, ban an as, sugar, c o tto n )—Joyabaj p ro d u c e d mozos:field h a n d s
fo r seasonal w ork on G u atem ala’s S outh C oast p lan tatio n s. T he sam e

27
D ia ne M. N elson

ladino family that acq u ired vast tracts o f lan d in th e h o t coastal low­
lands also bought u p land around Joyabaj. In retu rn fo r farm ing w hat
had been their com m unally held land, individuals an d fam ilies h ad to
m igrate to cut cane d u rin g the harvest season. T h e sta te reg u lated
these transactions th ro u g h landholding, labor, vagrancy, an d o th er laws
and their violent enforcem ent.
T h e reeducation p h ases o f co u n terin su rg en cy th a t follow ed th e
arm y’s scorched-earth cam paigns of th e late 1960s an d early 1980s sug­
gest contradictory u nderstandings o f “the In d ia n .” O n th e o n e h a n d ,
indigenous people are seen as m an ip u lated by g u e rrilla s— d u p ed by
revolutionary prom ises o f a chicken in every pot. T hose w ho survived
the army massacres n eed ed to be taught a lesson, as they were several
tim es a day, starting at 6 a.m ., in th e arm y -co n tro lled re se ttle m e n t
cam ps known as “m odel villages” (N elson 1988; S anford 2003; W ilson
1995). As an army colonel in Nebaj told m e in 1985, “T h e y ’ve had a bad
cassette put in their heads. O u r jo b is to change the cassette.” Sim ilar to
the liberal period w hen it “pro d u ced ” m ig ran t w orkers, h e re the state
becom es the m anipulator, creating th e kind o f Indian it wants.
Im ages o f the state as m anipulative an d in d ig e n o u s p eo p le as
em pty puppets waiting fo r outsiders to p u t the cassette in vie with th e
o th er counterinsurgency fear— that in d ig en o u s p eo p le are two-faced.
It is n o t enough to have them rep o rt to th e state th ro u g h patrol duty,
schooling, or forced labor, because you never know w hat they are say­
ing behind your back. In th e areas w h ere th e g u e rrilla struggle was
especially powerful, th e arm y was statio n ed in m ost o u tly in g ham lets.
Intensive surveillance a n d vigilance netw orks constantly traversed th e
ap p aren t border betw een public and private, and a variety o f carro t-
and-stick m echanism s w ere set up to try to align the fwo faces, to en su re
th at the one shown to “th e state” was th e sam e as th a t show n to “th e
p eople.” These are checkpoints, a sje g a n a th a n points o u t, dense sites
for both fixing and m obility.
It has been twenty years since the w orst of G u atem ala’s co u n terin ­
surgency violence. T h e civil patrols w ere disbanded e ig h t to ten years
ago, and the catechist now petitions the state for ro ad -b u ild in g aid a n d
serves in thejoyabaj m ayor’s office. M ost o f the young m e n and w om en
I talk to rem em ber, as ch ild ren , h id in g in the m o u n ta in s from arm y

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so ld iers o r s e e in g fam ily m e m b e rs killed. Now, how ever, th ey seem

m o re in te re ste d in talking a b o u t B ruce L ee a n d Low to g e t to the
U n ite d States.
T h e state has b een th eo rized as “difficult to study” (A bram s 1988),
a set o f app aratu ses, or masks w ith o u t a face. It is clearly p resen t in this
h a m le t, b u t it is a b it h a rd to g e t a h a n d le o n . T h u s, this “m a rg in a l
p la c e ” is g o o d to th in k w ith, as this is w h ere th e state g ra p p le s w ith
deploym ent, effects, articu latio n s, resistances, an d “ex ecu tio n ” o f pol­
icy. T h e grisly p u n is m ean t to k eep the effects o f state violence in play.
T h e arm y su d d en ly an d inexplicably ab an d o n e d its outpost in Joyabaj
in m id-2000. R e c e n t m u d slid es in Joyabaj u n c o v e re d a c la n d e stin e
cem etery b e h in d c h u rc h b u ild in g s previously o ccu p ied by th e army.
T h e police w ere called in to oversee the ex h u m atio n . O n this a p p a re n t
m a rg in , we c a n c o n te m p la te th e o d d c o n c a te n a tio n o f th e state as
repressive an d th e state as th e site and stake o f struggle, as disciplinary
an d g o v ern m en tal, as duplicitous.

W H O ’S D U P I N G W H O M ?
M any p e o p le in G uatem ala blam e d u p in g (e n g a n o ), o r b ein g acted
on by a n o th e r pow er, for th e ap p aren tly co n trad icto ry actions o f fellow
citizens. In F eb ru ary 1999 th e C E H nam ed G en eral Efram Rios M o n tt a
party to g en o cid e in G u atem ala’s civil war. A fter taking pow er in a coup
in 1982, his g o v e rn m e n t oversaw sco rch ed -earth cam paigns a n d m as­
sacres. To th e sh o ck o f many, a few m onths afte r the CEH findings, a
m e m b e r o f R ios M o n tt’s political party was e lected to the presidency,
a n d Rios M o n tt h im self was e le c te d h ead o f th e n atio n al congress. H e is
now set to ru n in th e 2003 electio n . I and o th e r outside observers felt
stu n n e d th at th e sam e p o p u latio n m assacred u n d e r his earlier regim e
w ould willingly vote for him fifteen years later. W hat should b e a static
position, a single face (resentful victim s), beco m es uncannily m obile. It
is tem p tin g to fall back on d u p in g to explain this ap p aren t anom aly. I
was sim ilarly s tu n n e d w hen so m e in d ig en o u s p easan ts re q u e ste d the
rean im atio n o f th e civil patrols in J u n e 2002.
In tu rn , exiles retu rn in g fro m years ou tsid e th e country co m m en t
on how h ard it is to organize co m p ared to th e 1970s. M any b lam e this
situ atio n on th e m agical-seem ing pow er o f co n su m erism , evangelical
 D iane M. N e l s o n

churches, a n d a few crum bs from the governm ent (some infrastructure;

a paid p o s itio n ) to bedazzle and distract th o se form erly o p en - to
critiques o f stru ctu ral inequality and the violence deployed to m aintain
it. R ather th a n think for itself, el pueblo seem s to be acted o n by these
outside forces.
T h e sta te also appears as a duplicitous a c to r in accounts o f the
lynchings a n d m o b violence that have killed an d w ounded d o zen s of
p eo p le in th e last few years. Suspected thieves an d rapists, J a p a n e se
tourists tak en fo r devil w orshippers, and suspected gringa child snatch­
ers have all fallen victim. Explanations of this panic behavior o ften rely
o n the sense th a t the m ob is acted on by state-backed provocateurs. In
1994, for ex am p le, a N orth A m erican w om an, accused of k id n ap p in g a
child to sell its organs, was beaten and left fo r dead in a h ig h la n d
in d ig en o u s village (Adams 1996; Kadetsky 1994). A n u m b er o f com ­
m entators p la c e d the attack in the context o f th e deploym ent o f U nited
N ations p e a c e k e e p e rs. T hey claim ed th at it h a d been p la n n e d an d
in cited by th e G uatem alan state as a m eans to frighten o ff fo reig n
h u m an -rig h ts observers. T h e presence o f ro a d w orkers in th e crow d
an d the slow ness o f police an d the army to resp o n d to the attack sug­
gested th e sta te ’s sinister role. In the spring o f 2000, a young Jap an ese
tourist a n d a G uatem alan guide were lynched in a different h ig h lan d
indigenous village. Again the state was blam bd, this time for sp read in g
rum ors (via rad io broadcasts and public schoolteachers) that devil wor­
shippers w ere targeting the region (Burrell 2000). H ere the state takes
on im m ense p o w er to magically induce h u n d red s o f m en, w om en, and
ch ild ren to a c t against th e ir b etter ju d g m e n t. Indigenous p e o p le
incited to ly n ch in g evoke A shford’s description in this volume o f w itch­
craft c o n tro llin g your actions w ithout your even knowing it. T h e state,
through p ro v o cateu rs, radio broadcasts, o r prom ises of gain, controls
its citizens th e way a sideshow m agician m anipulates his ventriloquist
dummy.
Seeing like a two-faced Indian, rather than a state, makes th e expla­
nations m o re am bivalent. W hen the catechist calls him self two-faced, it
is a story o f tak in g som e agency in an im possible situation— th e state
m ay think th a t it m akes him d o what it wants, b u t he knows th at h e has
a n o th e r face. In Ju ly 2000 I discussed the ly n ch in g o f the Ja p a n e se
tourist w ith a M ayan teacher from northern El Q uiche, who said, “But
lynchings co m e from the U nited States. T he wrord lynch com es from a

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w hite m an killing a b lack .” In the p a st th ree years th e re have b e e n at

least two lynchings in Joyabaj. In b o th cases th e victim s w ere
G u a te m a la n m en. T h e y w ere, a c c o rd in g to w itnesses, w ell-know n
thieves an d m u rd erers. Precisely b ecau se o f the o ften lam ented “ru le o f
im p u n ity ”— th at is, b e c a u se the sta te refused to m o v e against th ese
m en — local m en an d w om en say th a t they took m a tte rs into their ow n
h an d s a n d punished th em , h an g in g th e rep u ted m u rd e re rs in the c e n ­
tral sq u a re o f a ham let.
T h e reasons for G en eral Efrafn R ios M ontt’s p o p u larity and re e le c ­
tion, d e sp ite his co m p licity in g e n o c id e , are also m ultifaceted . T h ey
in c lu d e class id e n tific a tio n a m o n g his su p p o rte rs (R ios M ontt was a
p o o r lad in o child fro m th e highlands w ho w orked his way up th ro u g h
the m ilitary ), his p a te rn a l style, a c e rta in p o p u lism a n d atte n tio n to
in d ig en o u s rep resen tatio n in his party, th e prom ise o f P rotestant disci­
p lin e a n d m oral re c titu d e , and m o b ile m em o rializatio n s o f th e w ar
(th in g s d id im prove in p a rtic u la r a re a s d u rin g his d e facto g o v e rn ­
m e n t). I do not w ant to posit a rational-choice re a d in g to oppose th a t
of d u p in g . As we know, th o se o f us w ho think that we are n o t d u ped (we
know th e guy is a Avar crim inal) m ay e rr in th in k in g th at Rios M o n tt’s
su p p o rte rs are sim ply fooled by his em p ty prom ises.

T W O F A C E S , T H E MAYA A N D E C S T A T I C
IDENTIFICATIONS
W h a t does it m e a n to live w ith “two faces” b etw een the state a n d
o n e ’s people? This is a n un ten ab le y et w idespread effect that frequently
leads to charges of m an ip u latio n a n d duping, to h o rrific violence a n d
freak ish ly hybrid id e n tific a tio n s. M ayan stru g g les to create a state-
b ack ed agency like th e ALMG h ave tu rn e d in d ig e n o u s-p e o p le in to
state rep resen tativ es w h en they visit Joyabaj o r sp eak at U SA ID -
sp o n so re d sem inars a tte n d e d by im p ro v e m e n t c o m m itte e m em b ers
from a tiny ham let. T h ey are also b la m e d for d u p in g people. Like th e
c h u rc h , th e school, a n d th e fam ily, th e ALMG a n d th e state-related
M ayan m o v em en t a re puzzling, c o n fu sin g , in p a rt becau se they are
b o th ideological state ap p aratu ses a n d sites for re sista n t social m ove-
m en ts.
T o a d d to the co n fu sio n , geography, netw orks, even the availability
of sp a re tim e in flu en ce these identifications. W h en I interview ed th e
alcalde in d ig en a in Jo y ab aj, he c o m p la in e d ab o u t lad in o s in the a rea
 D iane M. N elson

who called him an indio. H e said, “I am n o t o ne of those because they

were people who lived h e re a long tim e ag o ...n ak ed , w ith o u t school­
ing. Now there are schools in all the ham lets. T here are only naturales
h e re .” I asked w h eth er th e re were any M aya in the tow n. “Like in a
m useum ?” he asked. “H ere th ere a re n ’t any o f those, like from before.
But there is an organization in G uatem ala City. People w ho have th eir
degrees....T here is a G ru p o Maya h e re — T hey talk a b o u t how we can
all be united, how to com e tog eth er....W h en I leave h e re [retire from
being mayor], I ’m going to becom e a M aya.” W here is th e state? W here
is the margin? Will he be d u p e d as h e becom es a M aya, o r w ere the
schools that made indios in to naturales th e sites of duplicity?
Anastasia M ejia is a m em b er of th e Joyabaj G ru p o M aya. Several
people described h e r as th e founder o f th e group and a M ayan priest­
ess. We found her in h e r shoe store on th e m ain plaza, busy prep arin g
the Indigenous Q ueen contest for the an n u al fair and selling shoes to
the young ladina w om an w ho had been chosen Q ueen o f Sports. She
was younger than 1 ex p ected , quite p re g n a n t, and a b it wary o f us at
first. She was very busy atten d in g to h e r custom ers and w hat seem ed to
be a constant stream o f p eo p le “seeing a b o u t som ething.”
Mejia became a M aya in Costa Rica. She got involved w ith a gro u p
of G uatem alans th e re w ho h ad fo rm ed th e Maya L eag u e an d w ere
studying esoteric literatu re, music, an d social change. S om e o f them
h ad ties to the U RN G m e m b e r o rg an izatio n ORPA (R ev o lu tio n ary
Organization of the P eo p le in Arms). D u rin g that tim e, sh e began to
suffer several of the illnesses that presage a calling to b eco m e a diviner
o r curer. Ms. Mejia says th at a D utch w om an w orking fo r a E uropean
U nion-financed d ev elo p m en t agency o ffered to help pay fo r trips to
Guatem ala so th at she co u ld ap p ren tice h e rse lf to a day keeper. She
was initiated and in th e late 1990s re tu rn e d to Joyabaj. S h e an d h e r
husband lived with h e r p aren ts until they could get th e ir feet on the
ground. She seem s w ell respected a n d is involved in a n u m b e r o f
projects to support M ayan cultural survival. However, she chafes at the
gen d er attitudes o f local in d ig en o u s lead ers, in c lu d in g th e alcalde
indigena. She is also fru stra te d with h e r p aren ts, w h o w ant h e r to
concentrate on having m o re ch ild ren a n d who c o n sta n tly rib h e r
husband about w ho “w ears th e p a n ts” in th e ir re la tio n sh ip . She has
worked with the R igoberta M enchu F o u n d atio n and was involved with

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th e form ation o f COPM AGUA, th e M ayan organization form ed by the

state to oversee im p le m e n ta tio n o f th e Peace A cco rd o n In d ig en o u s
Id en tity in 1996. H ow ever, she co m p lain s ab o u t the d u p licito u s way th e
m en in CO PM A G U A treated the w om en: “O oh! I was so m ad at w hat
h a p p e n e d there! T h ey cam e an d to ld us what to do, a n d w eju st kicked
th e m en o u t— we really g o t brava [b o ld , an g ry ]! A m e e tin g was called to
form th e com m ittee fo r the w o m en ’s forum . But they already had th e
list o f w om en they w anted. T he w om en they chose w ere all very young,
very in e x p e rie n c ed , n o training, muy sumisas [very p lia n t]. They said,
‘Please, stop m aking problem s. T h e foreigners are g o in g to com e, a n d
w e ju st n eed to g et th e list to g et th e p ro ject g o in g .’ W e refused. T h ey
in v ited m e fo r o th e r m eetin g s, b u t I c o u ld n ’t go, a n d I p u lled away
afte r th at.”
Now she help s su p p o rt h e r fam ily w ith the shoe sto re and works on
a variety o f local issues. She said, “T h e M aya C o m m ittee, we are facing a
lot o f obstacles. In a lo t o f ways I th in k it’s because I ’m a w om an. I w onder
why th ere are so m any problem s. T hey say I’m a bruja [w itch], that I ’m
n o t from h ere, th a t I ’m a manipuladora and ju st w an t to m ake m oney.
I d o n ’t w ant anything to do with th a t— how could they th in k that?”
T h ro u g h o u t G uatem ala, M ayan w om en w orking fo r gen d er equity
in th e cu ltu ral-rig h ts m o v em en t a re accused e ith e r o f d u p in g o r o f
b ein g d u p ed (o r acted on) by o u tsid e interests. M any M ayan m en claim
th a t in te rn a tio n a l fem inism , even-a lesbian conspiracy, is using th ese
w om en. M ayan w om en, w ho are stru g g lin g to be loyal to th eir eth n ic as
w ell as g e n d e r id e n tific a tio n s, c o u n te ra tta c k by say in g th a t th e tru e
M ayan m an h o n o rs equality. T hey d raw on the o rig in story of the holy
books o f the P o p W uj, in w hich w om en are ma<je sim ultaneously w ith
m e n an d o f th e sam e substance. T h u s, they say, m e n w ho argue th a t
w om en are seco n d ary are actually d u p es of the sex ist C hristian B ible
a n d ladino m achism o.
In addition to th e claim s ag ain st Ms. Mejia, th e com m ittee ju st lost
its treasurer, a local w om an w ho “all o f a sudden w en t to th e US.”Ju st as
Ms. M ejia traversed C entral A m erica to becom e a M aya, Joyabaj (tru e to
its p atro n saint, th e V irgen de T ran sito [A ssum ption]) is a m ajor p o in t
o f passage. As Joyabaj is a finca d e m ozos, alm ost every m an older th a n
th irte e n from th e n o rth e rn h am lets has w orked o n th e southern coast
su g ar p lan tatio n s (O glesby 2001). M ost of them h a te it and struggle to

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find ways to m ake ends m eet w ithout having to go down to th e coast. In

interviews w ith these m ozos, Liz O glesby an d I found th a t a fte r back­
breaking labor, often co n tin u o u sly for m o re th an two m o n th s, and
after paying th e p lan tatio n fo r th e ir fo o d a n d lodging, th ey w ould
return to jo y ab aj with m aybe Q 500 (about $100). Increasing num bers,
indigenous a n d ladino, are lo o k in g to th e U n ite d States as a b e tte r
deal, a way to save up m oney fo r a hom e o r car. T h e ham lets o f Joyabaj,
like ham lets all over Latin A m erica, often show a conspicuous absence
of young m en. R em ittances from m igrant lab o r in the U n ited States are
increasingly th e m ajor so u rce o f fo reig n c u rre n c y fo r m an y L atin
American co u n tries. T h e G u atem ala-b ased B anco » M e tro p o lita n o
acknowledges, in ads for its convenient o u tp o sts in C alifornia, C hicago,
and Florida, th at G uatem alans w orking in th e U n ited States are “cen­
tral to the developm ent o f th e ir fam ilies a n d o f G uatem ala.” A private
but state-regulated com pany, B anco M etro p o litan o is one o f m illions of
spaces th ro u g h w hich h u m a n beings an d th e ex p ressio n o f h u m a n
labor circulate through the ap p aren t divides betw een n o rth a n d south,
across n atio n al state-patrolled boundaries. T h is is a n o th e r ap p aren tly
marginal circuit, a sideshow to th e big issues o f political econom y. Yet
remittances (an d the state, eth n ic, kinship, a n d g en d er re la tio n s that
make them possible) are absolutely central to tfye nation-state a n d the
transnational order.
Injoyabaj, it is very h ard to ask about th e m igration process because
curious gringos are suspected o f being la migra (b o rd er p a tro l). O n e ’s
interest is re a d as an attem p t to d u p e peo p le in to ad m ittin g how they
dupe the state an d its borders. However, it seem s to cost a m ind-boggling
$3,000 (US) to m ake the trip. People sell goods, even land, a n d tu rn to
family m em bers o r people already in the U n ited States for loans.
Late o n e afternoon in th e ham let, we sat in a fam ily’s p atio , w here
Liz and I h e a rd a fascinating story ab o u t failed duplicity o n th e way to
the U nited States. Only eig h teen years old b u t a w onderful storyteller,
Juan reco u n ted in stirring detail how the coyote h e had p aid to get him
through M exico to the US b o rd e r had “e n ro lle d ” him in a sch o o l in
Chiapas, so u th e rn Mexico. T h e re , over the co u rse o f several weeks, the
students le a rn e d how to erase th e telltale signs o f “G u atem alan n ess” so
that their p ra c tic e w ould fit th e theory o f th e false M exican identity
cards they h a d purchased. A rm ed with new clothes, geographies, family

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histories, and slang, they em b ark ed o n th e several-day bus ride tow ard
the n o rth e rn border. J u a n reco u n ted several th rillin g brushes with th e
law7as M exican state officials tried to trip him up in lo n g in terro g atio n s
th a t show ed (to m e ) th e ir truly a m a z in g grasp o f th e tiny c u ltu ra l
d etails th a t d iffe re n tia te G u atem alan fro m M exican Maya. A b e lt
b u ck le, a certain way o f blow ing y o u r n o se, a slip-up in term s (coche
m ean s “p ig ” in G u atem ala b u t “c a r” in M exico) c o u ld give you away.
T hey m ad e it as far as M azatlan, w h ere o n e o f his b u d d ies got them all
caught. T hey sp en t several weeks in a M exico C ityjail w ith people fro m
all over th e w orld, fro m the A m ericas a n d th e C arib b ean to C hina a n d
A frica, b efo re b ein g se n t back to G uatem ala. Ju a n is g earin g up to go
again, an d instilling th e sam e desire in his younger friends, who h a n g
o n his every w ord like careful e th n o g ra p h e rs a n d practice th e ir
M exican; accents.
W hich state isjoyabaj on the m argins of? T he US an d M exican states
are b o th intriguingly p o te n t h ere, th ro u g h rem ittan ces, th ro u g h fa n ­
tasies o f wealth and risk, through USAID funding for indigenous revital­
ization an d education, and, o f course, th ro u g h my p erso n , able to travel
unrestrictedly while local youths risk th e ir lives to visit “m y” country.

D O W E ALL L I V E I N A S T A T E O F T W O - F A C E D N E S S ?
T h ese postw ar stories tell o f p eo p le trying to d o m o re than m erely
survive o n the ex p o sed cusp o f a m arg in al place: a road-building cate­
ch ist le c tu rin g o n m arty rd o m ; a w o m an trying to b e Maya w hile
accu sed o f w itch craft a n d m a n ip u la tio n ; in d ig e n o u s kids tra in in g
them selves to w ear a seco n d (M exican) face. Laying th ese stories side
by side, like a carnival midway we have b e e n w alking th ro u g h , p o in ts
to th e m obility a m o n g G u atem alan , U S, M exican, a n d o th e r sta te
officials; highland M aya; ladinos; a n d g rin g a anthropologists.
In tu rn , the state, like a sideshow7, has two faces: o n e legitim ate, th e
o th e r crim inal, c o rru p t, an d m u rd e ro u s; o n e ratio n al, th e o th er irra ­
tional a n d m agical. In o n e the state is th e p eople, o u r representative; in
th e o th e r th e state is against the p eo p le, constantly assessing the risk o f
o u r reb ellio n , always read y to repress. W ith o n e face th e state is reg u la­
tor, creatin g and m ain tain in g stan d ard s by norm alizing; with the o th e r
it is a fre a k show fu n c tio n in g p recisely th ro u g h its abnorm ality, its
aw esom eness, its m assive d ifferen tiatio n fro m th e everyday.

135
D ia n e M. N e l s o n

I have trie d to describe th e d o u b le fascination and te n o r em b ed ­

d e d in these narrativ es about duplicity that p o sit b o th in d ig en o u s peo­
ple an d th e s ta te as tw o-faced. T h is d o u b le n e ss seem s especially
pow erful w h en th e “m arg in ” tak es on the “c e n te r ’s” role o f p u n ish ­
m en t, road b u ild in g , w elfare, civil p atro l su rv eillan ce, an d investiga­
tions of d u p licity (as in M exican state officials, as p a rt o f NAFTA
protocols, fe rre tin g o u t G uatem alans passing as M exicans) a n d w hen
indigenous p e o p le are the state, fu n ctio n in g as soldiers, civil patrollers,
g o v ern m en t m in iste rs, teach ers, o r unofficial fin a n c e m in iste rs and
econom ic s u p p o rt (as m igrant w orkers). H e re th e difference betw een
victim and p e rp e tra to r blurs; th e p o ten tial subversive pow er o f th e m ar­
gin wavers. In d ig e n o u s peo p le stru g g le to m a in ta in two faces, to p re­
serve some a u to n o m y against th e state even as th ey are the s ta te ’s agent
in th e ir h am lets. L adinos, th e alcald e in d fg en a, an d state officials of
various nations w orry about b e in g m an ip u lated by Mayans.
Why the p ro liferatin g anxieties o f being a c te d on e m a n a tin g from
so m any d iffe re n t sites? D iana Fuss suggests th a t id e n tific a tio n itself
may feel m agical o r freakish becau se it is “p ro fo u n d ly unstable a n d p er­
petually o p en to radical c h a n g e ... [it] is, fro m th e b eg in n in g , a ques­
tio n o f relatio n , o f self to o th e r, subject to o b je c t, inside to o u tsid e"
(1995:2-3). A n d , I w ould add, o f state to m arg in an d m argin to state.
T h e allure o f th e d u p in g narrative m ay be a sym ptom — a w ritin g o n the
sym bolic flesh o f th e body p o litic — th at is g ro p in g tow ard th e seem ­
ingly magical, X -static effect o f identification as a “d eto u r th ro u g h the
o th e r that d e fin e s th e se lf’ (Fuss 1995:3). In this c h a p te r I have
ex p lo red two u n c a n n y aspects o f tw o-facedness: th a t id e n tity is n o t
static, but always m oving, and th a t th e effect o f an internal subjectivity
itself com esT rom b ein g acted o n fro m the o u tsid e.

MOBILITY
M obility (like w alking th ro u g h th e sideshow ) is central to th e state
as it d eto u rs th ro u g h the m a rg in s an d as in d ig e n o u s p e o p le d e to u r
th ro u g h th e sta te via the sta te -in stitu te d civil p atro l, re e d u c a tio n
cam ps, ALMG, a n d COPM AGUA. T hey also d e to u r th ro u g h N G O s sup­
p o rte d by o th e r states; a w o m an becom es a M aya w hile d e to u rin g
through C osta Rica; mozos b e c o m e central to th e state’s p o litical econ­
om y by d e to u rin g th ro u g h th e p lan tatio n system and by d u p in g state-

i36
 A n t h r o p o l o g i s t D i s c o v e r s L e g e n d a r y T w o -F a c e d I n d i a n !

in s titu te d b o rd e r c h e c k p o in ts to la b o r in th e n o rth ; citizens d e to u r

th ro u g h state responsibilities such as p o licin g and b e c o m e lynch m obs;
an d g rin g o an th ro p o lo g ists d eto u r th ro u g h G u atem ala to write a b o u t
in d ig e n o u s p eo p le, th e m argins, a n d th e state. In all this traversing,
w here exactly is th e tw o-faced In d ian ? Is o n e of th o se faces “real” a n d
the o th e r a sham? O r is th e self effect, like the state effect, precisely in
the c o n tin u in g m o v em en t betw een them ?
K arl M arx rem in d s us th at the value o f m oney is n o t internal to it.
T h e value is m aterialized in o u r effective social acUvity. “C ut off from all
relatio n to circulation [m oney] w ould n o t be m oney, b u t m erely a sim ­
ple n a tu ra l object” (in Spivak 1988:163). Similarly, to u n d erstan d th e
state a t th e m argin m e a n s acknow ledging th at its effectivity com es fro m
its m obility, its circu latio n . This m obility is am bivalent, like the stereo ­
type, always double. A two-way street, it is n o t ju st a one-w ay activity o f
th e state on the m a rg in o r o f ex tern al actors on th e G uatem alan state.
In stead , th e state effect em erges fro m a m ultiplicity o f exchanges. T h e
X th a t is in the state a n d in the tw o-faced Indian, th a t gives duplicity its
ch arg e, is this c o n sta n t mobility, its X-stasis.

ACTED ON
W h ere is the state? Like the “re a l” (as o p p o sed to th e two-faced)
In d ia n , it seem s to b e now here. W h en we look fo r it, it m elts away W e
see o n ly its effects, n e v e r “it,” and th o se only as th ey a re incarnated in
h u m a n action. T h e sta te (like K antorow icz’s K ing ([1 9 5 7 ] 1981) a n d
P o o le ’s account h e re o f “elPeru legaly el Peru real”) h as two bodies. O n e
is th e in d iv id u al w h o carries o u t th e d e e d s o f th e sta te — as so ld ier,
b u re a u c ra t, rep resen tativ e— th ro u g h everyday, o rd in a ry actions. T h e
o th e r is th e body p o litic th a t tran scen d s th e flesh (carne-vale) into th e
larg er social form s o f in co rp o ratio n . T h is pivot p o in t m idway betw een
th e life o f th e in d iv id u al an d the life o f th e species is th e exposed cu sp ,
th e m arg in this v o lu m e explores.
I have been d escrib in g th e (o ften terrifying) g e n e ra l experience o f
id e n tific a tio n as u n fix e d an d m o b ile a n d o f two b o d ie s in one— th e
c o n u n d ru m o f th e so cial o r th e sta te in /a s th e individual. 2 ile k
d escrib es th e e x p e rie n c e as the “ag en cy o f the big O th e r” and sees it
p re s e n t in two m u tu a lly exclusive m o d es. In o n e it fu n ctio n s as a
h id d e n agency, p u llin g strings, ru n n in g th e show. T h is is precisely th e

137
 D ian e M. N e l s o n

-conspiracy th eo ry o f the tw o-faced state or in d ig e n o u s subversive. It

presupposes th at the subject p re su m e d to know, a m anipulative in ten -
tionality. T his read in g can q u iet a n d strengthen o u r a tte m p t to m ake
sense o f the w orld, o r it may b eco m e terrify in g p aran o ia. B ut i\± e k also
suggests that this agency of the big O th e r is p resen t in an exactly o p p o ­
site way, as p u re sem blance, as n o th in g , but whose a p p earan ce is essen­
tial and m ust b e preserved. T h is is how he e x p la in s th e p arad es o f
Eastern E uropean socialism. T h e lo n g lines of h ap p y p eo p le are a spec­
tacle for the gaze o f this O ther, alth o u g h n e ith e r th e p eo p le n o r th e
party believes th a t they are happy, and everyone know s th at n o one else
believes. It is an essential ap p earan ce that rules o u r lives. H ere the su b ­
ject is supposed n o t to know (Zi2ek 1992:38-41). W h at is m onstrous,
terrifying, an d perversely enjoyable ab o u t this se c o n d m o d e is th a t it
hints at “a traum atic shock for th e symbolic universe” (2izek 1992:22)
by acknow ledging that there is so m eth in g that lies e x te rio r to it.
Traversing carnivals an d sideshow s, we play gam es o f chance, go
on rides that fling us about, an d sh u d d e r in h o rro r at th e freaks. We
subm it to forces o utside o u r c o n tro l. We are “b e h e a d e d , lost in th e
crow d/’ T hese may be dom esticated versions of o u r subm ission to th e
terrors of th e w orld: im placable go v ern m en t co u n terin su rg en cy ; th e
inevitability o f collaboration; th e obscene arbitrariness o f the m arket;
the sim ultaneous dem and from outside mixed w ith o u r internal desire
to cross the heavily guarded b o rd e rs m aintaining global inequalities.
Discourses a b o u t th e two-faced In d ian an d duplicitous state are creepy
b u t also allu rin g because they d escrib e these su bjectivizing, carniva-
lesque experiences o f m obility a n d being acted o n . T h e state lives via
two bodies. It an d we are only subjects as we are su b jected to a n o th e r
m obile force com ing from outside. B ut even as it m ay fling us into p ara­
noia, the two faces story is also reassu rin g because it fits Z iie k ’s first
m ode of conspiracy theory. It posits a subject p resu m ed to know, so m e­
thing we can in terp ret. For th e catechist, “the p e o p le ” know th at th e
face he shows th e state is one o f m any; for those w ho w arn of d u p in g ,
the n o n d u p ed know better.
W hat is th e state? A site an d stake o f struggle (A lthusser 1971). B ut
it is also a trau m atic thing, an excess X-statically e x u d in g from p e o p le ’s
banal everyday actions but never reducible to that. It m ay be inaccessi­
ble to in terp retatio n . Perhaps th e sense of so m eth in g radically evil ju s t

138
 A n t h r o p o l o g i s t D i s c o v e r s L e g e n d a r y T w o -F a c e d I n d i a n !

outside o u r grasp is also th e state effect. A w om an w ho w orked with th e

CEH said, “I have interview ed people w ho carried o u t m assacres, an d I
have read everything I can find on why p eo p le would d o those things,
how tra in in g can dull y o u , how you fe a r fo r your ow n life, how you
com e to believe it’s for a h ig h e r ideal, th a t the person y o u ’re killing o r
to rtu rin g som ehow d eserv es it, b u t n o n e o f th at e x p la in s w hat I
e n c o u n te re d in that work. I feel I co n fro n te d som e thing radically evil.”
We gro p in g ly acknow ledge that o u r reliance on th e consistency o f
som e big O th e r.is an illusion, that th e re is duplicity w ith o u t a duper.
Perhaps th e state is the T h in g 2i2ek describes that “‘h o ld s to g e th e r’ th e
social ed ifice by m eans o f g u a ra n te e in g its fantasm atic consistency...
[ 0 ] u r re la tio n sh ip to th e T h in g beco m es antagonistic: we abjure an d
disown th e T hing, yet it ex erts an .irresistible attraction o n us; its p ro x ­
imity exposes us to a m o rtal danger, yet it is sim ultaneously a source o f
pow er” (1992:123).
T he c h a p te rs in this b o o k suggest th a t w hat a p p e a rs m arginal is
often \ita l, th a t attention to th e exposed cusp reveals m o re th an a tte n d ­
ing to th e settled static c e n te r, th at w h a t seem s e x c e p tio n a l (like
G uatem ala’s brutal state) m ay be m ore like th e rule. P eo p le living on
th e ex p o se d cusp in Joyabaj d u p e a n d feel d u p ed b e c a u se they a re
do u b le, living sim u ltan eo u sly th eir lives a n d th e sta te ’s life as “it” is
disp ersed , a c tin g th ro u g h th e ir bodies. L iving in th e w ake o f c o u n ­
terinsurgency violence, M ayan organizing, an d cap ital’s d em an d s fo r
m obile lab o r, they seem freakish yet also no rm al, te a c h in g us “ab o u t
som e o f th e p ro fo u n d shifts shaking m o st o f o u r m ajo r in stitu tio n s”
(M artin 1994:9). D uping is n o t “in ” the state o r the tw o-faced Indian o r
th e M ayan m o v em en t any m o re than v alu e is “in ” m oney, to be d is­
pelled th ro u g h in terp retatio n or fin d in g th e “real” face. It is “in ” o u r
m obility as we walk th ro u g h th e sideshow, in o u r effective social activity
even as we are acted on by forces outside o u r control. T h is is the sim ul­
taneous h o rro r and fascination in the state at its m argins, b u t also its
(and our) so u rce o f power.

Notes
T hanks to D eborah Poole an d Veena Das fo r all their work in creating the
workshop a n d this booluand to th e School of A m erican Research an d all the
sem inar participants. Peter G eshiere, Ben O rlove, D eborah Poole, an d the SAR
D iane M . N elson

Press editors w ere generous with careful and useful com m ents. I am in d eb ted to
Elizabeth Oglesby, Simone Rem ijnse, and Anastasia M ejia for m uch o f th e field­
work an d these ideas. Fieldwork was funded by Lewis an d Clark College. L ots of
my thinking has happened with Tom Bgellstorf, G reg G randin, Bob G oldm an,
R am on G onzalez Ponciano, D eborah H eath, M arcia Klotz, Carlota M cAllister,
Bill M aurer, L ee Medovoi, Irm a Velasquez Nimatuj, an d Paula Worby. Special
thanks to everyone in Joyabaj. T hanks to Donald M oore for “fixed” an d fluidary
atten tio n an d to Ranjana K hanna fo r going to the fair. I owe a special d e b t to
M ark Driscoll for every kind of exchange (em phasis o n kind).
Q uotes are from interviews conducted with a ran g e o f people inclu d ing
M ayan organizers, G uatem alan state officials, developm ent workers, an d popular-
organization activists beginning in 1985. I spent a year o f fieldwork in G uatem ala,
1992 to 1993, supplem ented by stays of one to three m o n th s in 1996, 1998, 1999,
2000, 2001, an d 2002 (my total tim e in G uatem ala was m ore than five years).
U nless otherw ise indicated, all quotes are from a u th o r interviews, an d all
translations are mine. 1

1. Jn G uatem ala, indigenous refers to more than twenty ethnic-linguistic

groups, including K’iche’ and K aqchiquel. I use the term gringo to refe r to N orth
A m ericans in Latin America because it acknowledges an identity form ed in
relation. Joyabaj has a dual civil governm ent system, with a mayor elected through
a nationally supervised process an d an alcalde indfgena selected less form ally,
prim arily by indigenous people.
 6
AID S as Witchcraft in Post-Apartheid
South Africa

Adam Ashforth

In 1999, in a scen e replayed ten s o f th o u san d s o f tim es in re c e n t

years in South A frica, a relative a p p e a re d at th e K hanyile fam ily’s d o o r
in th e shack s e ttle m e n t o f S n ak e P a rk on th e o u tsk irts o f Sow eto to
in fo rm th em o f a fu n e ra l. A co u sin in a town n o t fa r o ff h ad p assed
away. H e was a y o u n g m an, in his late tw enties o r early thirties, an d h a d
b een sick fo r som e tim e. In th e ir m essage a n n o u n c in g th e funeral, th e
d ead co u sin ’s p a re n ts specified n o th in g ab o u t th e illness, o th e r th a n to
say th a t h e h ad b e e n sick fo r so m e tim e. T h e relativ e visiting th e
K hanyiles, how ever, w hispered th e cause: isidliso.
T h e K hanyile fam ily took n o te . Isidliso, also know n as “black p o i­
so n ,” is an evil w ork o f the p eo p le they call w itches or, in the Z ulu lan ­
g u ag e o f th e K h an y ile h o u se h o ld , abathakazi. A lo n g w ith w h atev er
tre a tm e n ts th e d e c e a se d relativ e m ig h t have se c u re d from m e d ic a l
p ra c titio n e rs in his tow n, th e fam ily knew w ith o u t b e in g told th a t he
h a d b een taken to trad itio n al h ealers to com bat th e w itchcraft m anifest
in th e form o f isidliso. All K hanyile fam ily m em bers, except o n e, co n ­
c u rre d w ith th e d iag n o sis. M o le b o h e n g , tw enty-seven an d sk ep tical,
th o u g h t th at th e c o u sin ’s story was “n o n sen se.”1

143
A dam A shfokth

“H e died of AIDS, obviously," M o leb o h en g to ld h e r m o th er after

die cousin left. (She was far too polite an d sensible to say this in fro n t o f
the relative, for then the relative w ould have rep o rted to others th at h e r
family was starting rum ors.) Mama K hanyile co n ced ed the possibility o f
AIDS, although that d id n o t necessarily rule out isidliso. H er view was
that th e AIDS, if indeed it were AIDS, m ust have b een sen t by som eone.
S om eone had wanted to see the young m an dead a n d h ad used w itch­
craft to send AIDS o r isidliso to kill him . M oleboheng still insisted th at
the id ea was nonsense, as she did w henever her m o th e r started to talk o f
w itchcraft. In this, as in m ost things p ertain in g to w itchcraft, the d a u g h ­
ter a n d h e r family agree to disagree. S he knows that a m o n g “A fricans” in
South Africa, her way o f looking at things is in a d istin ct m inority.
As th e AIDS ep id em ic sweeps th ro u g h this p a rt o f .Africa, su sp i­
cions o f witchcraft fan o u t am ong th o se in the e p id e m ic ’s wake. T h e
epidem ic of HIV/AIDS is also an ep id em ic o f w itchcraft. But the im pli­
catio n s o f a w itchcraft epidem ic a re q u ite d iffe re n t fro m th o se o f a
“p u b lic health" crisis, at least as su ch things are co n v en tio n ally c o n ­
ceived in established discourses o f social and p o litical m an ag em en t.
For w h en suspicions o f witchcraft are in play in a com m unity, problem s
of illness and death transform m atters o f public h e a lth from questions
o f a p p ro p ria te policies in to q u estio n s c o n c e rn in g th e fu n d a m e n ta l
ch aracter and legitim acy o f public p o w er in g en eral— questions relat­
ing to th e security, safety, and integrity o f the co m m unity, the fu n d a ­
m ental purposes for w hich public pow er is supposed to exist.
O f course, not everyone will be p ersu ad ed th at w itchcraft is in play
w hen peo p le fall sick a n d die from H IV /A ID S. Many, like M oleboheng,
will resist the invocation o f w itchcraft as an e x p lan atio n . B ut virtually
ev ery o n e h e re who id en tifies as “A fric a n ” will fin d him - o r h e rs e lf
fo rced to confront th e possibility o f w itchcraft, as M o leb o h en g was. T h e
q u estio n this chapter considers is, H ow m ight the fe a r o f AIDS as w itch­
craft influence the ch aracter of the post-apartheid state?
In p ost-apartheid S outh A frica, th e prim ary p ro b le m o f p u b lic
po w er can be sum m arized as the task o f creating, th ro u g h the tran s­
fo rm atio n of a racist an d oppressive state, a system o f institutions an d
p ro ced u res not only represented on p a p e r (in the p ream b le to th e co n ­
stitu tio n ) as the expression of “d e m o c ra tic values, social ju stic e a n d
fu n d am en tal hum an rights” but also resonating w ith a p o p u lar sense o f

142
 A I D S as W itchcraft in P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A f r ic a

trust in law a n d g o v ern m en t as effective in stru m en ts o f service to the

public a n d ju stice. D espite th e “sm all m ira c le ” (M an d ela’s ph rase) o f
d em o cratic tran sfo rm atio n to date, th e S o u th A frican state still has a
long way to go before th e legitim acy o f g o v ern an ce can b e taken for
g ra n te d as a cu ltu ral fo u n d a tio n o f p o litic a l pow er. A n d w ith th e
H IV /A ID S ep id em ic follow ing so closely o n th e heels o f dem ocracy,
the g o v e rn m e n t’s, response to th e crisis will surely affect th e long-term
health o f th e political system . Yet if even a significant m in o rity o f peo­
ple afflicted w ith the disease in te rp re t th e ir suffering in term s o f “witch­
craft,” th e p o litical im p lic a tio n s will b e su c h as are rarely fo u n d in
political scien ce o r public ad m in istratio n textbooks. My a rg u m e n t in
this c h a p te r is th at th e AIDS Epidem ic will affect the lo n g -term legiti­
macy o f d em o c ra tic g o v ern an ce in this re g io n , as m u ch th ro u g h the
way the g o v e rn m e n t m an ag es-th e w itchcraft p ro b lem as th ro u g h the
way it p ro tects citizens from th e ravages o f a virus.

T H E A I D S E P I D E M I C AS P U B L I C H E A L T H C R I S I S
Since 1990, th e S o u th A frican D e p a rtm e n t o f H e a lth has co n ­
du cted a n n u a l anonym ous surveys of b lo o d tests o f p re g n a n t w om en in
an ten atal clinics aro u n d th e country. T h e survey suggests a terrifying
rate of in crease in HIV infections in the late 1990s. At th e e n d o f 1996,
th e overall prevalence o f H IV am ong w om en o f ch ild b earin g age (fif­
teen to forty-nine) was estim ated at 14.7 p e rc e n t. At the e n d o f 1997, it
was 16.01 p e rcen t. At the e n d o f 2000, th e seroprevalence rate fo r HIV
am o n g p re g n a n t w om en was 24.5 p e rc e n t (D e p a rtm e n t o f H ealth
2001). In K waZulu-Natal, w here prevalence is highest, th e rate o f infec­
tion in 1999 was e stim ate d a t 36.2 p e rc e n t (D e p a rtm e n t o f H ealth
2001). E stim ates draw n fro m this survey d a ta suggest th a t m o re th an
4.7 m illion S o u th A fricans are currently in fected with HIV. T h a t figure
is likely to d o u b le by 2010 (A bt Associates 2000:7).
South A frica faces a h u g e increase in m ortality in th e years ahead.
T h e d e c im a tio n has already b eg u n . U N A ID S estim ated th a t 250,000
p eo p le d ie d o f AIDS in S o u th A frica d u rin g 1999. C ity officials in
D urban a n d Jo h a n n e sb u rg a n n o u n c e d in M ay 2000 th at th e n u m b e r o f
deaths in 1999 was m o re th a n twice th a t o f five years e a rlie r (Jordan
2000). S tatistics S o u th A frica, th e o fficial statistics o ffice o f the
South A frican state, predicts th a t the d e a th rate will c o n tin u e to rise at
A dam A s h f o r t h

20 percen t per year (Thomas, M asego, and K hupiso 2001). The M edical
R esearch Council estimates th a t 6,500,000 p e o p le will die of A ID S by
2010 (B radshaw et al. 2001:25). Life expectancy in South A frica is
ex p ected to drop from age fifty-five in 2000 to age forty by 2 0 1 0
(B radshaw et al. 2001:25). Less th an 50 percent o f South Africans alive
today, according to a UNAIDS estim ate, will live to see th eir six tieth
b irth d ay s (Joint United N atio n s P rogram m e o n H IV /A 1D S 1999).
M oreover, people ages twenty to thirty-nine, n o rm ally the m o st eco ­
nom ically productive years, are dying in th e g reatest n u m b e rs
(UNAIDS and World Health O rganization 1998).
By any measure, this wave o f death ap p ro ach in g South A frica is a
social an d economic disaster. It is also a potential political disaster fo r
the new democratic regime. So far, the record o f th e ANC g o v ern m en t
in S outh Africa regarding AIDS has n o t b een im pressive. W h en th e
ANC took office in 1994, the im portance o f ad d ressin g the AIDS issue
was recognized at the highest levels o f governm ent. T he new g o v ern ­
m e n t en d o rsed the strategy o f th e N ational A ID S C o -O rd in atin g
C om m ittee of South Africa (N A CO SA ), established u n d e r the N atio n al
Party in 1992, to prevent HIV transm ission, re d u c e the im pact o f in fec­
tio n , an d mobilize resources in th e anti-AIDS b attle (S outh A frica
2000). B ut the history of the ANC governm ent’s anti-AIDS efforts since
1994 is th e story of one distraction after another. T h e first was a long-
ru n n in g scandal over the fu n d in g o f an anti-AIDS m usical, Sarafina II.
T h e m ajo r part of the AIDS b u d g et, 14.2 m illion ran d s o f E u ro p e a n
U n io n funds, \yas prom ised to th e A N C -aligned p ro d u c e r o f th e
Broadway hit Sarafina. In an in q u iry by the O ffice o f Public P ro te c to r
in to th e commissioning of th e play, which rev ealed m uch in c o m p e ­
tence in administration but n o “bad faith” or o u trig h t co rru p tio n , th e
play was criticized as simplistic an d m isleading. A ccording to the P ublic
P ro te c to r’s report, “The only m essage that cam e across clearly, w h en we
a tte n d e d th e play, is that o n e m ust use a c o n d o m w hen in d u lg in g in
sexual activity, otherwise o n e is b o u n d to c o n tra c t AIDS a n d d ie ”
(S outh A frica Public P rotector 1995:1).2 T he Sarafina II saga was fol­
low ed by controversy over th e c a b in e t’s su p p o rt o f d ev elo p m en t o f a
su p p o sed anti-AIDS m iracle d ru g nam ed V iro d e n e , whose use h a d
b een b an n e d by the Medical R esearch Council an d whose only active
in g red ien t turned out to be an industrial solvent .3

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 A I D S as W itch cr a ft in P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A frica

F ollow ing th e V iro d e n e scandal, th e n e x t d istra c tio n in AIDS

politics was a 1999 proposal— d ro p p ed in th e face of o u tra g e by health­
care w orkers a n d AIDS activists— for legislation m an d atin g com pulsory
notification o f family, h ealth -care p ro v id ers, an d sex p a rtn e rs o f HIV­
positive p atien ts. T h en , in A pril 2000, in th e m idst o f a sto rm o f protest
over the g o v ern m en t's refu sal to provide anti-AIDS d ru g s to pregnant
w om en a n d ra p e victim s, P re sid e n t T h a b o M beki in te rv e n e d in the
AIDS d e b a te to question w h e th e r HIV w as really the cau se o f AIDS and
to a n n o u n c e th e e m p a n e lm e n t o f a c o u n c il o f experts to d e b a te the
causes o f A ID S .4 M beki’s in terv en tio n was d en o u n c e d w orldw ide and
led to his su b seq u en t re tre a t from p u b lic discussion o f H IV /A ID S. In
Jan u ary 2001, the H ealth D e p a rtm e n t b e g a n a pilot p ro g ra m , quietly
issuing th e antiretroviral d ru g N evaripine to p reg n an t w o m en . A year
later, how ever, th e ANC g o v ern m en t ch alle n g e d a c o u rt ru lin g requir­
ing provision o f drugs to H IV -positive p re g n a n t w o m en a n d resisted
calls to d e c la re AIDS a n atio n al em ergency. A t about th e sam e tim e, an
a n o n y m o u s d o c u m e n t a rg u in g th at th e AIDS crisis was a p lo t con­
cocted by m u ltin atio n al p h arm aceu tical com panies, ru m o re d to have
been a u th o re d by T h ab o M beki and his close ally P e te r M okaba (who
subsequently died o f A ID S), circulated th ro u g h ANC b ra n c h e s.
T h e fa ilu re o f S o u th A frican g o v e rn m e n ts to stem th e spread of
AIDS in th e second h alf o f th e 1990s is a cru el political irony. A lthough
the d a n g e r o f AIDS was w ell reco g n ized in th e co u n try by th e end o f
th e 1980s, even with th e b est o f in te n tio n s, the w hite N a tio n a l Party
g o v e rn m e n t, lacking th e tru st o f th e p e o p le , w ould h a v e b e e n inca­
pable o f stem m in g the tid e o f the disease. T h e N ational Party govern­
m e n t’s first resp o n se to H IV /A ID S was th a t it was a disease o f
fo re ig n e rs a n d h o m o se x u a l m en a n d th u s n o t d e se rv in g o f serious
a tte n tio n . By 1988, how ever, g o v e rn m e n t officials re c o g n iz e d the
p o te n tia l fo r a w id esp read ep id em ic a m o n g the b la c k h e te ro se x u a l
p o p u latio n , a n d basic A lD S-aw areness a n d -prevention p ro g ram s were
in itiated (G ru n d lin g h 2 0 0 1 ). By 1990, clinics were issu in g free con­
dom s, a n d A ID S-aw areness cam p aig n s h a d b een la u n c h e d in black
tow nships. However, m y frien d s in Sow eto at the tim e u se d to jo k e that
AIDS sto o d fo r “A m erican Invention to D iscourage S ex.” D ou b tin g that
the “a p a rth e id regim e” w o u ld ever act in th e true in terests o f black peo­
ple, they insisted that th e fre e condom s w ere really in te n d e d to reduce

*45
 A dam A s h f o r t h

th e black birth rate in o rd er to secure white d o m in atio n . H aving n ev er

b u rie d anyone w ho died from a disease nam ed AIDS, they d o u b ted the
reality of the condition.
In the afterm ath o f apartheid,_few public in stitu tio n s in S o u th
A frica were cap ab le o f sp eak in g to black p e o p le in a way th a t was
g ra n te d the authority of truth. (T he m ain exceptions were c h u rc h e s,
b u t churches have proven notoriously in ad eq u ate in p re a c h in g safer
sex messages w hen th eir prim ary d o ctrin es specify ab stin en ce.) T h e
m essage of AIDS aw areness could only be p re a c h e d by a g o v e rn m e n t
th a t was responsive to the p eo p le an d tru sted by th em — th at is, by a
d em o cratic g o v ern m en t. W hen such a g o v e rn m e n t arrived in 1994,
however, the opp o rtu n ity to tackle the disease was m issed. T h e official
excuse for these failures was th at “resources at all levels were lim ite d ”
(D epartm ent o f H ealth 2000:10).
As the d eath toll m ounts in th e com ing years, the g o v e rn m e n t’s
p erform ance in handling, or m ishandling, the AIDS epidem ic will be
ju d g e d severely. Policies relatin g to p ro te c tin g th e integrity o f th e
b lo o d supply, ed u catin g people about the dangers o f exchanging b o d ­
ily fluids, sponsoring research, subsidizing treatm en ts, and ca rin g fo r
th e dying and th e ir children will all be scrutinized for signs o f failu re o f
political will an d action. N jongonkulu N d u n g an e, th e A nglican a rc h ­
b ish o p of S outh A frica, foreshadow ed tfty to n e o f such sc ru tin y in
S eptem ber 2000 w hen he issued a statem ent saying that history w ould
ju d g e the g o v ern m en t’s inaction on AIDS “as serious a crim e ag ain st
h u m an ity as a p a rth e id ” (South African Press Association 2000). A n d th e
tro p e of governm ental responses to AIDS versus ap arth eid as rivals for
th e status of crim es against hum anity has becom e a staple o f polit-ical
discourse. For exam ple, on M arch 21, 2001, in co m m em orations o f th e
Sharpeville M assacre in Langa, C ape Town, o p p o sitio n Pan A fricanist
C ongress sp eak er C osta Gazi lam basted the A N C g o v e rn m e n t’s h a n ­
d lin g o f the ep id em ic and claim ed that it had cost far m ore lives th an
ap arth eid ever d id (Own C orrespondents 2001a). T h e co n seq u en ce o f
th ese failures in th e long term could be a fu n d am en tal loss o f tru st in
governm ent.
In ad d itio n to failing to take ad eq u ate m easu res to p re v e n t th e
sp read of infection in the late 1990s, the ANC g o v ern m en t has failed
m iserably in p ro v id in g leadership in red u cin g th e stigm a asso ciated
w ith H IV /A ID S. D espite great volum es of pious sentim ent, n o signifi-
 A I D S as W itchcraft in P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A frica

c an t ANC lead ers have em erg ed as persons living with AIDS, an d the
party has resisted any"effort to publicize the H IV status o f its leaders.
T h e first S o u th A frican o fficeh o ld er to publicly co m m en t o n a family
m em b er’s H IV status was T h o m as Shabalala, an In k ath a lead er an d for­
m er “w arlord” o f the L indelani sq u atter settlem en t. H e a n n o u n c e d to
th e K w aZulu-N atal legislature in Jan u ary 2001 th a t his d a u g h te r had
d ied o f AIDS.5 In an interview in M arch, S habalala explained his deci­
sion to m ake th e fam ily’s trag ed y public: ‘"You know how it is— if you
d o n ’t tell p e o p le th e truth, they becom e suspicious. They try to com e
u p w ith e x p la n a tio n s, w hich raises u n n ecessary suspicions such as
so m eo n e h a d p u t m u ti on [b ew itch ed ] th e c h ild re n — w h ich is n o t
g o o d ” (K indra 2001).
T h e co n seq u en ces of the H IV /A ID S ep id em ic for d em o cratic gov­
ern an ce co u ld be dire. Even w h en in terp reted in conventional term s of
social and political m an ag em en t, the potential th re a t to political legiti­
m acy is im m en se. T h e q u estio n I w ant to ad d ress now is, H ow m ight
these im plications b e'co m p licated by an in te rp re ta tio n of th e disease as
“w itchcraft”?

A I D S AS W I T C H C R A F T
Cases o f p re m a tu re d eath o r untim ely illness in Africa are alm ost
ahvays a ttrib u te d to the a c tio n o f invisible forces, fre q u e n tly those
d escrib ed as “w itch craft.”6 A d isease o r co m p lex o f sym ptom s b etter
suited than H IV /A JD S to in te rp re ta tio n w ithin th e w itchcraft paradigm
w ould be h a rd to im agine. In A frica, the diseases m ost com m only asso­
ciated with A ID S are tu b ercu lo sis, w asting, a n d d ia rrh e a (N ational
In stitu te o f A llergy an d In fectio u s Diseases 2000). N one o f these ail­
m ents are new. All have lo n g b e e n in terp reted in term s o f indigenous
categories, in c lu d in g w itchcraft. T h e tim e betw een infection with HIV
an d the o n se t o f AIDS sym ptom s varies widely, as does th e len g th of
tim e a p a tie n t m ig h t survive w ith the disease. O n ce infected, a person
can rem ain w ith o u t sym ptom s fo r ten years o r m o re, m aking it difficult
to p in p o in t th e source o f infection. How m ig h t we m ake sense o f this
situation if we took seriously som e of the co m m o n p lace hypotheses of
th e w itchcraft paradigm ?
T h e c e n tra l q u estio n s th a t th e jw itc h c ra ft p arad ig m answ ers in
relatio n to th e m e a n in g o f su fferin g — W hy m e? W hy now ?— are
acutely p osed in relation to illnesses associated w ith AIDS, particularly

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 A dam A s h f o r t h

as th e W ho is to blam e? question arises no m a tte r how the d isease is

in te rp re te d (F arm er 1992). W h ile A ID S-aw areness c a m p a ig n s in
S o u th Africa, as elsew here on th e co n tin en t, sp re a d the m essage o f a
d an g ero u s ep id em ic of sexually transm itted in fectio n s and know ledge
o f th e im p act a n d dangers o f th e disease b e c o m e w id esp read , th e
d e a th s are only ju s t beginning. Few H IV -positive p eo p le, ev en th o se
w ith sym ptom s o f AIDS, know fo r certain th at they are infected. A n d it
is ex trem ely im p o rta n t to re m e m b e r th at sy m p to m s asso ciated w ith
A ID S do n o t p re se n t them selves as fam iliar form s o f sexually tra n sm it­
ted disease. T h u s, it is pointless to inquire in to such things as “tra d i­
tio n a l” u n d e rsta n d in g s of a n d treatm en ts fo r sexually tra n sm itte d
infections, ex cep t to interpret th e im pact of AIDS-awareness discourse.
T h e actual sym ptom s— coughing, d iarrh ea, w asting, an d so o n — res­
o n a te w ithin an entirely d ifferen t realm o f e x p e rie n c e from sex. For
g en eratio n s, h ealers have id en tified these ailm en ts as resu ltin g from
w itchcraft.
In my ex p erien ce, when so m eo n e dies in Sow eto and the sym ptom s
su g g est AIDS (w h eth er or n o t a m edical p ra c titio n e r has m a d e an
H IV /A ID S diagnosis), the m ost freq u en t form o f w itchcraft b la m e d is
isidliso (a Z ulu term ; sejeso is th e Sotho equivalent— both term s derive
from the ro o t verb “to eat”).7 Isidliso is usually tran slated as “b lack ” o r
“A frican” poison in order to distinguish it from m e re toxic substances
su c h as R attex a n d o th er p o p u la r poisons. T h e term is c o m m o n ly
invoked in co n n ectio n with slow, w asting illnesses o r those affectin g the
lungs, stom ach, o r digestive tract. It seem s to m e th at isidliso is o n e of
th e m ost c o m m o n afflictions p ro d u ced by the w itch ’s craft th ese days.
Typically, th e poiso n is said to take the form o f a sm all creatu re lo d g ed
in th e g u llet o r a snake m oving u p an d dow n in sid e th e a b d o m e n
(F arran d 1988:101). Som etim es it seem s to be a crab; o th e r tim es a frog
o r a lizard. 1 have even heard it said that the substances d isp atch ed in
this form o f w itchcraft can take a m a n ’s form an d dev o u r a p erso n from
th e inside o u t (A shforth 2000:ch.l4). O osthuizen rep o rts (1992:100),
a fte r surveying healer-prophets o f the African In d e p e n d e n t C h u rc h e s
in Sow eto a n d D urban, that reg ard in g isidliso, “th e consensus is th a t
th e victim b e c o m e s thin, loses ap p etite, co u g h s co n tin u o u sly as if
h e /s h e has tuberculosis, vom its (blood in som e cases), an d b e co m es
d a rk in co m p lex io n . T he affliction disturbs the h e a rtb e a t.”

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 A ID S as W itchcraft in P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A frica

S ent by th e witch th ro u g h muthi (m ixtures o f herbs an d o th e r m ag­

ical substances, such as an im al fats) a d u lteratin g food o r d rin k , isidliso
is said to co n su m e the w itch ’s victim slowly, creatin g all m a n n e r o f h ard ­
ship and p a in along the way. Fam ilies fractu re, frien d sh ip s b reak, lovers
leave, jo b s disappear— all as a result o f isidliso. A lthough sp o k en of in
English as “poisoning,” th e dan g ers o f isidliso are n o t generally u n d er­
stood in th e lim ited term s o f m o d ern toxicology— a p o in t th a t should
also be b o rn e in m ind in A frican discussions o f “p oison,” as th e English
term seryes as a useful b rid g e betw een q u ite d ifferen t co n cep tio n s o f
the agency in h e re n t in m aterial substances. T his poison, d esp ite acting
th ro u g h th e m edium o f fo o d o r drink, is d ire c te d tow ard p articu lar vic­
tims n o t by chem istry b u t by in teractio n w ith th e in te n tio n o f the witch.
A n o th er p e rso n can e a t th e food p o iso n ed fo r my b e n e fit w ith no ill
effects; it will kill m e. Isidliso can even afflict a victim w hile he or she
sleeps: th e w itch places th e m u th i in fo o d c o n su m e d in a dream o r
sends p o iso n ed food in to a dream (A shforth 2000:186). It is n o surprise
then, th a t isidliso is g reatly feared. O n ce inside its victim , th e isidliso
results in a battle to th e d e a th , an d th e victim m ust en g ag e a pow erful
h e a le r to re p e l it. T h e m o re po w erfu l th e w itch, th e s tro n g e r th e
isidliso a n d th e m ore p ro tra c te d the struggle fo r cure. F or o n e w ho is
not stro n g , however, th e b attle itself can kill. A lthough I do know p eo­
ple w ho have self-m edicated by purging th e ir bodies w ith em etics, gen­
erally w h e n such afflictio n is su sp ected , tre a tm e n t by a professional
h ealer is req u ired .
A n in d icatio n o f th e significance o f isidliso in th e e ra o f AIDS can
be gau g ed from studies o f attitudes tow ard tuberculosis, a n o th e r ram ­
p a n t ep id em ic in so u th e rn Africa. In a 1998 p ilo t study o f traditional
h ealers in N atal re g a rd in g th e ir tre a tm e n t o f H,IV a n d tu b ercu lo sis,
tw enty-four healers w ere asked for th e ir diagnosis “if a p a tie n t reports
ch ro n ic c o u g h , chest p ain s, an d b lo o d in sp u tu m .” E ig h te e n healers
re sp o n d e d “isidliso. ” Six d iag n o sed TB. T h o se w ho re p o rte d TB sug­
gested th a t “th e d iffe re n c e betw een isid liso an d tu b e rc u lo sis is th a t
isidliso is curable by trad itio n al m edicine, a n d a p atien t co u g h s sputum
w ithout bloodstains, w hile o n the o th e r h a n d tu b ercu lo sis is n o t cu r­
able by trad itio n al m ed icin e, and a p a tie n t coughs sp u tu m with blood
stains.” T h is distinction ap p ears to em erg e m ore from th e exposure o f
healers to TB-aw areness pro g ram s an d th e ir desire to answ er questions

149
Adam A sh fo r th

co rrectly than from “trad itio n al” h e a lin g practice. T h e healers a p p a r­

en tly all ag reed th a t isidliso c a n n o t b e p'assed fro m o ne p e rs o n to
a n o th e r but, is rath er, “m an-m ade T B caused by a p erso n m ixing a poi­
son w ith som ebody’s fo o d ” (G cabashe 2000).8
It is im p o rtan t to distinguish b etw een m odes o f in terp retin g sym p­
tom s, such as the c o u g h in g up o f p h leg m (w hich m ig h t be a sig n of
w itc h c ra ft in a c tio n ), a n d m odes o f in te rp re tin g “diseases,” su c h as
those n am ed AIDS o r TB by doctors. T raditional h ealers, like o rd in ary
p e o p le , generally have great resp ect fo r the pow ers o f W estern m ed i­
cine. H ow ever, they te n d to d istin g u ish betw een diseases that d o cto rs
can tre a t an d th o se th a t req u ire “tra d itio n a l” o r “A frican ” m e th o d s.
N obody w ould seriously consider tak in g a victim o f a car accid en t to a
tra d itio n a l healer, fo r exam ple. H ow ever, after th e physical in ju rie s
h e a le d , som eone m ig h t take the p a tie n t to a h ealer, o r to a C h ristian
faith-healing “p ro p h e t,” to deal w ith th e ultim ate so u rce o f the m isfor­
tune. Similarly, h ealers tend not to claim g reater p o w er than d o cto rs in
cu rin g TB o r AIDS as such, at least n o t once they u n d erstan d th e clini­
cal n a tu re o f the d isease.9 However, they do insist th a t isidliso can be
cu red only by trad itio n al o r spiritual m ethods. A nd I w ould v en tu re to
suggest th at every trad itio n al h ealer o r p ro p h et in this part of th e w orld
claim s th e ability to c u re isidliso. (O f course, w hen th e patient dies, as
m ost d o , th e h e a le r’s failure is less a function o f his o r h er incapacity
than a sign o f the aw esom e pow er o f th e witch or th e p a tie n t’s failu re to
follow th e h e a le r’s p re sc rip tio n s.) W hile W estern m ed icin e p ro ­
n o u n c e s th a t AIDS c a n n o t be c u re d , thereby e lim in a tin g a p o te n tia l
“n a tu ra l” c o u n te re x p la n a tio n to th e w itchcraft h y p o th esis o f “m a n ­
m ad e” illness, the co u rse o f the disease has its ups a n d downs, such that
in terv en tio n by “trad itio n al healers” can very' often seem , at least fo r a
tim e, efficacious.
W h en suffering a n d m isfortune are u n d ersto o d in term s o f w itch­
craft, in cu rab le diseases are hard to im agine. F or if illness an d d e a th
are c a u se d by the a c tio n o f o th ers, h e a lin g is a m a tte r of a stru g g le
betw een th e curative a n d restorative pow ers o f th e h e a le r and th o se of
the “evil forces.” As in any pow er stru g g le, success c a n n o t be g u a ra n ­
teed in advance, b u t n e ith e r can failu re. T he pow ers to which h ealers
are b e lie v e d to have access, in v ary in g d eg rees, in so u th e rn A frica
include pow ers in h e re n t in substances, pow ers bestotved by the h e a le r’s
 A I D S as W it ch cr a ft jn P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A f r ic a

ancestral spirits, pow ers possessed by th e ancestors o f the afflicted, and,

ultim ately, p o w er re p re se n te d by the triu n e god, p articu larly in th e
form o f th e H oly Spirit. F ro m the perspective o f the believer, in the face
of such an aw esom e,arrav, it is absurd to say th at a p articu lar disease,
such as AIDS, is un d efeatab le.
In m y ex p e rie n c e talk in g to people in Sow eto ab o u t th e c u rre n t
AIDS ep id em ic in South A frica, most p e o p le now know a b o u t the dis­
ease and w ould n o t say th a t AIDS itself is w itchcraft. If pressed to find
som e su p e rn a tu ra l d im en sio n to the ep id em ic, people are m o re likely
to offer gloom y disquisitions o n the e te rn a l sufferings o f A frica o r to
suspect th e w ork o f G od as p u n ish m e n t fo r im m orality. C o n fro n te d
with th e sym ptom s o f resp irato ry disease a n d wasting, however, virtually
everyone su sp ects isidliso. Yet even if A ID S is in te rp re te d alo n g
“W estern” lines as an in cu rab le disease causecfby a virus sp read by the
ex ch an g e o f bodily fluids— m o st often in sexual acts— th e w itchcraft
hypothesis still fram es th e questions, W hy m e? and W hy now? in term s
o f the q u estio n , W ho?
In te rp re tin g sym ptom s associated with AIDS in term s o f the w itch­
craft p arad ig m by no m ean s precludes th e n o tio n o f a sexually trans­
m itted in fe c tio n .50 F or ex am p le, w hile it m ay be a c c e p te d th a t th e
disease is tran sm itted th ro u g h sex with an in fected partn er, it does not
necessarily follow that the o rig in of the m isfo rtu n e lies in th at particu­
lar p erso n . T h a t is to say, w hile the virus m ig h t be c o n tra c te d from a
m a n ’s illegitim ate love affairs, the w itchcraft responsible fo r his infec­
tion could have been sen t to him by his m other-in-law , a je a lo u s n eig h ­
bor, his w ife, o r a n o th e r p e rso n m o tiv ated by jealo u sy a n d h a tre d
to p e rfo rm m alicious o c c u lt action. M oreover, A ID S-aw areness cam ­
paigns— h ig h lig h tin g th e d an g ers o f e x c h a n g in g b o d ily fluids—
p resen t a story im m ediately recognizable to anyone conscious o f the
hazards o f w itchcraft a n d sorcery being w ro u g h t with b lo o d , hair, nail
clippings, an d o th e r bodily excretions. T h is m essage reso n ates pow er­
fully with various notions a n d practices c o n c e rn in g p o llu tio n , dirt, and
“h eat” (V erryn 1981), a lth o u g h “taboos” associated with such m atters
are n o t stro n g am o n g co n tem p o rary S o u th A frican youths. C o n tem ­
porary p ractices o f healing, h ealth m a in te n a n c e , and self-m edication
place a p re m iu m on p ra c tic e s of c le a n sin g in te rn a l o rg a n s an d
ex p ellin g c o n ta m in a tin g m a tte r (in c lu d in g w itchcraft ag en cies) by

5 1
A dam A s h f o r t h

m eans of purgatives, em etics, a n d enem as. By analogy, a p erso n aw are

o f th e dangers o f co n tam in atio n th ro u g h sexual co n tact m ig h t well rea­
son— w ithout n e e d in g to be ta u g h t by m ischievous trad itio n al h ealers,
as is usually assu m ed — th at th e risk o f AIDS can be red u ced th ro u g h
d elib erate em issio n o f sexual flu id s, p referab ly in to th at p a ra g o n o f
purity— the virgin. T h e exp lo sio n o f child rap e, co term in o u s w ith the
grow th o f AIDS aw areness in th e late 1990s, suggests th at m any m en
could be a d o p tin g such reaso n in g , th o u g h I m u st confess I have never
spoken to anyone n o r seen re p o rt o f anyone w ho has m ed icated h im ­
self in this way.
A curious hom ology also exists betw een th e way H IV is re p re se n te d
in p o p u lar discourses o f AIDS aw areness as an invisible ag en t w orking
in m ysterious ways (such th at, fo r exam ple, a p e rso n can seem healthy
b u t still be sick) a n d c o m m o n p la c e u n d e rsta n d in g s o f w itc h c ra ft in
Africa. T he lan g u ag e o f viruses “attack in g ” the im m u n e system parallels
the com m on talk o f w itchcraft as an attack, as d o es the fact th a t th e vic­
tim o f the virus, as the victim o f th e witch, is said to be in a c o n sta n t
stru g g le ag ain st invisible fo rc e s d e p le tin g h is o r h e r life. M oreover,
w itches are particularly keen o n attacking th e generative capacities of
fam ilies an d lineages, so an affliction th at specializes in fertile victim s
and is passed th ro u g h sexual c o n ta c t is tailor-m ade fo r th eir craft. Even
an aw areness o f th e length o f tim e th at elapses betw een in fectio n an d
the onset o f sym ptom s is co n d u civ e to w itchcraft hypotheses, fo r every­
o n e knows th a t w itches’ h a tre d s are d eep an d th e ir m em ories lo n g in
com m unities th ro u g h o u t u rb a n an d rural S o u th A frica w h ere n e ig h ­
bors have lived, loved, an d h a te d o n e a n o th e r fo r g en eratio n s. H en ce,
with jealousy th e prim ary m otive fo r the w itch’s evil, the sexual ch arac­
ter o f the disease is a feru le field fo r p resu m p tio n s o f w itchcraft. O n e
m ight alm ost say th at if AIDS d id n o t exist, th e w itches w ould have to
invent it. T hus, as th e n u m b e r o f cases increases, so m ust th e n u m b e r
a n d pow er o f th e w itches. As th e n u m b e r a n d p o w er o f th e w itches
in crease, so grow s th e n e e d fo r p ro te c tio n . A n d in th e face o f evil
w rought by m alicious individuals, th e desire fo r ju stice grows.

W IT C H C R A F T A N D T H E S O C IA L IM P A C T O F A ID S
A ccording to all the epidem iological data, the persons m o st likely
to be infected w ith H IV /A ID S are young adults (with w om en typically
ten years y o u n g e r th a n m e n a t th e o n set o f th e disease) (U N A ID S

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 A ID S as W itch cr a ft in P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A frica

2000). M ost black h ouseholds in South A frica have no h ealth insurance

and little in th e way of in c o m e o r assets to b e a r th e extra strain o f ill­
ness. U n d e r such circu m stan ces, if an illn ess o r d eath aro u se s suspi­
cions o f w itchcraft, it is likely to strongly .ex acerb ate existing tensions
within a h o u se h o ld as well as betw een m em b ers o f that h o u seh o ld and
o th e r relatives. T h e survivors will be faced w ith th e q u e stio n , Who is
responsible? Even in fam ilies w here w itchcraft is n o t a g en eral preoccu­
pation, w h en serious illness strikes, peo p le find it difficult to resist the
supposition th a t “evil forces” might be at w ork. A nd the g e n e ra l ethic is
that w hen so m eo n e is ill, it is irresponsible n o t to explore all possible
avenues o f cure.
In m y e x p e rie n c e o f th e se situ atio n s, su sp icio n s o f w itch craft—
which co m e to a head a t th e tim e o f d eath a n d burial— cause fam ilies
and frien d s o f th e deceased to seek clues in re c e n t q u arrels with rela­
tives an d n eig h b o rs or o th e r likely suspects. U nless the p e rp e tra to r is
obvious, old grudges and grievances are re su rre c ted and m in u tely reex­
am ined in search of p ro b ab le cause for th e crim e. A ctions o r gestures
that o n ce seem ed in n o cen t (such as the lo an o f an article o f clo th in g o r
the gift o f fo o d ) can su d d e n ly tu rn in to o m in o u s p o rte n ts th a t w ere
foolishly o v erlo o k ed a t th e tim e. W hen th e illness and su fferin g are
p ro tracted b efo re death, such as they are w ith AIDS, fam ilies an d com ­
m unities fearin g w itchcraft have sufficient tim e to tear them selves apart
u n d er th e strains of suspicion.
A su sp ected witch craft-related illness o r d e a th tends to exacerbate
ten sio n s b etw een the h o u s e h o ld an d m e m b e rs o f the s u rro u n d in g
com m unity. N eighbors a re also suspects. C om m u n ity relatio n s becom e
stressed, fo r n eig h b o rs w o n d e r w ho a m o n g th e m m ig h t have b een
responsible fo r the m isfo rtu n e in the victim ’s house. T hey always have
their ready suspects. W ith w hole fam ilies fallin g in to dire straits, neigh­
bors w orry th a t those afflicted will be jealo u s of. those n o t afflicted, and
thus m o re likely to w age w ars o f w itch craft against th e u n sc a th e d .
M oreover, since traditional healers prom ise to treat w itchcraft by tu rn ­
ing evil fo rces back u p o n th e w itch who d isp atch ed them , th e fact of a
person dying can also be a sign o f his o r h e r guilt, evidence o f bein g
hoist by o n e ’s own evil p e ta rd .
P e rh a p s th e m ost d istressin g featu re o f th e w itchcraft in te rp re ta ­
tion o f A ID S is that as y o u n g an d productive m em bers o f a h o u seh o ld
succum b to th e disease, th e ir ch ild ren , if they are lucky, b eco m e the

15 3
A dam A s h f o r t h

w ards o f g ra n d m o th e rs. B ecause o ld e r w om en in a co m m u n ity are

p resu m ed to be the m ost inclined to jealo u sy and at th e sam e tim e have
th e least capacity to re so rt to v io len ce, g ra n d m o th e rs have a lo n g
history in these parts o f attractin g suspicions o f w itch craft (A shforth
2000:82). T he dynam ics o f relations betw een g ran d m o th ers and th e ir
daughters-in-law are already com plicated by m utual fears of w itchcraft,
an d th e fact th at m an y h o u seh o ld s are d e p e n d e n t u p o n a g ra n d ­
m o th e r’s pension w hile the young p e o p le are dying is a sociological
tim e bom b.
A family suspecting w itchcraft as th e cause o f illness will be u n d e r
increased financial pressure, as they will feel the n e e d to consult trad i­
tio n al healers an d m ake feasts fo r th e ir ancestors. In c o n te m p o ra ry
S outh Africa, so-called traditional m ed icin e is typically far m ore ex p en ­
sive fo r ordinary fam ilies than W estern m edical treatm en t. To line u p
the full panoply o f spiritual forces n e e d e d to ward o ff an attack o f a dis­
ease such as AIDS, a fam ily needs an ex ten d ed course o f treatm en t with
a trad itio n al h ealer— costing typically th e eq u iv alen t o f one m o n th ’s
wages fo r an industrial worker. In ad d itio n to the h e a le r’s fee, success
c a n n o t be guaranteed w ithout the h o stin g of an an cestral feast, the cost
o f w hich can ru n to a n o th e r couple o f m o n th s’ w ages. Few have this
sort o f cash readily available w ithout im posing on relatives and friends.
D espite strong norm s o f sharing an d m utual responsibility in A frican
fam ilies, such b u rd en s b reed resen tm en t. W hen th e initial treatm en ts
are fo u n d to fail, as they will, pressure m ounts to try o th e r healers an d
m o d es o f rem edy u n til all avenues are e x h a u ste d .11 Few have th e
resources to sup p o rt these treatm ents through to th e last resort, espe­
cially as those receiv in g in co m e a re b u rd e n e d w ith ev er-increasing
costs. In families I have know n com ing to term s with an untim ely d eath ,
a sense lingers th at if only the right h e a le r had b een fo u n d (along w ith
the m oney to pay fo r treatm ents), d eath could have b e e n averted.
As th e suffering associated with w itchcraft/A ID S w orsens in a fam ­
ily, an d as “trad itio n al” herbal, sp iritu al, and ritual rem ed ies fail, the
pressure on a victim ’s kin and friends to find and n eu tralize the social
source o f illness grows. Knowing th at someone is resp o n sib le for all the
m isery increases the desire forjustice. If the witch can be identified an d
neutralized, his o r h e r evil work will cease, and a c u re will ensue. B ut
ju stice is not easily attained. In the absence of ju stice arises the desire

54
 A I D S as W itch cra ft in P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A f r i c a

fo r revenge. B ut th e desire fo r vengeance on the p a rt o f people w ho are

already victim s is a desire th at m u st be delayed, repressed, co n tro lled . It
is a desire th a t can be acted u p o n only with stealth an d secrecy.12 F or
peo p le filled w ith such vengeful desires, w itchcraft is an obvious solu­
tion and an ap p ealin g p ro sp ect. T h e ir neig h b o rs, relatives, an d o th e r
associates will know th at such p eo p le, victim s o f w itchcraft, will yearn
fo r revenge a n d th u s be m o re in c lin e d to p e rfo rm w itchcraft th e m ­
selves. Such p e o p le sh o u ld be tre a te d w ith c a u tio n , if not s h u n n e d
com pletely.
AIDS stigm a is ex acerb ated by the in teractio n betw een official dis­
courses o f A ID S aw areness an d p o p u la r fears o f invisible pollution su r­
ro u n d in g d e a th . T h e p rim ary m essage tran sm itted in AIDS-awareness
cam paigns is th a t AIDS is an in cu rab le, term inal disease. In re c e n ty e ars
this m essage has b een rein fo rced by a g ath erin g tide of untim ely d eath ,
a tide that is rapidly b eco m in g a tidal wave. D ead bodies have cu sto m ­
arily been tre a te d with g reat care, respect, an d reverence in Africa. T his
reg ard for a d e a d body stem s n o t only from m em o ry o f the d e p a rte d
an d a tribute to his o r h e r h u m a n dignity b u t also from a sense th a t the
presence o f d e a th can be d a n g ero u s and p o llu tin g , bringing u p o n th e
unw ary all m a n n e r o f m isfo rtu n e. W hen p e o p le a tte n d fu n erals an d
re tu rn from graves, they are careful to u n d e rg o b rie f ritual clean sin g
p ro ced u res. T h e se days m ost p eo p le have difficulty articulating q u ite
w hat these p ro c e d u re s are m e a n t to achieve, b u t few would w illingly
ig n o re them . D ead bodies are d an g ero u s entities, an d the cem eteries
w here they co n g reg ate are d an g ero u s spaces.
To n am e a disease as in cu rab le is ta n ta m o u n t to saying th a t a p e r­
son with th e disease is already dead. So w hen a com plex o f sym ptom s is
n am ed as H 1V /A ID S (o r if th e diagnosis is m a d e in th e a b se n c e o f
sym ptom s), th e sufferer becom es a sort o f living d ead person. T h is cat-
egory of p e rso n has no place in “trad itio n al” discourses of h ealth and
illness. D eath, fo r m ost p eo p le in this context, is u n d ersto o d less as an
event than a process— a m o v em en t in to a n o th e r dom ain, a process of
b eco m in g th a t o th e r k in d o f b e in g co m m o n ly te rm e d an an cesto r.
A ncestors fo r m o st p e o p le — even m any C h ristia n s whose c h u rc h e s
frow n u p o n trad itio n al practices— are n o t sim ply an abstraction from
p ast relatio n sh ip s o r m ere objects o f “b elief” a n d veneratiorrr A ncestors
are a real p re se n c e in the lives o f fam ily m em b ers, differing fro m the
A dam Ashforth

living in ways akin to u n b o rn c h ild re n — invisible, to be sure, th o u g h

nonetheless present an d real an d cap ab le o f m a k in g th e ir p resen ce
felt. And the process by which a p erso n becom es an ancestor, th ro u g h
death, is as difficult an d as dangerous as birth.
Given that a wide range of custom s, rituals, an d hygienic practices
are premised upon th e presum ption th at dead b o d ies are a source o f
dangerous pollution, questions m ust arise about th e dan g ers o f p o llu ­
tion emanating from a term inal p a tie n t before th e m o m e n t o f actual
death. Though African custom s su rro u n d in g death suggest that th e ter­
minally ill may be dangerous, A frican traditions teach little ab o u t w hat
these dangers might be. W estern m edical authorities insist that with th e
exception of bodily fluids, the AIDS p a tie n t is h arm less. B ut W estern
medicine knows n o th in g o f the d an g ers presented by th e person o f th e
dead. People in contact with an A frican AIDS victim , th en , may know
th at they have a m inim a) risk o f c a tc h in g HIV, w hich they know is a
virus transmitted th ro u g h sex, yet m ay still fear th a t c o n ta c t with this liv­
ing dead person could expose th em to an u nknow n a n d in d efin ab le
form *)f pollution, p erh ap s bringing m isfortune sim ilar to th at o f th e
pollution emanating from the already dead.
The point here is n o t that “A frican traditions” teach these things.
O n the contrary. In th e absence o f authoritative trad itio n s, p eo p le are
forced to figure out th e dangers for them selves. Clearly, they have fig­
u red out that acknowledging AIDS is a dangerous m atter. To talk o f a
“stigm a” attached to AIDS in c o n te m p o ra ry S o u th A frica w ith o u t
understanding the mystical dim ensions o f w itchcraft a n d pollution is,
in my view, to risk m isu n d e rstan d in g b o th the n a tu re o f co m m u n ity
pow er relations and th e im pact o f th e epidem ic. F o r even as th ey lie
dying, most people do n o t know th a t they o r th eir loved ones have th e
disease. Nor would they want to know , o r be wise in so desiring. T his
willful ignorance arises n o t sim ply fro m fe a r.o f th e n am e acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome, no r from sham e over th e sexual licentious­
ness that presumably gave rise to th e infection in th e first place. A fter
all, hardly a family in th e country does n o t have c h ild re n giving b irth to
children, sons being sought to su p p o rt their offspring, fathers fin d in g
long-lost progeny they secredy sired m any years back, o r m others with
children by different fathers. S ex u al m isd e m e a n o rs are sh a m e fu l
sometimes, but also co m m o n p lace. A nd w hile th e d isease was first

i 56
 A I D S as W itch cra ft in P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A frica

registered in S outh A frica a m o n g w hite hom osexuals, n o b o d y id en ti­

fies it now as a ugay disease” o r stigm atizes its victim s for th e ir sexual ori-
en ta tio n . T h e silences a n d stig m a asso ciated with sy m p to m s o f the
diseases d ecim atin g villages an d tow nships in the wake o f H IV /A ID S,
however, m ak e m uch m o re sense if th eir o ccu lt dim ensions are taken
into account.
W ith cases o f w itchcraft, silence and discretion are th e n o rm . No
one wants to publicize th e fact th a t they have been cursed. Such public­
ity w ould be n o t only e m b a rra ssin g b u t also d a n g ero u s, becau se it
would e n a b le th e witch to learn ab o u t efforts being m ade to cou n teract
his or h e r o ccu lt assault. Such know ledge allows the w itch to redouble
his or h e r efforts o r to seek o u t o th e r avenues o f attack. F or this reason,
traditional h ealers typically en jo in th eir clients to silence. (A nd w hen
the cure fails, th e clien t’s b re a c h o f silence is o ne of th e first excuses
proffered fo r failure.) T h e essence o f cu rin g w itchcraft is to engage in a
struggle w ith th e w itch by em p lo y in g all th e spiritual a n d m ed icin al
pow ers o f th e h ealer in leag u e w ith th e an cesto rs o f th e victim . Any
co m p ro m ise o f this stru g g le can be fatal. A n d as so m eo n e o n ce said
regarding a n o th e r war, “L oose talk costs lives.”

WITCHCRAFT, JUSTICE, AND DEMOCRACY

IN THE AGE OF AIDS
A lth o u g h a great deal m o re e th n o g ra p h ic work w ould n e e d to be
d o n e to d e lin e a te th e p recise c o n to u rs o f m ean in g asso ciated with
AIDS in d iffe re n t com m unities th ro u g h o u t S outh A frica, fo r th e p u r­
poses o f discussion, let us assum e th at th e H IV /A ID S ep id em ic in black
tow nships a n d villages is likely to stim ulate suspicions o f sorcery, fear o f
w itchcraft, a n d a general sense o f spiritual insecurity as m o re and m ore
people die at an early age o f painful, d ebilitating, and in cu rab le infec­
tions that reso n ate with in d ig en o u s categories o f in te rp re ta tio n broadly
su b su m ed u n d e r the ru b ric “w itch craft.” T h e q u e stio n I w ant to
address now is, W hat m ight this m ean for dem ocratic g o v ern an ce, the
rule o f law, an d hum an rights?
For p e o p le w ho live in w orlds w here w itchcraft is e x p e rie n c ed as a
real and p re se n t source o f dan g er, m an ag in g th e problem o f w itchcraft
typically involves two d istin ct th o u g h in te rre la te d strategies: c o u n te r­
acting th e u n se e n forces o f su p e rn a tu ra l evil on th e ir ow n te rra in

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through ritual action, and neutralizing th e social source o f th a t evil, th e

witch. T h e first strategy typically involves h ealin g rituals, prayers, an d
co n su ltatio n s w ith diviners, p ro p h ets, p riests, or o th e r experts in
spiritual succor. W hile su ch rituals an d h e a lin g p ra c tic e s can have
. public im plications, they are usually c o n d u cted in private, o r in “semi-
private” fam ily o r com m unal settings su ch as religious co n g reg atio n s
(O osthuizen 1992).
From th e p o in t of view o f public policy, as it is ordinarily conceived,
the issues raised in relation to anti-w itchcraft action as a form o f h eal­
ing have m ostly to dc with registration a n d regulation o f healers, the
recognition o f “alternative” healing p ractices and th e ra p ie s, environ­
m ental p ro te c tio n relating to the harvesting o f m ed icin al plants an d
anim als, an d th e protection an d exploitation o f in d ig en o u s biological
know ledge an d substances. In p o st-ap arth eid South A frica, the ANC
governm ent has com m itted itself to “in teg rat[in g ] the activities of th e
public an d priyate health sectors, including N G O s and trad itio n al h eal­
ers, in a way w hich m axim izes the effectiveness an d efficiency of all
available h e a lth care reso u rces” (South .Africa D e p a rtm e n t o f H ealth
1997). To d o this, the p arliam en t has p ro p o se d establishing a national
register o f traditional healers, recognizing th e ir rights to issue m edical
certificates an d receive reim b u rsem en t fro m health in su ra n c e com pa­
nies (Select C om m ittee o n Social Services 1998). D espite m uch pious
sentim ent an d endless “stak eh o ld er” m eetings, little p ro g ress has b een
m ade. G iven th at the final au th o rity fo r a h e a le r’s activities an d th e
source o f the healing gifts lie in the d o m ain o f unseen spirits, and co n ­
sidering th a t m any ailm ents healers treat a re considered to have an o ri­
gin in d o m ain s o f occult forces, it is difficult to see how bureaucratic
regulation o f this sector could be effective.
T he seco n d line o f anti-w itchcraft strategy, however, th e attribution
o f responsibility for evil to particu lar individuals, is in h e re n tly public
and political, as it always involves the m ak in g and co n testatio n of accu­
sations w ithin a public d o m ain , even o n e o f lim ited scope. Indeed, th e
effort to m obilize resistance to persons d e e m e d witches, to struggle for
justice a n d p u n ish m en t o f enem ies o f th e com m unity, can be fu n d a­
m entally constitutive o f th e political sp h e re w ithin co m m u n ities, as
people d eb ate such basic issues o f com m unity life as w h o belongs and
who does no t, and who are th e rightful and" effective lead ers of public
action (A uslander 1993; W illis 1970). T he AIDS epidem ic, experienced

5 »
 A ID S as Witchcraft in P o s t -A p a r t h e i d S o u t h A frica

as a result o f w itchcraft, inevitably raises questio n s about ju stice, legiti­

macy, and co m m u n ity pow er in villages and tow nships th at will surely
have political im plications fo r th e state as a w hole.
To date, m ost people living with a fear o f w itches have n o t b egun to
insist that g o v ern m en t ad d re ss m atters o f w itchcraft. I w ould subm it
th a t this q u iescen ce signifies m o re a lack o f a sense that d em o cratic
governm ent is supposed to re sp o n d to the n eed s o f the p eo p le than it
does the im p o rtan ce o f th e issue o f w itchcraft. If cases o f w itchcraft are
n o t dealt w ith in th e form al legal system , how ever, p eo p le su b ject to
fears o f w itchcraft are likely to take in d e p e n d e n t action, w hich can pose
significant p ro b lem s for th e legitim acy o f th e legal system as th e state
seeks to police those who w ould police w itch craft.1*1 In post-apartheid
S o u th Africa, th e risk for thel state generally is less th at o f losing legiti­
m acy than o f failing to develop a sense of tru st in the legitim acy-ofinsti-
tutions p u rp o rted ly re p re se n tin g th e rule o f law.
W hen efforts to m anage th e social d im en sio n s o f w itchcraft result
in “in fo rm al” ju d icial p ro ced u res that result in p u n ish m en t o f witches,
th e m o d ern state is placed in th e position o f having to p ro secu te the
p erp etrato rs o f com m unity ju stic e . In the p ast d ecad e o r so, h u n d red s
o f peo p le in S o u th A frica have b een killed as w itches, an d th e p ro b ­
lem o f w itch craft violence h as b eco m e p a rt o f th e n atio n al political
ag en d a (D elius 1996; M inaar, W entzel, an d ^ayze 1998; N ieh au s 1997;
C om m ission o n G en d er E quality 1998). M o d ern ju risp ru d e n c e tends
to take a ra th e r sim ple view o f th e problem o f w itchcraft violence: arrest
th e p eo p le resp o n sib le, c h a rg e th em w ith w h atev er crim es are rele­
vant— k id n a p p in g , assault, a n d m u rd e r are th e m ost c o m m o n — then
accep t as a p lea in m itigation o f sentence a sin cere belief in w itchcraft
(N el et al. l£9-2). In ad d itio n , an d beyond th e co u rtro o m , p ro ced u res
can be estab lish ed to p ro te c t th o se accused o f p racticin g w itchcraft.
C om m unity m ed iatio n can be en co u rag ed to h e lp overcom e th e social
ten sio n s th a t m ig h t u n d e rp in conflicts ex p re sse d in term s o f w itch­
craft, an d p u b lic relations efforts can be m o u n te d to defuse th e urge to
publicly p o in t o u t w itches.14
In the absence o f a dram atic im provem ent in physical an d financial
security, how ever, such p ro ced u res will do little to satisfy those w ho see
w itches as destroying the h e a lth an d prosperity o f their com m unities.13
W ith w itchcraft, as with all radical evil, th ere is n o m iddle g ro u n d : you
are either fo r th e witches o r against them , ju st as in the days o f apartheid
A da m A s h f o r t h

one was either for “the p eo p le” or against them . T h ere can be no com ­
prom ise. Jn a context w here state provision of services is in ad eq u ate
while inequalities thrive (on a co n tin en t w here the prosperity of the ru l­
ing eco n o m ic and political elites o ften seem s to be co n su m ed at th e
expense o f the masses), the failure to act against w itchcraft is potentially
serious for the legitimacy o f political and juridical institutions. M oreover,
w here th ere is scant tru st o f officialdom , suppression o f witch- fin d in g
and pun ish m en t can very easily lead peo p le to see th e au th o rities’ p ro ­
tection o f accused w itches (who are generally already convicted in th e
court o f public opinion) as evidence th at those occupying pow erful state
positions are using w itchcraft for th eir ow n nefarious purposes to “e a t”
the b irth rig h t of the people (G eschiere 1997:ch.4).
In South Africa d u rin g the 1980s an d 1990s, suspicions that authori­
ties w ere p ro tectin g w itches becam e a staple o f p o litics in reg io n s
g o v ern ed by the fo rm e r h o m elan d au th o rities. As th e R alushai
C om m ission reports o f th e Venda H om eland: “To politicize rural com ­
m unities, the revolutionary forces chose w itchcraft a n d ritual killing to
destabilize these com m unities. O ne fin d in g is that th e reason why this
route was chosen was d u e to the fact th a t th e revolutionary forces w ere
fully aw are that the local com m unities w ere dissatisfied w ith the m a n ­
n e r in w hich such cases w ere b ein g h a n d le d by th e a u th o ritie s, fo r
exam ple, as witches co u ld not be tried, th e governm ent was seen as a
p ro te c to r o f witches” (Com m ission o f In q u iry into W itchcraft V iolence
and R itual M urders 1996:270). T h ere is n o g u aran tee th at the p resen t
regim e will rem ain im m u n e to this taint.
T h e challenges to dem ocratic governance posed by life within th e
w itchcraft paradigm , challenges th at can only be e x a c e rb ate d by th e
AIDS ep id em ic, take th re e b ro ad form s. First, th e re is th e d e m a n d
from p e o p le living w ithin the w itchcraft parad ig m fo r g o v ern m en tal
resp o n se to harm caused by witches. R elated to this is th e correlative
su sp icio n th a t g o v ern m en t is in leag u e w ith the w atches against th e
interests o f the people. This is a d ifferen t kind o f legitim ation problem
from those com m only fo u n d in liberal dem ocracies.
S eco n d , in co m m u n ities w here a w itchcraft p a ra d ig m in fo rm s
un d erstan d in g s about o th e r peoples’ m otives and capacities, life m u st
be lived in terms~of a presum ption o f m alice. In o th e r w ords, it is d a n ­
gerous to ignore the possibility that anyone, even o n e ’s m ost intim ate

160
 A ID S as Witchcraft in P o s t -Ap a r t h e i d S o u t h A f ri ca

relatio n s, can d esp ite all a p p e a ra n c e s be p o ise d to co m m it th e m ost

a b o m in a b le c rim e s against y o u a n d yours. G iven th e p o ssib ilities of
o c c u lt h arm , p eacefu l c o m m u n ity life re q u ire s c o n sta n t vigilance
against an d p ro te c tio n from w itchcraft attack, as well as efforts to m ini­
m ize the im p act o f social jealousy, an d p ro ced u res to defuse th e desire
fo r vengeance. I w ould arg u e th at, particularly in u rb an m u lticu ltu ral
com m unities, this p resu m p tio n o f m alice m akes it difficult to b u ild n et­
w orks of tru st an d that this situ atio n has practical im plications fo r civil
society and th e build in g o f social capital, especially w hen a hig h preva­
len ce of m isfo rtu n e (such as th e p resen t ep id em ic) m akes suspicions of
w itchcraft all th e m o re plausible.
T h ird , p ra c tic e s o f in te rp re tin g th e n a tu re o f pow er w ith in th e
w itchcraft p arad ig m put a p re m iu m u p o n th e p e n e tra tio n o f p resu m ed
secrecy in o rd e r to reveal th e hidclen source o f evil m anifested in par­
tic u la r m isfo rtu n e . In p o litic a l life, th e te n d e n c y to see evil forces
m an ip u latin g visible ap p earan ces an d co n sp irin g to pervert th e institu­
tions o f p u b lic pow er is b o th ex trao rd in arily difficult to disprove and
ex trem ely d estru ctiv e o f tru st in th e legitim acy o f those in stitu tio n s.
W ithin th e w itchcraft p arad ig m , th e ten d en cy is to p re su m e th a t the
secret so u rce o f pow er lying b e h in d ap p earan ces is in h e re n tly evil. If
m isfo rtu n e is w idespread, as in th e AIDS ep id em ic, the plausibility o f
w itchcraft in te rp re ta tio n s is e n h a n c e d , a n d th e legitim acy o f public
pow er is, in tu rn , dim inished. U n d e r ap arth eid , this evil was a p p a re n t
an d obvious. It was responsible fo r th e suffering o f all black p eo p le. In
th e p o st-ap arth eid era, the m e a n in g o f m isfo rtu n e is n o t so easy to con­
strue. Yet m isfo rtu n e is every b it as palpable now as it ever was an d , with
th e in creasin g d eath toll fro m AIDS, will be even m ore so.

N otes
1. M oleb o h en g gave m e this story by phone an d e-mail. For an acco u n t of
my co n n ectio n w ith Soweto, w hich b egan in 1990, see A shforth (2000).
2. For an accou n t o f this fiasco, see the Public P ro tecto r’s re p o rt p resen ted
to parliam ent o n Jan u ary 26, 1995 (S outh Africa Public P rotector 1995:1).
3. For b ack g ro u nd links o n this story, see the Electronic M ail and Guardian,
h ttp ://w w w .m g .c o .z a /m g /z a /lin k s/s a /v irod en e.h tm l.
4. M beki’s intervention o c c u rre d after rep o rted ly spending late-n ig h t ses­
sions surfing th e In tern et, research in g AIDS and visiting sites p ro m o tin g the views
Adam A s h f o r t h

of so-called AIDS dissidents such as Peter D uesberg of Berkeley, who deny that
HIV causes AIDS (McKie an d Beresford 2000). For an exam ple o f th e sort of
material he would have en co u n tered , see G eshekter (1999).
5. In May 2001, an ANC MP, Ruth B hengu, becam e the second politician to
describe the personal im pact o f the disease w hen she told the N ational /Assembly
that her d au g h ter was HIV-positive. Judge Edwin C am eron has long been the only
prominent person to be o p en about being seropositive.
6. M any Africans object to the terms witch, witchcraft, and zuitchdoctor,
arguing th at they are both derogatory and m isleading. This is u n do u b ted ly so, but
the words are impossible to avoid. Not only are the English words co m m on in
African usage, but indigenous term s such as the Z ulu ubuthakathi have long been
inflected with notions deriving from Europe as m uch as Africa. N or is it possible
to insist on definitional clarity an d precision w ithout obscuring the ways the words
are actually used in everyday practice. I prefer to use the term s loosely, m uch as
my friends in Sow^eto do, w'hile seeking to tease o u t what they m ight m ean from
investigation o f context. I also w ant to stress th a t the personal m anip u latio n of
evil powers spoken of as '‘w itchcraft" is only p art o f a m ore general condition
of spiritual an d existential insecurity that is related to, but not reducible to,
insecurities arising from poverty, violence, an d disease (/Ashforth 1998a). T he
literature on “w itchcraft” both in Africa and elsew here is im m ense, an d little
purpose wro u ld be served in trying to survey it com prehensively h ere. Evans-
Pritchard’s book on w itchcraft am ong the A zande (Evans-Pritchai d 1937) is the
grandfather o f witchcraft studies in Africa. V irtually everything since relates to his
work in som e way or other (D ouglas 1970). T h e doyen o f recent studies is Peter
Ceschiere (1997). For a recen t sam ple of work ab o u t the issue on the continent,
see the essays in African Studies Review, volum e 41 (1998) and M oore an d Sanders
( 2001) .

7. Zulu speakers also refer to these m atters as idliso, referring to the

substances used in poisoning, as distinct from isidliso, referring to the condition
of being poisoned.
8. See also W ilkinson, G cabashe, and L urie (1999).
9. Som e healers do m ake blatant claims to cure AIDS, b u t they generally
tend to be circum spect rath er than confront W estern medical science head-on.
For example, in a news item h eadlined “AIDS C ure Ploughed u p as a W eed,”
Credo Mutwa, a fam ous South A frican healer an d form er p ro p rieto r o f a Soweto
theme park, praised the healing powers of an indigenous herb know n as
Sutherlandia: “I d o n ’t claim this is the cure [for AIDS], but w hat it does to
 A ID S as Witchcraft in P o s t -Ap a r t h e i d S o u t h A fr ic a

p eo p le is am azing. M en and wom en w ho have been sen t h o m e to die are alive

now because of an an cien t African h e rb .” Asked w h ether h e thought that th ere
w ould ever be a cu re for AIDS, the w ell-known visionary said, “It’s right th e re in
th e violated plains o f my fatherland. It is being p lo u g h ed u p as a weed” (O w n
C o rresp o n d en ts 2001b).
10. In this reg ard , AIC ad h eren ts are in a m ore favorable position because
the healer-prophets in these churches d o n o t usually ch arg e for their services, or
d o not charge as steeply as traditional healers. Participation in the AlCs, however,
involves a m ajor co m m itm en t of tim e an d lifestyle. See O osthuizen (1992).
11. For an exposition of the psychological dynam ics u n d erp in n in g this sort
o f action, see S cheler (1961).
12. For an exam ple, see the tran scrip t o f my interview with the form er
m ayor o f Soweto. W hen I pointed o u t th e connection betw een w itchcraft an d
dem ocracy, the m ayor acknow ledged th a t witchcraft was the “biggest p ro b lem ”
an d that the city council ou gh t to be looking into it (A shforth 1998b:524—527).
13. For a discussion of inform al policing of w itches an d the dilem m as of
recognizing the realities o f w itchcraft facing the legal system , see H arnischfeger
(2000) and M avhungu (2000). For an attem p t to reconcile the claims o f “trad i­
tio n ” and “m o d ern ity ” in relation to co u rts and w itchcraft, see C havunduka
(1980).
14. In July 2000, the C om m ission on G ender E quality claim ed that its
“W itchcraft R oadshow s” have had ju s t such an effect in th e form erly violence-
p lagu ed N o rthern Province o f S outh A frica (C om m ission o n G ender Equality
2000; Hill and Black 2002).
15. For an exam ple of this so rt o f attitude, see A shforth (2000:97ff.).
 7
Operability

Surgery at the Margin of the State

Lawrence Cohen

“If you w ork fo r th e city, th e o p e ra tip n is free.”

— G raffiti scrawled on bathroom door o f coffeehouse,
San Francisco, 2001

T his sentence, w hich I discovered while w riting this chapter, oddly

evokes the stakes fo r citizens I en g ag e here. Its specific re fe ren t was a
2001 decision by th e San Francisco B oard o f Supervisors to in clu d e sex-
c h a n g e o p e ra tio n s as h ealth b e n e fits fo r city em p lo y ees (A ssociated
Press 2001). H ere I w ould only fo re g ro u n d the indexicality o f th e com ­
m e n t, the way “th e o p e ra tio n ” in its generality a n d lack o f re fe ren c e
co m es to stand fo r som ething far m o re particular, th e way we dw ellers
o f this city, in know ing ju st which o p eratio n is m e a n t, som ehow co m m it
to th e relevance o f th e general fo rm . I write in th e U n ited States in th e
a fte rm a th of O p e ra tio n In fin ite Ju stic e and its successors, a ch ain o f
o p e ra tio n s m ark in g th e u n e n d in g state of ex cep tio n o f the new w ar on
terro rism (A gam ben 2001). T h o u g h I take u p m atters at an arg u ab le
rem o v e from e ith e r u rb a n o r im p e ria l A m erican politics, the form o f
th e o p eratio n as b o th sovereign g ift an d e x c e p tio n seem s ever m o re
necessary to engage.
To pursue o n e way in to an an th ro p o lo g y o f th e o p eratio n , I tu rn to
th e particular intim acy o f operative form for certain-m arginal actors in
re la tio n to p ractices c o n stitu tin g th e state a n d th e ir affiliation to it.

i 65
L awrence C o h e n

D iscussing th re e kinds o f s u rg e rie s— hijra (sex-change) o p e ra tio n s,

kidnev-selling op eratio n s, an d fam ily-planning o p eratio n s— th a t circu ­
late n o t only as technical assem blages b u t also as ubiquitous p u b lic sites
in c o n te m p o ra ry Indi^, I will a rg u e th a t operative form is critical to
w hat one m ig h t term the p resen ce o f th e state in relation to its political
m argins. E ach o p eratio n p resen ts q u ite different historical an d analytic
challenges, b u t all share w hat I a rg u e is a d o m in an t an d critical form . I
will suggest th a t this form em erg es in the instantiation o f a g o v ern m en ­
tal o rd e r we m ig h t call “as-if m o d ern ity .”
In its b a re b ones, the g ro u n d o f my arg u m en t runs as follows: (1)
B ureaucratic elites an d their c lie n t lab o r force com prising state p la n ­
n in g and w elfare agencies re p ro d u c e a colonial an d n atio n alist struc­
tu rin g o f th e ir ta rg e t as “th e m asses”— th at is, as subjects c a p a b le o f
passion b u t n o t reaso n . (2) P la n n e d d ev elo p m en t as the d o m in a n t
logic o f In d ia n m o d ern ity p re su m e s a p ro cess we m ig h t call
W eberian— th a t is, ascetic— m o d ern izatio n , and p o p u latio n c o n tro l (as
o p posed, fo r ex am p le, to a g ro n o m y ) becom es its m etonym . (3) T h e
d ev elo p m en t p ro je c t as a critical form in stan tiatin g th e state is faced
th erefo re w ith a fu n d am en tal co n trad ictio n : it is o rg an ized a ro u n d a
tra n sfo rm a tio n o f reason a n d w ill in th e p ro d u c tio n o f ascetic m o d ­
erns, b u t it takes as its m aterial fo r transform ation a p o p u latio n it con­
stitutes as rad ically disjunct fro m reaso n itself. (4) T h e o p e ra tio n , in
th e in stan ce o f tu b al ligations a n d vasectom ies, becom es a m ean s by
w hich the d e v elo p m en t state can reim ag in e its conditions o f possibility
given this co n trad ictio n . S terilization produces a body th at p e rfo rm s as
if it had u n d e rg o n e a tran sfo rm atio n o f reason, as ifIt were in h a b ite d
by an ascetic will. (5) T he o p e ra tio n becom es n o t only a te c h n iq u e and
a site in sta n tia tin g the state b u t also a form m ark in g the possibilities
an d lim its o f b e lo n g in g for p erso n s h ailed as this m ass body. As such, it
is n o t only a m a tte r o f the p o litics a n d life-m aking o f sterilizatio n in
itself b u t also a general form .
My w ork to d ate has focused n o t on sterilization b u t on a very dif­
feren t set o f co n jo in ed p ro c e d u re s, n ep h recto m y (th e rem oval, o r in
this case e x tra c tio n , o f a k id n ey ) a n d tra n sp la n ta tio n . T h is c h a p te r
cen ters o n a set o f concepts (o p erab ility , bioavailability, a n d su p p le-
m entability) th a t have e m e rg e d in th e course o f this w ork, co n eep ts
th a t help m e link quesdons o f fo rm s o f life (new practices o f reco g n i­

166
 O perability

tion) and form s of e x c h a n g e (m edical e n tre p re n e u rsh ip and relations

o f care u n d e r In d ian n eo lib eralism ) to w hat I am c allin g o p erativ e
form . I develop these co n cep ts along th e following lines. To be supple-
m entable is to be able to receive a gift fro m the sovereign state in th e
form o f a n o th e r’s body. T o be bioavailable is to he th a t body, c o n tin ­
gently m a tte rin g as an articu latio n o f m arkets, re la tio n s o f affection
and disaffection, and th e presence o f a technical ap p aratu s. And to be
operable is to be that b o d y not only as such an articulation: it is to be th at
body as a countergift to th e state, in so m e cases as a sacrifice resu rrect­
ing a failing o r ab sen t sovereign. F ro m a d ifferen t perspective, to be
o p erab le is to be assim ilated to n o rm s o f m o d ern citizen sh ip an d its
constitutive will— d esp ite oneself—th ro u g h a radical, h e re surgical, act
o f subsum ption.
Left u n to itself, th e case o f tran sp lan tatio n even in the context o f
its critical link to sterilizatio n in S o u th In d ia will n o t fo reg ro u n d th e
general form o f the o p e ra tio n adequately- So I in tro d u c e a third o p e ra ­
tion, foreshadow ed in m y opening: th e o p e n secret o f th e hijra o p e ra ­
tion. th e castration a n d p en ecto m y th a t seals a th ird -g e n d e re d h ijra
(eu n u ch ) status as ritually, sexually, a n d , as we will see, politically dis­
tinct. .As sterilization p ro d u c e s a citizen-body that acts as i f \t were m o d ­
ern, castration p ro d u ces a politician-body with a sim ilar as z/relation to
the co n tractu al narrative o f m odern statecraft.
“If you w ork for th e city, the o p e ra tio n is free.” W h at sort of free­
dom is it, dem ands this thesis inked to a b ath ro o m door, to have o n e ’s
relation to th e polis d e fin e d by an o p e ra tio n as the fo rm of the sover­
eign gift?

T H E O P E R A T I O N A N D ITS TMTIMACY
We are awash in o p eratio n s. Since 1997 I have b e e n w riting a b o u t
the transplantation o f a kidney and th e social and im aginary relations
betw een p ersons th at it ap p ears to rem ak e. My focus, in tandem w ith
the ex ten siv e work o f m y colleague N ancy S ch ep er-H u g h es (1996,
2000), has b een on th e tran sp lan t’s relevance for th e everyday life, su b ­
stantive a n d im aginary, o f th e poor. I have argued th a t despite the rela­
tive infrequency o f th e tran sp lan t o p e ra tio n in the lives o f m ost p o o r in
India and th e still g re a te r infrequency o f the m uch discussed sale o f a
kidnev in th ese lives, a tte n tio n to b o th th e p ractice a n d form o f th e

e?
Lawrence C ohen

m ark et in organs is a critical an th ro p o lo g ical task. T h e re are m any rea­

sons fo r this relevance, an d am o n g th ese the m ost ce n tra l for my dis­
cussion are w hat 1 term bioavailability a n d operability.
Bioavailability is a featu re of th e d isp ersed an d flexible logic o f late
capital a n d labor in re la tio n to the ch an g in g technical possibilities fo r
re d istrib u tin g h u m an tissue. D uring th e tw entieth century, m ore an d
m ore live h u m an tissues becam e available for ex tractio n from o n e body
follow ed by infusion o r im p lan tatio n in to others, an d b o th ro u tin e an d
en d -stag e m ed icin e b e c a m e increasingly relian t o n tissue tran sfer to
re p le n ish b lo o d an d e n a b le certain su rg eries (th ro u g h tran sfu sio n )
an d to re p la c e failin g o rg an s (th ro u g h tra n sp la n ta tio n ). O n e can
schem atically rep re se n t th e em erg en ce o f th e tran sp lan t era in term s o f
th ree tech n ical shifts. First, in the case o f renal tran sp lan tatio n early in
the century, surgeons developed m ech an ical tech n iq u es for safely and
effectively extracting, tra n sp o rtin g , a n d grafting tissues. T h e w ork o f
surgical p io n eers like th e Lyonnais research er Alexis C arrel revealed a
lim it to m echanical in n o v atio n in th e b o d y ’s tendency to reject foreign
tissue. In m o st cases, on ly very close relatio n s w ere possible tissue
d o n o rs, an d even th e n w ith great lik elih o o d of graft rejection.
S e c o n d , th ro u g h th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f tra n sfu sio n m ed icin e as
defensive technology o v er two w orld wars an d th e science it m ade pos­
sible, im m unological tech n iq u es fo r recognizing d eg rees o f tissue relat­
edness a t th e subcellular level w ere developed. T issue rejection co u ld
be m in im ized th ro u g h screening, a n d an effective tran sp lan t m edicine
cam e to d e p e n d o n th e stabilization o f large p o p u la tio n s as bioavail-
able re c ru its to e n su re th e lik elih o o d o f a m atch (C o h en 2001). T h e
only p o stw ar p o p u la tio n b o th large e n o u g h an d available en o u g h to
en ab le a tran sp lan t m ed ic in e was th a t o f the alm ost-dead, bodies still
and yet barely alive b ecau se o f the d ev elo p m en t o f th e ventilator in th e
face o f p o lio . For th is p o p u la tio n to b e re n d e re d bioavailable, as th e
w ork o f M argaret L ock (2002) richly illustrates, two technical p ro b lem s
re q u ire d solution. N ew ways of conceiving o f th ese bodies as m o re o r
less d e a d n eed ed to be articulated a n d acceded to, th u s the em erg en ce
o f “b ra in d e a th .” A nd n ew rhetorics a n d u n d erstan d in g s o f organ d o n a ­
tion as “saving a life,” d esp ite th e lim ited prom ise o f risky, im p erfect,
and freq u en tly ex p erim en tal p ro ced u res, n eed ed to be publicized.
B u t it was the th ird technical shift, th e d ev elo p m en t an d m an u fac­

168
 O perability

tu re o f effective im m u n o su p p re ssa n t drugs, th a t m ade p o ssib le b oth

th e g lo b alizatio n o f th e tra n sp la n t o p e ra tio n a n d th e e m e rg e n c e of
m ultiple bioavailable p o p u latio n s, n o t only th e alm ost-dead. W ith the
S andoz (later N ovartis) c o rp o ra tio n ’s invention o f cyclosporine an d its
u se in tan d em w ith o th e r ag en ts, close m a tc h in g o f tra n sp la n t tissue
was no lo n g e r essen tial, a n d clinics a ro u n d th e w orld b e g a n in the
1980s to tu rn to m ultiple, usually sm aller, a n d m o re easily m obilized
p o pulations. W h at ch aracterized th e m obilization and stabilization of
bioavailable p o p u latio n s in this era was the flexibility of these processes.
As far m ore p erso n s could serve as donors, bioavailability was n o lo n g er
d eterm in ed solely by consanguinity o r b rain d e a th b u t additionally by
econom ic n e e d , political vulnerability, and freq u en tly g e n d e re d m oral
d em an d s o f p re sta tio n . C linical efficiency a n d co m p etitiv en ess w ere
d e p e n d e n t o n flexible e n tre p re n e u rsh ip an d o ften on-brokers able to
re c ru it new g ro u p s in to bioavailability (C o h en 2001).
T hus, b o th S ch ep er-H u g h es an d I have c h ro n ic le d an e x tra o rd i­
nary range o f m ark ed d o n o r p o p u latio n s in a n d across d ifferen t places
an d m om ents. In my own field a n d archival w ork, I have b eg u n to delin ­
eate as bioavailable groups ra n g in g across space an d scale: fro m p o o r
relations to wives to m ig ran t labor, from in d e b te d weavers after a boom -
b u st cycle in th e pow er-loom secto r to sm all p easan ts stru g g lin g with
d im in ish e d p ro d u ctiv ity a fte r th e a d o p tio n o f c o tto n m o n o c u ltu re ,
from priso n ers in C hina to evangelicals in A m erica, from m e n in rural
villages to w o m en in u rb an slum s. T hese g ro u p in g s share little except
th e ir c o n tin g e n t bioavailability, organized variously aro u n d th e loving
o r charitable gift, th e com m oditized sale, o r th e au th o ritarian o r pirati­
cal forced ex tractio n o r seizure.1
— Studying tran sp lan tatio n as a critical e n g in e an d index o f bioavail­
ability fo re g ro u n d s certain relatio n s an d n o t o th ers. W hat m atters in
d elin eatin g stru ctu res an d genealogies o f bioavailability is a n articula­
tio n o f vital te c h n iq u e with n eo lib eral e n tre p re n eu rsh ip . E thical con­
versation h o v ers a ro u n d utility an d th e frag ile claim s o f deontology.
T h e law an d o th e r instances a n d agencies o f th e state are re d u c e d to
passive o r co m p licit (o r at m o st weakly regulatory) players.
O perability d em an d s a d iffe re n t calculus. F o r now, I will d e fin e it as
th e degree to w hich o n e ’s b elo n g in g to an d leg itim ate d em an d s o f the
state are m ed ia te d th ro u g h invasive m edical co m m itm en t. To develop
L awrence C o h e n

th e concept, a n d thus why I th in k it can be fru itfu l to ju x tap o se differ­

e n t kinds o f o p eratio n s (beyond th e ir subdisciplinary relevance for an
anth ro p o lo g y o f surgery), I tu rn to a finding fro m my earlier w ork on
o rg an tran sp lan tatio n in S outh In d ia and specifically to interview s with
w om en in several slum s of C h en n ai (form erly M adras) who, in th e face of
chronic indebtedness, had sold kidneys to a clinic ru n by Dr. K C. Reddy.
O rgan tran sp lan tatio n e x p a n d e d quickly in so u th e rn an d w estern
In d ia with th e ad v en t of cyclosporine. Local bioavailability was ch arac­
terized by specific relational v ecto rs (p aren ts to ch ild ren , b ro th e rs to
sisters and b ro th e rs, wives to h u sb an d s, and asym m etric gifts fro m p o o r
relations and fam ily servants), th e ex p an d in g re c ru itm e n t o f u rb a n and
ru ra l p o o r as sellers, an d very little use o f th e new b ra in d e a th .
T ransplantation was profitable a n d advertised th e h y p erm o d ern ity o f a
clinic: n u m ero u s centers w ere set u p in C h en n ai, M um bai (B om bay),
a n d B an g alo re, a n d these b e g a n to co m p e te fo r stab le b io av ailab le
populations. In th e so u th ern state o f Tamil N ad u , bioavailable p o p u la ­
tions w ere re c ru ite d from u rb a n C h en n ai slum s an d rural tow ns n ear
th e city o f E ro d e . C h en n ai sellers w ere p re d o m in a n tly w o m en , an d
E ro d e sellers, re c ru ite d fo r B a n g a lo re clinics, w ere p re d o m in a n tly
m en . T ho u g h clinic directors I interview ed differed widely in th e ir esti­
m ates o f th e relativ e n u m b e r o f fam ily d o n o rs versus paid u n re la te d
d o n o rs, m ost a g re e d that th e m ajority o f d o n a tio n s, until p aid d o n a ­
tions were outlaw ed in 1994, w ere com m ercial.
W hat in trig u e d m e in C h e n n a i d u rin g my 1998 interview s was the
ubiquitous p re se n c e for these w om en o f a prior o p eratio n : specifically,
every one o f th e alm ost thirty sellers with w hom I spoke had h a d a tubal
ligation, the “fam ily-planning o p e ra tio n .” T h e m a tte r o f th e first o p e ra ­
tio n cam e u p in interview s b ecau se th e w om en w ere inform ed, early on
in enlisting, th a t in o rd er to sell a kidney, they h a d to have th e fam ily­
p lan n in g o p e ra tio n for h ealth reasons. But each , in tu rn , related that
she h ad already h a d that o p e ra tio n (C ohen 1999).
T h e very in stan ce o f this re q u ire m e n t suggests th e n eed fo r a co n ­
c ep t o f operability. T h e ratio n ale fo r prophylactic tubal ligation as m in ­
im izing future risk to a now co m p ro m ised ren al system appears to have
far less to do w ith d em o n strated risk than w ith a paternalistic m edical
value m achine m an d atin g tubal ligation for p o o r an d low-status w om en
w henever possible.
 O perability

B ut th e re is m o re th a n paternalism at stake h ere. I was struck n o t

only by th e ubiquity o f th e p rio r o p e ra tio n b u t also by w hat I w ould call
its intim acy, its identity w ith o r proxim ity to th e everyday. C ecilia Van
H o llen ’s w ork-(1998) o n p o o r w om en’s o ften extensive use o f available
obstetric an d p ro p h y lactic technology in C h en n ai has suggested th at
in Tam il N ad u in th e 1990s, bo th th e agency and g o v ern m en tality o f
u rb an slum dw ellers— th e ir co m m itm en t, in o th er w ords, to state in ter­
vention in th e ir lives— w ere m ed iated th ro u g h invasive m edical tech ­
nology. K alp an a R am (1998) has e x a m in e d th e fo rm s o f political
subjectivity an d citizenship th at w om en’s en listm ent in h ealth develop­
m en t articulates, and D arren Zook (1998) has co n trib u ted to a b ro ad er
genealogy o f d ev elo p m en t an d docile b o d ies in Tamil N adu. My reading
of accounts o f the p rio r o p eratio n is in conversation w ith this literature,
w hich m ig h t offer th e o p eratio n as b u t o n e instance o f governance. B ut
my specific effort has b e e n to focus o n th e form al an d m aterial instance
of the o p eratio n in itself.
O perability and bioavailability re fle c t two in terlo ck in g fam ilies o f
exigency th a t c o n stitu te subjects a n d d ep lo y life. A p e rso n is h ailed
th ro u g h n ep h recto m y — th e ex tractio n o f a kidney— as a bioavailable
so u rce o f new ly scarce tissue for th e o fte n financially b e tte r-o ff b u t
dying. T h e p o in t h e re again is th at this in terp ellatio n o p erates flexibly
in specific an d d isp ersed p oints o f p ro d u c tio n and ex ch an g e. O n e is
hailed either because o f o n e ’s identity w ith a recipient, w h e th e r th at be
affective o r im m unological, or because o f o n e ’s differen ce from him o r
her, usually given o n e ’s m arginality across lines o f class o r g e n d e r o r
o th e r political subordinacy.
A p e rso n is hailed th ro u g h the fam ily-planning o p e ra tio n as a p re­
m o d e rn a n d p re c a p ita list b reed er, fo r w hom ap p eals to m o d e rn o r
bourgeois asceticism will be in ad eq u ate. In o th e r w ords, th e op eratio n
w orks u n d e r a p a tro n iz in g logic p re su m in g th a t th e p ro p e r subjects
o f d e v e lo p m e n t are p e a sa n ts o r slu m dw ellers m a rk e d by excessive
passion an d lim ited reaso n , p ro n e th u s to pathology ra th e r th an disci­
pline o f th e will. T h o m as H ansen locates th e genealogy o f such p ath o l­
ogy in w hat h e term s n in eteen th -cen tu ry British co lo n ialism ’s “double
disco u rse”— o f an im p erial subject sp lit betw een re a so n in g elites and
passionate masses— a n d its extension in th e “an tip o litical” governance
of the N eh ru v ian state a n d its sep aratio n o f a sublim e realm o f cu ltu re
L awrence C o h e n

and reason from the d eb ased space o f su b altern politics (1999:32-35,

50-57). T h e cu re lies in w h at S u d ip ta Kaviraj (1988) and o th e r political
th eo rists a fte r G ram sci h av e te rm e d th e passive rev o lu tio n o f th e
Indian state, a process o f fo rm a l subsum ption in w hich th e im p atien t
techniques o f th e m o d ern state are justified by th e persistence o f p re ­
capitalist (u n ) reason (P rasad 1998). T he o p e ra tio n is thus necessary to
rem ake o n e ’s m indful body in accordance w ith th e dem an d s o f devel­
o p m en tal m o d ern ity , to re m a k e o n e as if o n e w ere a m o d e rn , b o u r­
geois su b ject. A rguably, if th e o p e ra tio n b e c o m e s the fo rm th ro u g h
w hich m arg in al, p re m o d e rn subjects can secu re som e form o f m o d e rn
p articip atio n in the nation-state, it may b eco m e a critical d e sid e ra tu m .2
U ltim ately, one m ust c o n te n d with th e intim acy o f the surgical in
practices d efin in g the m ak in g o f co n tem p o rary subjects on th e m argin
in multiple registers: in th e co n jo in t term s o f bioavailability a n d o p e r­
ability. To p u t it otherw ise, biopolitics at the m arg in s of the state is con­
stituted surgically in two ways: as the flexible disaggregation o f th e class
subject in to its flexible w o rth as bioavailable life a n d as the passive rev­
olution su b su m in g the u n d e rd e v e lo p e d su b ject'in to the bodily ex ig en ­
cies o f th e m o d e rn o rd e r as o p erab le citizenship.

LOGICS OF EXCEPTION
G o v e rn m e n t G en eral H o sp ital sits across th e P o o n am allee H igh
Road fro m M adras C en tral Railway Station in C hennai. M ost patients
and caregivers e n te r th e g ro u n d s from th e g ate closest to th e station,
n ear E m erg en cy and T riag e. T h e old m ain g ate is farth er to th e east.
E n terin g h e re , o n e first passes th e m orgue. T h e n the way b ran ch es: to
the rig h t is th e hospital, a n d to th e left, the M adras M edical C ollege. In
the m id d le is the central adm inistrative b u ild in g with the m edical col­
lege d ire c to r’s office. T h o u g h o n ce the p rim a ry ro u te o f access, the
arch ed o p e n doorw ay le a d in g in to this b u ild in g is now seldom used by
those seek in g care. T h e p a n o p tic location o f th e cen tralized govern­
m en t a d m in istra to r is re d u c e d to surveying d eath : in a p p e a ra n ce s, a
forensic state. T h e live a c tio n is over at E m ergency.
In 2000, Tuesdays a re o n e o f the ex cep tio n s: n o t to th e forensic
state b u t to its lack of an im a tio n . T h e cen tral w ing is slightly busier: a
few m o re patien ts en ter by th e old gate. T h e au th o rizatio n com m ittee
for the state o f Tamil N ad u m eets each T uesday in the d ire c to r’s office
 O perability

to re g u la te this state o f ex cep tio n , lite ra lly so, for th e a u th o riz a tio n
co m m ittee d e te rm in e s w ho may b e e x c e p te d from th e 1994 law th a t
restricts th e giving o f o n e ’s kidney w h ile o n e is alive. Fam ilies of p e r­
sons n e e d in g a kidney to gp on living, th e ir donors o r m o re often sell­
ers, a n d , in th e case o f sellers, th e a g e n ts w ho b ro k e r th e deals all
g ath er in th e passagew ay outside th e office, waiting. T h e reasons fo r
attem p tin g to buy a k id n ey vary, but th e y frequently in c lu d e som e vari­
ant o f th e following: “H ow can I p u t a fam ily m em ber a t such risk w hen
I can ju s t buy a k id n ey ?” T h e n eed o f kidney-buying fam ilies to look
elsew here m ay o f necessity be fram ed as a series of im possibilities: “O u r
son is sick. T hey say I am too old. H is b ro th e r has y o u n g children, a n d
his wife will n o t let h im . H is sisters a re u n m arried ; it w o u ld be difficult
for th e m to have th e o p era tio n . It w o u ld b e hard for th em to get m ar­
ried in th a t case.”
S everal In d ian sta te s have set u p au th o riz a tio n co m m ittees p e r
the provisions o f th e T ransplantation o f H um an O rgans A ct o f 1994 o r
variants o f th e act passed in som e states in succeeding years. T h e act p ro ­
vides fo r procedures to d efin e and d e te rm in e “brain d e a th ” in o rd er to
create a supply of o rg an s through p ro c e d u re s consonant with best p rac­
tice in E u ro p e and N o rth Am erica. It stipulates that solid organs c an n o t
be b o u g h t o r sold a n d th at only fo u r classes o f relations— parents, chil­
dren, siblings, and spouses— can give th em . O ne of th e authors of th e
act, R. R. K ishore. fo rm e r ch ief m e d ic a l officer of In d ia , no ted in an
interview w ith my s tu d e n t an d co lleag u e M alkeet G u p ta an d me th a t
spouses, th o u g h usually n o t “biologically” related, w ere included in th e
In d ian law as an ack n o w led g em en t o f w h at he term ed “cu ltu re.” T h e
au th o rizatio n com m ittees w ere set u p to consider exceptions to the fo u r
p erm itted classes o f related n ess and to allow families to dem onstrate th e
p ro p e r d eg ree of relatedness.
E xceptions were variably defined b u t alm ost always included som e
extension o f legitim ate degrees of k in sh ip along the lines o f “affection.”
Fam ilies w ould claim th a t the seller w as a distant re latio n , o r a d e p e n ­
dent w ho w anted to discharge a d eep d e b t in exchange fo r years of lov­
ing p atro n ag e. T hese claim s were m a d e thro u g h a form alized structure
in w hich “affection” w ould be isolated, n am ed , and m easu red .
T h e available lan g u ag e o f affection in relation to th e expert com ­
m ittee inevitably ja rre d . In an interview , th e tran sp lan t surgery team at

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L awrence C o h e n

G o v ern m en t G en eral H o sp ital re a d to m e th e ack n o w led g m en ts o f

a p o p u lar m a n u a l on tra n sp la n t m ed icin e w ritte n by an A m e ric a n
author. T he a u th o r thanked his family, utilizing instead o f kin term s the
form alized language o f bonds o f affection u sed to regulate the eth ics o f
kidney donation. It was an inside jo k e and, in its retelling, was o ffered
to suggest th e falseness o f such language to th e e a r and h eart. T h e re
was m ore to th e m o m en t, o f co u rse: if an Am erican was aw are o f th e
falseness o f th e language o f th e ethical, why was I, an o th er A m erican,
seeking out the falseness in Indian tran sp lan t su rg ery w hen 1 co u ld have
done so as easily back hom e? Conversely, if, d e sp ite the tran sn atio n al
jo k e , the A m erican a u th o r c o u ld tu rn his w ife an d c h ild re n in to
ab stract loci o f reg u lated affectio n , the re a l vio len ce was th e re in
America. H ere it was clear: We all know it’s a scam , b u t you guys scare
us. You really believe this lan g u ag e. W hy else w o u ld so m an y o f you
keep flying over to au d it how eth ical we are?
C om m ittee sessions w ere, o f course, closed. I reco n stru ct som e of
th eir dynam ics from interview s in two cities (C h e n n a i in T am il N ad u
an d B angalore in K arn atak a) w ith c u rre n t a n d fo rm e r c o m m itte e
m em bers, g o v ern m en t m inisters, patients, b ro k e rs, sellers, tra n sp la n t
physicians, jo u rn alists, lawyers, an d the police. T h e p resu m p tio n o f vir­
tually everyone interview ed was th a t very few cases b ro u g h t to th e a u th o ­
rization co m m ittee were w hat they technically claim ed to be a n d th at
m oney and n o t “affection” was th e critical variable. M ost co m m ittee dis­
cussions c e n te re d on n o n relativ es and th e affe c tio n they m ig h t lay
claim to. In general, exception to th e law th ro u g h nonrelatives’ ties o f
affection m ig h t be established alo n g two allow able axes: the b o n d s o f
frien d sh ip b ased o n id en tity a n d tran slatab ility and th e b o n d s o f
enlightened p atro n ag e— usually a dom estic serv an t o r form er d o m estic
servant offering a kidney to an exem plary em ployer, a relatio n th a t to
the extent it rep ro d u ced leg itim ate kinship was seen to place a n e n o r­
m ous debt o n th e servant. T h ese two axes cam e to g eth er in th e figure
o f the p o o r relatio n , th e p e rso n a m ost o fte n c ra fte d by fam ilies an d
brokers for th e com m ittees.
As transplantation becom es m o re widely available in In d ia, in state
after state, a cycle of u n re g u la te d e n tre p re n e u rs h ip , co erciv e o r
exploitative practice, accusation an d co u n teraccu satio n , scan d al, an d
calls for state action is set in m o tio n , leading th e state legislature to pass

174
 O perability

som e v arian t o f the 1994 law. In this co n tex t, new au th o rizatio n com ­
m ittees follow th e ir m a n d a te strictly a t th e o u tset. T ra n sp la n t physi­
cians, h ith e rto accustom ed to a fairly stream lin ed process o f diagnosis,
linking th e p a tie n t to a b ro k er, identifying a seller, testing, an d o p era­
tion, described th eir and th e ir p atien ts’ fru stratio n d u rin g these initial
periods. Dr. S u n d e r o f B a n g a lo re ’s L ak esid e H o sp ital, fo r exam ple,
angrily to ld m e o f g ra n d p a re n ts d e n ie d th e o p p o rtu n ity to save th e
lives of th e ir g ran d ch ild ren a n d o f p atien ts dying because o f th e lack o f
previously easy access. H e im p lied th a t th e com m ittee in th e state o f
K arnataka h ad barely deviated from this d raco n ian p seu d o eth ical rule,
forcing h is colleagues a n d h im in to c o n s ta n t and d e s p e ra te ap p eal.
S u n d er c ite d a fam ous e x a m p le o f a sim ila r “e th ic a l” m e a su re th a t
w reaked havoc on the lives o f p atien ts. P u llin g an a rtic le by B ritish
p h ilo so p h er J a n e t R adcliffe-R ichards fro m a desk draw er, h e p o in ted
o u t a passage describing th e tragic case o f a British m an p revented by
the British g o v ern m en t fro m buying a T urkish m a n ’s kidney. T he Turk
was selling his kidney to pay fo r an o p e ra tio n for his ailin g daughter.
T h e state’s m aneuver, in th e d o c to r’s retellin g , killed b o th th e British
kidney p a tie n t an d th e T u rk ish girl. S u ch exam ples, a n d R adcliffe-
R ichards’s arg u m en ts m o re generally (R adcliffe-R ichards e t al. 1988;
R adcliffe-R ichards 1998), a re as w idely c irc u la te d a m o n g tra n sp la n t
physicians internationally as is th e im m u n o su p p ressan t cyclosporine.
D espite th e p ro d u ctio n an d circu latio n o f such narratives, the eval­
uative criteria o f the au th o rizatio n co m m ittees quickly sh ift from zero
to alm ost in fin ite ex ception. W ithin m o n th s o f a c o m m itte e ’s establish­
m ent, new p ro ced u res are established a n d ro u tin ized — o n th e com m it­
te e ’s side fo r th e g e n e ro u s in te rp re ta tio n o f d o c u m e n ta tio n a n d
interview, o n th e fam ily’s a n d seller’s side fo r th e p ro d u c tio n and p er­
form ance o f legitim ate fo rm s o f related n ess. As brokers a n d physicians
learn how to m aster the new adm inistrative form s, they discover quickly
th at th e co m m ittees, in fact, m ake it easier to c o n d u c t business as
usual— efficiently and leg itim ately m o b ilizin g the tra n sfe r o f kidneys
from th e p o o r to th e sick— w hile av o id in g th e possibility o f scandal.
Sellers are coached, in m an y cases, in answ ering q u estio n s com m ittee
m em bers m ig h t ask. T hese questions are fairly standardized, and a p ro p ­
erly finessed a p p o in tm e n t w ith the c o m m itte e usually p ro d u ces an
approval. T h e exception becom es the n o rm .

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Committee m em bers an d form er m em b ers I interview ed in both

cities gave four reasons for th e ir ability to create such fictions o f legal
relatedness in approving these cases.
1. Ethical To cite one fo rm e r Tamil N adu authorization com m ittee
head and"ex-director o f M adras M edical C ollege, “How c o u ld we let
this poor chap go off and die?” C om m ittee m em bers expressed a co n ­
flict between th eir role as ap p o in ted officials in te rp re tin g th e law
strictly and their conjoined professional a n d hum an responsibilities. I
belabor the obvious to note th at “poor ch ap s” w ithin the fram e o f iden­
tification are always organ recipients, never donors. Identification sel­
dom extends to the seller o r in d eed to th e m ajority o f p e rso n s with
renal failure who can n o t affo rd the triple co st o f the o p e ra tio n , the
im m unosuppressant m ed icatio n , and, if th e organ is p u rc h a se d , the
organ itself. W here the law fram es the citizen against the d em an d s and
potentialities o f the o p eration, everyone th e sam e and no o n e en titled
to buy or sell, the com m ittee presum es an identifiable citizen-patient
able to be operated upon an d to receive tissue, an d it attem pts w henever
possible to allow for the flow o f tissue to th a t body as b o th a m edical
and an ethical responsibility on its part. T h e ethical is exceptional in its
framing of bioavailability as a good beyond th e law’s p re su m p tio n o f
the sameness of citizens. T his state of ex cep tio n is en tered in to th ro u g h
an act of recognition prem ised on sym pathetic identification.
Though buyers and recipients m ore generally are for th e m ost p art
wealthier than sellers an d d o n o rs m ore g en erally (S ch ep er-H u g h es
2000), many recipients are n o t well-off, an d they draw u p o n n o n m o n e ­
tary and often fragile netw orks o f influence a n d patronage to subsidize
family operations. Identification with and o f th e citizen-patient is th ere­
fore not simply a function o f class but has m u ch to do w ith w hich side
of the operation one can locate oneself o n . L et us red efin e operability
here. We can term such ethical recognition— th e ability to be given or
to imagine being given a tran sp lan t organ as a constitutive featu re of
one’s citizenship— an in cid en ce of supplementability, an d th e ability to
have an organ legitimately taken or to im agine this as a featu re o f o n e ’s
participation in the state, an incidence o f operability. T h e two sides of
the operation are n eith er m utually exclusive n o r restricted to th e m at­
ter of transplants. In the case o f the fam ily-planning o p e ra tio n , o ne
either identifies with the sterilizing authority acting on b e h a lf o f a pub-

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lie th re a te n e d by a phobically co n stitu ted M althusianism , in w hich case

ste riliz a tio n su p p le m e n ts o n e ’s im a g in a b le fu tu re , o r o n e id en tifies
o n e ’s civic person w ithjthe body sterilized. For th e state com m ittee, the
in c ite m e n t o f th e s u b a lte rn ’s bioavailability g en erates a space o f ex cep ­
tio n c o n stitu te d as e th ic a l fo r b o th sides. T h e b u re au crat-p h y sician
identifies w ith th e b u y e r’s n e e d an d alternately ig n o res th e seller o r—
p articu larly if the seller is fem ale— imagines the sale o f an organ as th e
m in o r exception p re v e n tin g h e r fro m th e m ore trau m atic violation o f
p ro stitu tio n . A gain a n d again, n ep h ro lo g ists on an d o ff the co m m ittee
su g g e ste d th at if p e o p le w ere n o t allow ed to sell th e ir kidneys, they
w ould have to sell th e ir entire bodies.
2. Formal C o m m itte e m em b ers n o te d again a n d again th a t they
w ere em pow ered only to evaluate th e evidence o f th e docu m en ts sub­
m itte d a n d the fo rm al interview w ith bo th d o n o r a n d recip ien t; they
d id n o t have th e p o w er to create fu rth e r evidence to assess claim s o f
related n ess. R elatedness was a specific p erfo rm an ce to be evaluated on
th e basis o f form al criteria an d a tte n d in g to sp ecified sites: the d o c u ­
m e n t, th e interview. B rokers learn w hat will be asked an d p rep are d oc­
u m e n ts a n d sellers accordingly. S uccess o r fa ilu re is lim ited to th e
fo rm al space an d tim e o f p erfo rm an ce. O perability, u n d e r the form al
p a ra m e te rs o f th e law, is d e p e n d e n t u p o n the ability to p erfo rm o n e ’s
id e n tity w ith a m o re p riv ileg ed b u y er; su p p lem en tab ility , u p o n th e
ability to choose a g o o d p e rfo rm e r an d p erfo rm an ce d irecto r in an tici­
p a tio n o f the state’s p aram eters o f identification.
T h e second logic o f th e ex cep tio n secures th e ethical claim o f th e
first: any o th e r eth ic besides th at reco g n izin g an eq u itab le exchange o f
n e e d s th ro u g h th e tw in processes o f id en tificatio n a n d im agination is
p u t u n d e r erasu re as ex ceed in g th e form al possibilities o f articulation.
W h atev er o th e r story besides the sta te ’s ethical resp o n se to the d e sp e r­
ate n e e d o f p atien t a n d seller th ro u g h th e necessary space o f ex cep tio n
m ig h t hover b eh in d th e iterative p erfo rm an ce o f this narrative is rele­
g a te d to th e in a rtic u la te n e ss o f th e in fo rm al. T h e fo rm al se c to r is
rev ealed less as a space o f law th an as th e p o rtio n o f a political su b ject’s
p e rfo rm a n c e th a t can b e c o n stitu te d as leg itim ate sp eech . H e re th e
c o m m itte e ’s p ra c tic e o f g ra n tin g e x cep tio n is ack n o w led g ed as false
reco g n itio n , b u t necessary if th e d eb ased space o f th e political an d th e
u n re a so n o f th e m asses are to be evaded. T h o u g h th e p u re play o f n e e d

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that comes to frame the ethical seems to gen erate a H obbesian space of
contract and Warre that the logic of the form al w ould eschew, th e itera­
tion of formal norms secures w hat H ansen calls the sublim e an d Jam es
Ferguson the antipolitics m achine (1994).
3. Sovereign. Committee m em bers in several cases spoke o f political
pressures from ministers an d m em bers of the legislative assem bly, who
pushed them to aid a pow erful or w ell-placed c o n stitu e n t. Supple-
mentability was achieved by m obilizing social netw orks to g e n e ra te a
political space of exception. T his exception appears doubled, an extrale­
gal political exception to the expert com m ittee whose task is to generate
legitimate exceptions. In practice, however, th e re is little d istin ctio n
between a space of sovereign exception— th e p o litic ia n ’s ex traleg al
request—and the legal structure of formal exception, am ong o th e r rea­
sons because com m ittee m em b ers are p o litical a p p o in te e s. F orm al
norms and sovereign ex cep tio n overlap, ap p aren tly sim ilar to w hat
Agamben has referred to as the ex p an d in g zone o f in d istin c tio n
(1998).3
One could frame the authorization co m m ittees as exem plifying
this expansion, but in a p articu lar way. W ith the passage o f th e
Transplantation of H um an O rgans Act, th e state locates itself against
the market in bioavailability save for the co m m ittee’s flexible pow er of
exception. As this exception quickly expands to becom e all b u t identi­
cal with the signature of the state, a situation m uch like th at p ro p o sed
by Agamben appears to consolidate. To the ex ten t that o n e is bioavail-
able, one is constituted as zoe, as bare life, in a space of ex cep tio n that
simultaneously refuses o n e ’s status as the su p p lem en tab le bios o f the
citizen-patient. Operability— o n e ’s ascension to the polis th ro u g h the
operation— is not at stake in a figure th a t reduces citiz e n sh ip to
bioavailability.
Yet the work of brokers an d buyers, validated by the co m m ittee, col­
lapses bioavaiiability and supplem entability in to a zone o f indistinction
less than it perform s a Fiction o f in d istin ctio n th ro u g h related n ess
abetted by the operability o f sellers asserting m o re than th e ir consen­
sual commodification. T h e fiction is th at d o n o r and re c ip ie n t are
already so intensively transactionally and ethically c o n n e c te d (bio-
morally linked, in the phraseology of M cK im M arrio tt) th a t the
donor’s constitution as an organ and tissue b an k rem ains distinctly a

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m atter o f the polis a n d its norm s u n d e r the sign of th e gift. T he fiction

goes b e y o n d th e fictive k in sh ip in v e n te d by p e rso n s seek in g to g e t
th ro u g h th e ch eck p o in t o f th e co m m ittee, enco m p assin g b o th real a n d
fictive “gifts of life”: it is a m atter o f th e gift o f life in itself.
T h e logic o f bioavailability— th e c u rre n t c o n ju n c tu re o f technique,
m a rk e t, a n d o rd e r o f k in sh ip a n d c a re — d iffe re n tia te s bodies in to
d o n o rs an d recipients, ran g ed along flexibly articu latin g axes of class,
g en d er, an d c o u n te rg ift. T h e b ro k e re d w ork o f e x c e p tio n today sus­
tains th is relatio n by co llap sin g th e d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n d o n o rs a n d
recip ien ts into a fiction o f relatedness. Such a fiction ap p lies n o t only to
th e p ro ced u res o f co m m ittees such as those that leg itim ate the claim s
o f n o n relativ es to be related . M ore generally, fictive k in sh ip is w idely
m aterialized by a g lo b al logic o f bioavailability th at mandates that rela­
tions o f caring an d b e in g cared fo r can be tran slated in to the im p era­
tive to d o n ate tissue a n d th e narrative o f th e “gift o f life.” T h e fiction o f
relatedness, in o th e r w ords, o p erates as m u ch w ithin th e dom ain o f k in ­
ship as outside it.
4. Degenerate.
♦ Finally, o n e form er m e m b e r said th a t he left the com -
m ittee because of th e co n stan t p resen ce o f bribes, invoking the fo u rth
reaso n , th e alw ays-difficult-to-substantiate g ro u n d o f “th e nexus,” o f a
crim inality so pervasive as to re n d e r fo ren sic analysis un th in k ab le, fo r
any given account o f in terest is always itself in terested . By nexus, I m ean
th e p o p u la r social th e o ry in bo th everyday co n v ersatio n and p o p u la r
an d le a rn e d m edia in In d ia that everything is linked to everything else
th ro u g h relations o f barely h id d en p ro fit and in flu en ce. News articles
an d m a rk e t an d sch o larly analysis fe a tu re u b iq u ito u s acco u n ts o f
su b te rra n e a n “vested in terests” th a t in flect all social a n d econom ic rela­
tions (H indu 1998, 2 000). W hen in 1997 an d 1998 I follow ed several
em erg in g tran sp lan t scandals in D elhi an d Jaipur, I e n c o u n te re d d e n se
cycles o f accu satio n a n d c o u n te ra c c u sa tio n , p o rtra its o f a w orld in
w hich rival clinics ru n by rival in d u strial barons en listed rival political
a n d p o lice assem b lag es to m a n u fa c tu re rival fo re n sic acco u n ts o f
m edical m alfeasance.
T h e sensibility o f th e nexus, sh a re d by m any b u re a u c rats, physi­
cians, jo u rn a lists, a n d o th e rs w ith w h o m 1 sp o k e in C h en n ai a n d
B an g alo re, re fra m es th e in d istin c tio n b etw een law a n d n a tu re th a t
we can h e a r in th e talk o f so v ereig n e x c e p tio n as all b u t solipsistic

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in d istin ctio n betw een fo ren sics an d crim in ality , sig n ifican ce an d
redundancy. Everyone is o p erab le, for everyone is subject to th e nexus;
everyone is su p p lem en tab le, fo r everyone is p a rt o f it. Such in d istin c­
tio n fram es th e te rro r o f m o m e n ts o f social p an ic, such as th e 1996
kidney-stealing p an ic in e a ste rn U ttar P ra d e sh in n o rth e rn In d ia,
w here persons across class an d com m unity fe a re d that th e ir c h ild re n ’s
kidneys— a n d lives— w ere th re a te n e d by m y sterio u s sh ap e-sh iftin g
agents and suspected organ stealers w ere sig h ted everyw here (C ohen
1998).

FA RMERS A N D E U N U C H S
R entachintala becam e a non-place on th e In te rn e t lo n g b efo re it
was invaded by th e global fo ren sic v a n g u a rd . A village in A n d h ra
P rad esh ’s G u n tu r d istrict n e a r th e b o rd e r o f the im p o v e rish e d
T elegana reg io n , it was lo n g know n as th e h o tte st in h ab ited place on
earth. Its w eath er was regularly featured on C N N and o th e r W eb sites.
Its m ore re c e n t claim to fam e o ccurred w hen a local re p o rte r fo r the
Telegu daily Eenadu wrote a sh o rt story ab o u t th e large n u m b e r o f p g o r
Reddy-caste farm ers— m ore th an one hu n d red -—w ho had g o n e to far-
o ff D elhi to sell kidneys. Saye Sekhar, a re p o rte r for th e n a tio n a l
English-language daily the H indu, noticed th e story and h im self w ent to
R en tach in tala, w here he w rote an e x p an d ed re p o rt on w hat b ecam e
In d ia’s new est kidney scandal. S ekhar w anted to p h o to g rap h several of
th e sellers a n d g o t the village p o lice to h e lp h im ro u n d u p sellers,
though no o n e locally was su re if they had d o n e som ething they could
o r should be charg ed with. T h e resulting p h o to g ra p h fe a tu re d aro u n d
th e country. Five farm ers (all m en ) were lin ed up, their shirts off, th eir
flanks— an d scars— toward th e cam era. B eh in d them stood two police­
m en, p ro u d an d with bigger an d fatter bodies th a n the m o re em aciated
sellers. It was th e classic crim e p h o to , an d b e h in d the lin e u p was the
local police sta tio n ’s ch art— a m odified c h a lk b o a rd — o f crim es com ­
m itted in th e area.
By S ek h ar’s own account, th e m en w ere h u m iliated by this expo­
sure. They h ad gone to D elhi in secret, in m o st cases n o t tellin g their
wives or o th e r fam ily m em bers the real reason fo r the trip. “S he never
w ould have let m e go,” o ne farm er later to ld m e. A m an fro m a n eig h ­
boring town h ad heard th ro u g h a friend o f m o n ey to be m a d e in D elhi
 O perability

an d h a d g o n e to sell his ow n kidney. H e was told that h e d id not have

h ealth y kidneys b u t th a t h e could b rin g in m o re m oney by recruiting
o th ers. D elhi had recen tly b een th ro u g h a m ajo r kidney scandal of its
ow n— local m en accu sin g clinic doctors o f tricking them in to the o p er­
a tio n — a n d clinics a n d b ro k e rs w ere s e ttin g u p m ore carefully stru c­
tu re d ch ain s o f re c ru itm e n t. T h e G u n tu r broker-to-be knew only his
co n tact, n o t w hich h o sp ita l o r d o cto r th e kidneys w ere going to. T h e
farm ers from R en tach in tala h e recru ited knew even less. T hey were p u t
up in safe houses, a n d they w aited. S om e w ere o p erated o n right away,
so m e asked to w ait, a n d m any sent b ack a n d told th at they would be
c o n ta c te d as soon as a p a tie n t was ready. U tta r P radesh, w here m any
su b u rb a n D elhi clinics w ere located, was ju s t setting u p m o re form al­
ized a u th o riz a tio n c o m m itte e s an d p a ra lle l p ro c e d u re s, an d p ro c e ­
d u res o f exception h a d yet to be ro u tin ized : scandals hovered.
Like the p red o m in an tly fem ale sellers in C hennai, th e R entachintala
farm ers sold kidneys to g e t o u t o f debt- T h e .m oney was go n e, and they
w ere still in debt, m in u s a kidney an d in m any cases w ith n o access to
a d e q u a te postoperative care. M ost re p o rte d generalized weakness an d
a re d u c e d ability to w ork as a farm er. S e k h a r was at tim es sym pathetic to
this situation. O th e r tim es, w hen he a n d I re tu rn e d to R entachintala,
h e to o k pain s to d isp ro v e it. We w ere w alk in g th ro u g h th e village; a
seller was draw ing w a te r from a well. “Q u ick , take a p ic tu re ,” S ek h ar
g ra b b e d m y arm . “H e says h e is too w eak to work. But look, he is hoist­
in g th a t heavy lo ta ” T h e nex u s v ied w ith ex p e c ta tio n s o f village
cred u lity in S ek h ar’s m istrust. O n th e o n e h a n d , the farm ers m ight be
e n c o u ra g e d to play u p th e ir w eakness to b en efit certain unstated p a r­
ties a t th e expense o f o th e rs. O n the o th e r h a n d , villagers confused kid­
neys w ith testicles, o th e r o p eratio n s w ith castration. C o m p lain t m ig h t
be b ased in such m isu n d erstan d in g .
T h e sources o f in d eb ted n ess w ere d ifferen t, tied to a cycle o f dam
b u ild in g ; the p ro m o tio n o f new high-yield co tto n varieties; th e inability
o f sm all farm ers to ro ta te crops; d e p e n d e n c y on large farm ers’ control
o f p esticid es, cred it, a n d state officials; a n d lib eralizatio n o f pricing,
ex a c e rb ate d by d ro u g h t. Incidents o f fa rm e rs’ suicides, related to th e
sam e structures o f d e b t, w ere fairly fre q u e n t in the state an d g en erated
m o d e st political c a p ita l fo r survivors. T h e kidney-selling scandal was
fram ed as the new est w rinkle in h u m a n abjection. Local and national

18 i
L awr enc e C o h e n

politicians cam e to the village. T h e state h ealth m inister set u p a fact­

finding com m ission. Sekhar called several ethicists, talking h ead s w ho
could be co u n te d upon to fram e th e events as sym ptom atic o f larg er
rot. H e h o p ed th at the C h en n ai office of th e H indu w ould n o tice: he
did not want to be stuck forever in G untur. T he farm ers re p o rte d wave
after wave o f experts and politicians, b u t no su p p o rt— financial, legal,
m edical— of any kind. S ekhar asked m e w h eth er I w anted to u se the
police to ro u n d u p th e sellers again for a n o th e r g ro u p p h o to . I
declined, and h e got a local stu d io to take a p h o to o f m e instead fo r a
story on the international a tten tio n R entachintala was receiving.
In R en tach in tala, all know n sellers w ere m en ; in C h e n n a i, m o st
sellers were w om en. D espite acco u n ts o f w eakening, sim ilar to reasons
given in C hennai for the unw illingness of m ost m en to have th e o p e ra ­
tion, a significant n u m b er o f R entachintala m en w ere recru ited . R ural
men were m ore bioavailable, an d rural w om en less so for m any reasons.
The tem porality o f debt differed radically, n o t th e co n stan t a n d slowly
m ounting indebtedness of th e C h en n ai h o u seh o ld s b u t cycles o f crop
failure o r p ric e collapse w ith su d d e n an d m assive d e b t in p e a sa n t
households w here m e n ’s co rp o real sense o f them selves was b o u n d up
in their land a n d its future. W hereas m en in C h en n ai ro u tin ely asked
me w h eth er sellin g a kidney w o u ld m ake th em sterile, And th e ra re
interlocutor invoked the coercive surgeries o f th e 1970s E m ergency,
m en interview ed in R e n ta c h in ta la refused any su g g estio n th a t they
had been in a position to th in k beyond the e m e rg e n t state o f th e p re­
sent when they decided to go to D elhi. M ost said th a t in the very tem ­
porality o f th e p resen t, it h ad b e e n a m istake to sell a kidney: they w ere
now weak, an d they w orried th a t they m ight n o t b e able to w ork again.
It was hard to know how to in te rp re t talk o f a m istake, stan d in g in lin e
behind the jo u rn alists and th e police to elicit a confession. W h at was
clear was th at the gen d erin g o f a p e rso n ’s bioavailability was in several
senses a m atter o f time. In particular, the state o f em ergency fo r sm all
peasants co n trasted sharply w ith th e everydayness o f d eb t sp o k e n of
in the A yanavaram and O ttery slum s. T h e m ale o p e ra tio n was fram ed
in term s o f em ergency, w h e th e r th e econom ic crises th at d e m a n d e d
male bioavailability o r th e lin g e rin g m em o ries o f em erg en cy ste ril­
izations o f th e 1970s th at sto o d ag ain st th e possibility o f everyday
male operability.
 O perability

“If I h a d know n a b o u t M G R ’s d isease th e n ,” said a w om an in

C hennai w ho had sold a kidney an d la te r re g re tte d how little m oney
she had received, “7 w ould have given him both o f m ine” (C o h en 1999).
T he late T am il N adu c h ie f m in ister M. G. R am ach an d ran , a fo rm e r film
actor an d pop u list h ero know n as MGR, d ev elo p ed end-stage ren al dis­
ease in la te life and w e n t to New York fo r a tran sp lan t; his niece
d o n ated . T h ro u g h o u t th e state, renal fa ilu re is known as M G R ’s dis­
ease. P ictu res o f the late c h ie f m inister h u n g all over the w o m a n ’s flat.
But both h e r kidneys? O n e co u ld never o ffer en o u g h to M GR, fram ed as
he had b e e n as the u ld m a te source of danat th e gift. M GR was beloved
as the g o o d sovereign, th e co n stan t d o n o r to th e poor, the classic figure
o f the k in g as p arad ig m atic giver so u sefu l to In d ian an th ro p o lo g ical
d eb ate a n d h e re m e d ia te d th ro u g h th e p o p u la r Tam il c in e m a . T h e
im aginary d em an d s o f th e co u n terg ift are infinite.
Yet M G R does d ie, d e sp ite his su p p le m e n ta b ility th ro u g h the
unstinting love o f the T am il natio n , and tim es change. T h e e ra o f the
populist d ep lo y m en t by latter-day sovereigns o f the ap p aren t largesse of
d evelopm ent capital is over, at least in S o u th India, replaced by hybrid
varieties o f n eo lib eral so v ereig n ty a rtic u la te d w ith the d e v e lo p m e n t
state. A n d h ra P radesh c h ie f m in ister a n d b o o ste r N. C h a n d ra b a b u
Naidu is in m any ways th e cynosure o f th e N ew South, fam ed fo r solicit­
ing In te rn e t business a n d o th e r technical a n d telecom m unications out­
sourcing. A h e ro to th e n ew technocracy a n d its diasporic extensions,
N aidu is fra m e d m ore am bivalendy at h o m e . T h e R en tach in tala “scan­
d al” hit state politics n o t lo n g after N aidu h a d convinced Bill C linton
(then US p resid en t) to visit his capital o f H yderabad, an d it was used
by critics a n d o p p o n e n ts to stabilize a d iffe re n t im age o f h is ru le —
N aidu th e elitist, whose policies have a b a n d o n e d the flow o f d a n a and
who is fo rcin g th e poor, as a result, to literally consum e them selves. T he
ru n n in g jo k e at th e tim e w en t, “W h at’s N a id u ’s new est W eb site?
Saleofkidneys.com !” (A kbar 2000).
T h e o p e ra tio n re a n im a te s th e le a d e r in a tim e m a rk e d as after.
W hile I was w orking in A yanavaram , a story fro m Iran was w idely circu­
lated in In d ia. A ccording to this story, su p p o rte rs of the Ira n ia n revolu­
tion in th e religious c e n te r o f M ash h ad h a d p led g ed to sell th eir
kidneys to raise_._the re w a rd a n d e x te n d th e fatw a for k illin g w riter
Salm an R u sh d ie. P re sid e n t K hatam i was u p fo r re e le ctio n , a n d his
L awrence C o h e n

co n tin u ed ad m in istratio n th re a te n e d to e ro d e fu rth e r the p u rity o f

A yatollah K h o m e in i’s vision o f a n d c o m m itm e n t to a self-respecting
a n d culturally in d e p e n d e n t Islam . At the sam e tim e, em igres in Paris
an d elsew here co n tin u ed to ch allen g e the rev o lu tio n ary state by p o in t­
ing out the c u rre n t practice o f kidney sales in Ira n an d suggesting th at
revolution was tu rn in g m en in to eunuchs.
T he e u n u c h has persisted a n d reem erged as a critical figure o f the
political in various sites globally an d in India. In earlier work o n n o rth ­
e rn Indian political satire, I d escrib ed a m ode o f rep resen tin g th e polit­
ical relatio n b etw een the p o litic ia n o r th e p o lic e an d the ja n a ta , o r
people, as sodom itical, with th e im plicit or ex p licit referent o f castra­
tion (C ohen 1995a). In p o litical speeches w idely circulated o n ch eap
cassettes, figures associated w ith th e H indu rig h t “family,” particularly
orators like Sadhvi R itham bara an d Bal T hackeray, have assaulted the
enem ies o f th e n atio n as e u n u c h s, hijras. ^
In the last year o f the tw e n tie th century, h ijras were p u t u p fo r a
series of m u n ic ip a l and statew id e elections in c e n tra l and n o rth e rn
India and w on several of th e m ( Times of India 2000b, 2000d; Statesman
2 0 00) . Even th e eu n u ch s’ b a c k e rs w ere su rp rised ; th eir stra ta g e m in
local m ultiparty politics in re c ru itin g hijras (e u n u c h s, intersexuals, the
“th ird g e n d e r”) as political sp o ilers did not en co m p ass robust ex p ecta­
tions of victory (Singh 2000). T h e new hijra p o litician s w ere q u ick to
contrast th e ir ow n honesty a n d courage with th e venality and w eakness
o f th eir o p p o n e n ts, w hom th ey called the “re a l e u n u c h s” (M u k e ije e
2001) . In so d o in g , they drew u p o n the ubiq u ito u s feature o f provincial
political d isco u rseju st m e n tio n e d , the disp arag in g o f a political rival as
castrated o r effem inate, th a t h a d stabilized as n a tio n a l id eo lo g em e with
th e grow ing po p u larity o f H in d u “co m m u n al” blocs and th e p arallel
d eclin e o f th e cen trist C o n g ress Party (A n a n d a n 2001; P a tw a rd h a n
1994).
T he a c tu a l n u m b er o f h ijra s in p ro m in e n t electio n s d u rin g this
period re m a in e d small. B ut th e unex p ected literalization o f th e once
m erely rh e to ric a l politician-as-eunuch cau g h t th e atten tio n o f m ed ia
agencies (H industan Times 2 0 0 1 ). It was cast as an event-form (Das
1995; Raj^inow 1999:171—79) by political c o m m e n ta to rs b e m o a n in g
th e collapse o f m ean in g fu l d e m o c ra tic life o r assertin g th e fragility^
o f its p ersisten ce in the p re su m e d d esp eratio n o f voting in th e m ost
 O perability

m arginal o f social beings ( Times of India 2000c). A nd as th e first g e n e r­

ation o f h ijra politicians pro v ed to be signifiably m ore able and efficient
than th e ir detractors a n d even som e o f th e ir supporters h ad feared, th e
ap p earan ce o f the sovereign eunuch cam e to m ark n o t so m uch the sick­
ness o f m o d e rn political life as its p o te n tia l re d e m p tio n . T h e h ijra s’
repeated claim that they w ere in co rru p tib le because o f th e ir ren u n cia­
tion o f m a n h o o d , and th u s th e im possibility o f having sons and the co n ­
sequent n e e d to earn fo r th em , began to a p p e a r less audacious.
In th e form of this event, a reversal was effected. U nlike o rd in ary
politicians, hijra politicians could n o t be accused o f pretending to sacri­
fice th e ir ow n fam ily's in te re st for th e g re a te r g o o d : th e ir sacrifice,
em b o d ied in the iterated fact o f th eir castratio n , was legible as th e very
sign o f th e ir d ifferen ce. O rd in ary e u n u c h s were rev ealed as the real
leaders in th e sam e m o v e m e n t th a t re v e a le d o rd in ary leaders as th e
real e u n u c h s. To p u t it differently, th e em b o d ied sign o f th e o p e ra ­
tion— b o th as presence (th e w ound, th e scar) and ab sen ce (the h ijra ’s
“hole,” h e r lack o f m ale genitals)— cam e to have a p arad o x ical relatio n
to the em b o d ie d effect o f th e o p eratio n : th e m odern so v ereig n ’s in ab il­
ity to c o n stitu te filial re la d o n s with o rd in a ry citizens. E u n u ch s publicly
bear th e sign o f the o p e ra tio n and in so d o in g secure th e electo rate's
trust a n d th e possibility o f a u th e n tic sovereignty, o f b ein g ma bap,
m o th er an d father, to th e people. P oliticians are th o se w ho hide th e ir
personal ap p ro p riatio n o f th e com m onw eal u n d er false gestures o f kin­
ship an d th u s bear th e effect o f the o p e ra tio n . T h eir inability to create
m eaningful bonds o f sovereign filiation th ro u g h p ro p e r giving proves
the w o u n d e d state o f c o n tem p o rary sovereignty to w hich the e u n u c h ’s
scar b e a rs w itness. S o v ereig n ty is c u t o p e n : the o p e ra tio n e x te n d s
beyond th e dyad of o p e ra to r and o peratedT Its signs a n d its effects p u r­
sue u n n a tu ra l courses.
T h e m o m e n t o f h ijra electo ral c a p ita l may b e short-lived; m o re
recen t e ffo rts to d e fin e h ijras as m ale u n d e r the law a n d to p re v e n t
them fro m m obilizing electo ral seats reserved for w om en are p art o f a
b ro a d e r set o f c o n tro ls th a t may lim it fu tu re e u n u c h wins (H in d u
2003). Still, th e lan g u ag e o f the new hijras, and th e su rp rise o f th e ir
move fro m th e presum ptive m argin to th e center o f th e state u n d e r th e
sign o f operability, deserves som e a tte n tio n . Such su rp rise accedes n o t
only to th e non-hijra a c c o u n t o f h ijra abjection b u t also to the h ijra ’s

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Lawrence C ohen

ow n nautak, her d ram a o f a w retchedness caused by society a n d m erit­

ing societal patronage (C ohen 1995b). Yet despite this double p o sitio n ­
in g o n the m arg in , hijras have fo r d ecad es d e m a n d e d fo rm al
reco g n itio n as citizen-eunuchs: to vote and to b e co u n ted an d to do
a n d be so as hijras. R ecen t co n tests over h ijra electo ral g e n d e r an d
th e ir definition as m ale reenact a lo n g e r contest, by no m eans over.
W hat it m eans to enact citizenship as a hijra is wlrat is at stake here.
Hij ras use the sh am e an d double th re a t (to reco g n ize signs of sexual
d ifference in a child an d claim it as hijra and to reveal the site a n d pres­
e n c e / absence of th e ir w o u n d s/g en itals and re n d e r m en im p o ten t and
h ijras them selves) th e ir a p p e a ra n c e p resu p p o ses to beg o r co erce
m oney and to p ro tect them selves from harassm ent. T hey d em an d th eir
jajm an, th eir rig h t o f su p p o rt fro m local sh o p k e e p e rs, so m etim es
claim in g th at it is “you m en w ho m ad e us th is way,” im plying th at
fre q u e n t sod o m izin g in boyhood m ad e them w h at they are a n d in
effect forced th em to have the o p e ra tio n an d re d u c e d th em to this
state. T his sense o f abjection converted through the operation in to a legi­
ble rig h t in o th ers (th e operative w ound as th e leg itim atio n o f the
d e m a n d for su p p o rt) extends to jajm an m apped o n to the nation itself.
F or exam ple, eu n u ch s may call th e ir holes “all-India passes,” allow ing
th em to pass onto trains and across the nation w ith o u t anyone d arin g
to sto p them . I have also heard th e operative m ark called a “p assp o rt,”
in th e context o f travel to and from Bangladesh a n d an im agined trip to
A m erica. N ational claim s are n o t always d em an d s. W hen in th e early
1980s In d ian co sm o n au t Rakesh S h arm a was a b o u t to jo in a Soviet
crew to becom e th e first In d ian in space, h ijra s lau n ch ed a press
cam p aig n calling on India to put a hijra in space instead. For S h arm a to
go u p in space was b u t an em pty g estu re o f a satellite nationalism , b u t
fo r In d ia to p u t th e first hijra in to space w o u ld be to reclaim th e
g ro u n d o f history.
H ijra politicians have stressed h ijra d ifferen ce as central to th eir
political integrity. F ar from hijras b e in g the weak a n d corrupt villains of
p o litical critique, they em erge in b o th th eir ow n an d m any p o p u la r
acco u n ts as having cut away the ties th at bind th e m to others an d being,
because o f their operations, the only bodies truly a b le to m aterialize a
d em o cratic polity7. M adhu Tiwari, a college-educated hijra who lost an
e le c tio n in the H aid erg arh d istrict in U ttar P ra d e sh against C h ie f
M inister Rajnath Singh, nevertheless drew large crow ds and significant

186
 O perability

atte n tio n by accusing h e r fam ous rival: “I am not g o in g to win. Blit I will
surely tell people th a t they sho u ld ch o o se the real eu n u c h instead o f
these politically im p o te n t p eo p le__ We are eunuchs. We have no caste,
g e n d e r o r religious bias. O u r philosophy cuts across all kinds o f people.
We also have no fam ily o r am bitions w hich can lead us to vested in te r­
ests o r c o rru p tio n ” (M ukerjee 2001). T h e refrain— o f hijras escaping
the n exus because o f th e ir excision o f family— has b eco m e freq u en t.
S h a b n a m M ausi, th e first h ijra e le c te d to a po st n o t reserved fo r a
w om an, n o te d in h e r in au g u ratio n sp eech in the M adhya Pradesh State
A ssem bly: “T h e p o litician s m erely m ak e noises a n d issue p latitu d es.
T hey n ev er w ork fo r th e w elfare o f th e co m m o n p e o p le __I have n o
fam ily o f my own. My electo rate is now m y family” (Statesman 2000).
T h o u g h w ithout family, S habnam claim ed the p rim e m inister him ­
self as a brother. R ep o rters interview ing h e r while she visited the city o f
G o ra k h p u r to stu m p fo r fellow h ijra A sha Devi, e le c te d m ayor in
N ovem ber 2000, n o ted : “S habnam M ausi said that eu n u c h s could serve
the p e o p le b etter th an any m ale o r fem ale politician because they h a d
no n e a r a n d d e a r o n e s as th e ir fam ily m em b ers. T h e p eo p le o f th e
co u n try are th eir fam ily m em bers, sh e claim ed. H ow ever, she reg ard ed
p rim e m in iste r A tal B eh ari V ajpayee, w ith o u t n a m in g him , [as] h e r
eld er b ro th er, w ho co u ld n o t lead a fam ily life an d is serving the c o u n ­
try” (Tim es of India 2000a). V ajpayee, In d ia ’s p rim e m inister, has n o t
m a rrie d , an d d esp ite a q u ie t if w ell-know n re la tio n sh ip w ith his
“a d o p te d ” ch ild ren a n d w ith w om en, h e m aintains th e charism a o f a
w orldly ascetic. A gainst th e national politician Bal T hackeray, h ead o f
the Shiv Sena Party a n d freq u en t hijra-baiter, w ho h a d called Vajpayee
im p o te n t an d a e u n u c h at ab o u t th e sam e tim e, S h ab n am claim ed him
as so m eth in g else, as counterabject, as th e o n e red eem ab le politician in
his alm o st operable asceticism .
H ijra politicians are p erh ap s b u t a fo o tn o te to th e political scene,
but my effort h ere has b een to sketch o u t a co n tex t to begin to th in k
ab o u t th e stakes in th e o p eratio n as a critical political form , generally
and w ith specific re feren ce to persons constituted as b o th bioavailable
and o p erab le bodies. T h e re are few h ap p y endings, in anth ro p o lo g y o r
elsew here, an d th o u g h I w ould like to see som e kind o f red em p tio n in
S h a b n a m ’s electio n , th e lim its to o p e ra b le c itizen sh ip tu rn e d o n its
h ead as radical political consciousness, this story is quickly crow ded o u t
by o th e r critical events.
L awrence C o h e n

There are few happy en d in g s, b u t ag ain st th e a u th o riz a tio n o f

exception that o p erates by co llap sin g bios a n d zoe in to a fictio n o f
relatedness, in 2000 and 2001 som ething else h a p p en ed .

CODA: THE C O N V I V I A L I T Y OF O P E R A T I O N S
Achille M bem be (1992) fam ously tro u b le d th e ad eq u acy o f
Bakhtinian celebrations of th e carnal g ro tesq u e as resp o n ses to the
massive verticality an d m onoglot o rd er of the m o d e rn state o f th e iron
cage. With C am eroon as th e p ro x im al re fe re n t. M bem be su g g ested
that to the extent that postcolonial governance has o p erated th ro u g h a
carnival mode o f norm alized exception, the social fact o f carnival-from -
below offers less an instance o f “resistance” th an o f w hat he term ed a
conviviality o f grotesques. O n e m ig h t call su ch a conviviality, afte r
Aganiben, a zone o f indistinction, and it is increasingly less th a n obvi­
ous to me w hether and how biopolitical and postcolonial ex cep tio n al­
ity differ under neoliberalism .
To end, therefore, with th e hijra politician b earin g th e n arrativ e
burden of h er o p erab le d iffe re n ce may only re e n a c t th e lim it to a
certain stratagem . In d ia ’s g re a t b o o ster o f n e o lib e ra l tra n s fo r­
mation in the late 1990s was, after all, A n d h ra P rad esh ch ief m in ister
Chandrababu N aidu, he o f the im aginary W eb site saleoJkidneys.com.
Naidu’s response to his state’s persistent, in m any areas grow ing, rural
poverty has been a return to sterilization targets, yoked to a co n te m p o ­
rary regime o f c o m p u te r d ev elo p m en t an d g lo b al o u tso u rc in g rev­
enue. But lest h e be accused o f th e usual p o litical im p o te n c e —
promising but n o t delivering on th e so v ereig n ’s c o u n te rg ift to th e
people—Naidu has w rapped his ability to deliver on th e gift a ro u n d the
ubiquity of the vasectomy, to th e ex ten t that on two occasions farm ers
in Guntur told m e th at the c h ie f m in ister h im se lf h ad b e e n vasec-
tomized. Though such a b elief m ay not be w idespread, it p o in ts to an
oft noted effect o f N aidu’s publicity and program . In tours o f th e co u n ­
tryside beyond his urban political base, N aidu resp o n d s to local critics
who ask about failed or n o n ex isten t forms o f ed u catio n o r in frastru c­
ture by repeatedly linking the state’s ability to give to the p o p u la tio n ’s
self-limiting th ro u g h vasectom y o r tubal lig atio n . T h e o p e ra tio n
becomes p ro o f o f o n e ’s statu s as a resp o n sib le n eo lib eral su b ject,
individually and collectively. U nlike the d ire c t co ercio n o f In d ira

i 88
 O p e r a b i l it y

G a n d h i’s E m ergency an d its afterm ath , N aid n ’s focus o n th e operation

a n d in p a rtic u la r th e vasectom y is p re d ic a te d u p o n th e necessity o f
choosing it.
H ijras m ay claim V ajpayee, th e u n m a rrie d p rim e m in ister, as a
b ro th e r, b u t C h ie f M in ister N aidu, w ith his own p h a n ta sm a tic vasec­
tomy, offers the sign o f th e o p eratio n in confirm ing his claim s upon the
state. H ere is th e zo n e o f in d istin ctio n , betw een S h a b n a m M ausi and
C h a n d ra b a b u N aid u , eu n u ch -tu rn ed -so v ereig n an d sovereign-turned-
e u n u c h . H ere is th e te rra in w here M b em b e suggests cau tio n .
I have tried to suggest th at w hat com es to m a tte r in the resurrec­
tio n o f th e sovereign in th e form o f th e eu n u ch is n o t th e usual lack
assum ed in the castratio n — for the logic o f the o p e ra tio n displaces its
effects— b u t a d ifferen t, an d salutary, lack. W hat is at stake is the possi­
bility o f an ascetic body an d o f im ag in in g a social w orld ou tsid e the fre­
q u en tly grotesque d em an d s o f n eo lib eral welfare a n d its intim acy with
v io le n t cu ttin g s, th e o p erativ e stakes o f carin g a n d b e in g cared for.
H ijras, w ithin an d only w ithin the c o n tin g e n t logic o f recent-political
form , are the o th e r to th e asym m etrical care o f the state, to the prom ise
an d fear o f o p erab le citizenship by sterilization, for th ey ho ld open the
electio n o f a surgery beyond necessity.
Notes
T his ch ap ter has b en efited from critical com m ents received d u rin g its three
successive airings: at the SAR advanced sem in ar “T he State at Its M argins,” at the
U niversity o f T oronto, an d at th e U niversity o f Chicago. P articu lar thanks are due
to V eena Das, D eborah Poole, the o th er sem in ar participants, an d th e two SAR
Press reviewers, an d at h o m e at Berkeley an d UCSF to W arwick A n d erson ,
S tep h en Collier, E u gene Irschick, A ndrew Lakoff, D onald M oore, Aihwa Cng,
A n an d Pandian, Paul Rabinow , L ucinda R ainberg, Tobias R ees, a n d Nancy
Scheper-H ughes. My b eg in n in g to think a b o u t th e operation as a critical form is
in d e b te d above all to the w ork o f Cecilia Van H ollen.

1. In a w ork-in-progress, Scheper-H ughes is working th ro u g h b o th the

m etonyrriic and m etap h o ric relations of these th ree m odes o f ex ch an g e— that is,
b o th how they differ from an d su pp lem en t o n e an o th er an d how they are struc­
turally interchang eable effects o f an em erg en t logic of bodily fragm entation.
2. I offer this rew orking o f the stakes in subsum ption, d raw in g on Prasad’s

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Lawrence C ohen

engagem ent with E tienne Baiibar, with reco g n itio n o f my lim its in M arxist
conversation. I choose subsumption to m ark the operative stakes in assem blage
here against, for exam ple, hybridity (G upta 1998). A disjuncture o f orders of
reason an d being appears at slake, and creative efforts to p erfo rm m odern
citizenship in this co n text involve the w ound o f o n e ’s operability an d n o t the
supplem em abie graft o n e m ight associate w ith hybrid technologies.
3. A gam ben draws o n H annah A rendt in fo reg ro u n d in g th e classical
distinction between bios, life within the polis, an d zoe, the b are life all living
m atter lays claim to. T h e m o d ern pred icam ent involves the ex ten sio n of the
zone o f indistinction, w here these two kinds o f life are not distinguishable, to
encom pass m ore and m o re o f the world an d its institutions.
4. Hijras are a staple o f anthropological w riting, including m y own. O ften
self-defined in terms o f an intersexed th ird gender, hijras are far m o re often a set
of com m unities organized aro u n d ritual an d sex work and a secret operation
encom passing castration an d penectom y. T h e explosion of sex research that has
followed the circulation o f global AIDS w elfare capital in In d ia an d Bangladesh
has b o th expanded m ore com plex and subtle classifications o f h ijra identification
and p ro m o ted new tran sgend ered articulations (C ohen n .d .). I use eunuch in ter­
changeably with hijra fo r a n u m b er of reasons. First, eunuch is th e prim ary term
of the d o m inant English-language Indian news m edia and, as such, dem ands the
translatability of the position o f the hijra an d its com m ensurability with a dense
assem blage of colonial an d contem porary W estern forensic an d scientific
reference. Second, eunuch is used as a self-referential term by m any hijras, in
effect m arking their p o sid o n in relation to such m ediascapes. I have earlier
taken up som e of the referen d al stakes in th e category of h ijra (C oh en 1995b)
but w ithout sufficient atten tio n to these m etro p o litan dem ands. I m ean the
exchangeability of hijra an d eunuch in this ch ap ter to rep resen t th e social fact o f
these dem ands and n e ith e r an accession to n o r refusal o f them . O n e m ight arg u e
that insistence on the translatability of hijra/eunuch neutralizes its function as a
colonial and postcolonial site o f Indian exceptionality. T hird, an d m ost relevant
to my purpose here, I utilize eunuch as I am arg u ing that the postoperative status
(as op po sed to fem inization in itself) of the rep resen ted hijra m atters to the
articulation of her political will.
 8
Productivity in the Margins

The Reconstitution of State Power

in the Chad Basin
Janet R o i t m a n

How is it th a t w hen o n e travels to th e edge o f th e d e s e rt in th e

m idst o f austerity, one finds a stro n g h o ld o f m ovem ent a n d mobility?
H ow is it th a t th e recen t h isto ry o f d ere g u la tio n and privatization in
this n o -m an ’s-land created by long-standing political n eg lect an d ongo­
ing factional fighting has n o t d ecim ated th e possibilities fo r livelihood?
T hese q u estio n s about th e incom m ensurability betw een dispossession
an d w ealth creatio n nagged m e th ro u g h o u t m y stay in th e C h ad Basin.1
T hey are ce n tra l to the follow ing reflections o n productivity in the m ar­
gins o f state pow er in th at sam e region, w h ere we witness b o th conflict
over reg u lato ry au th o rity a n d its d isp ersio n th ro u g h k n o ts o f pow er
relations tied th ro u g h cords o f u n reg u lated econom ic activity th at span
n atio n al b o rd e rs. T hese b o rd e rs have b e e n critical to th e c u rre n t
reco n fig u ratio n o f state p o w er in the C had Basin and o n th e A frican
co n tin en t m o re generally.
O ne o f th e m ost striking things ab o u t th e landscape o f the C had
B asin is th e in te n se m o v e m e n t th at takes p lace u n d e r th e blazing
sun an d th ro u g h the h o t, d ry air, alo n g dusty p ath s a lig n e d with
thorny b u sh es an d down steam in g tarm ac roads. T his physical m ove­
m en t includes caravans o f young m en on bicycles, w ho p ed al th e long

*9l
J anet R oi tman

blistering routes an d cross the m o u n ta in passes b etw een C am ero o n

and Nigeria in th e ir quest for black-m arket p e tro l, w hich they b rin g
back to the cities in large plastic containers, attach ed behind th em in
potentially explosive towers. These young m en are jo in e d by stream s o f
blue Suzuki m otorcycles im ported fro m Nigeria a n d in th e service o f all
kinds of com m erce, from tran sp o rtin g co n trab an d to serving as c lan ­
destine taxis. T his m ovem ent also includes old-style caravans, now co m ­
posed of hefty six- to ten-wheel trucks, which ply th e Sahara piled h ig h
with m erchandise, dry goods, foodstuffs, and m e n , th e occasio n al
Kalashnikov poking o u t from u n d e r a mass of w hite robes and canvas
bags. Some of th e m ovem ent best qualifies as ex ch an g es and tran sfo r­
mations, or value conversions. T h e m ost obvious o f these are c o n sta n t
monetary conversions, m ostly in sp ire d by c u rre n c y d ifferen tials
between franc-zone m onies and th e N igerian naira, as well as the n e e d
to move from nonconvertible currencies, such as th e franc CFA, to co n ­
vertible ones. But these exchanges also involve th e sw apping, c o u n te r­
feiting, and accum ulation of national identity cards, voter registration
cards, high school an d university diplom as, and b irth certificates.
Generally in terp reted as beyond the state o r even antistate, th ese
activities are o ften quite m isleadingly called “th e in fo rm al econom y.”
However, while they often share th e ch aracteristic o f circu m v en tin g
state economic regulation, these econom ic activities c a n n o t be described
or understood as m arking out a realm distinct fro m state power, e ith e r
in terms of their organization or th e ir functioning (fo r a critique o f th e
concept of the inform al economy, see Roitm an 1990; H ibou 1996). To
the contrary, such activities are fundam entally lin k ed to the state a n d
are even essential to the very recom position of state pow er in p re se n t
conditions of e x trem e austerity. T h e tactics o f m o b ility and m isd e ­
meanor in h eren t to activities associated with u n re g u la te d m arkets cir­
cumscribe targets o f w ealth, e tc h in g o u t new e c o n o m ic spaces, a n d
constitute, in them selves, objects o f econom ic reg u latio n . In this la tte r
capacity, they are at the heart o f th e postcolonial sta te ’s endeavor to fill
its coffers and finance its constituents. By u n d ersco rin g that po in t, this
presentation o f productivity in th e m argins does n o t necessarily c o n ­
firm predictions about the dem ise o f state pow er o n the A frican c o n ­
tinent. Nor does it dem onstrate ways in which u n re g u la te d eco n o m ic
activities are p o ten tial bases for capitalist eco n o m ic activity (de S oto

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 P roductivity in t h e M argins

1989), shadow econom ies th a t som etim es surpass nodes o f state power
(N o rd stro m 2001), o r p a ra lle l eco n o m ies th a t u n d e rm in e in tern al
state legitim acy b u t not ju rid ic a l sovereignty (R eno 2001).
O ver th e past decade, A frican states have b een generally depicted
in academ ic research an d m ed ia co m m en tary as “weak states” (M igdal
1988; K ap lan 1994; Z a rtm a n 1995; R e n o 1995), a view o ften in te r­
p reted in term s of their fa ilu re to adhere to th e W eberian m odel o f the
rational-legal state. In sh o rt, these kinds o f states are ch aracterized as
having lim ited capacity w ith respect to re so u rc e ex tractio n , social con­
trol, an d policy im p lem en tatio n . T hus, th ey lack a u th o rity an d legiti­
m acy in th e dom estic re a lm , o ften le a d in g to a loss o f c o n tro l over
territo ries a n d p o p u latio n s. Likewise, a n d follow ing fro m th at depic­
tion, A frican political eco n o m ies have b e e n in te rp re te d as increasingly
m arg in alized from the in te rn a tio n a l p o litical econom y (see Callaghy
and R avenhill 1993; B ach 1998; Castells 1998:70-165). T h is portrayal
m aintains, som ew hat tautologically, th at state failure resu lts from the
state’s incapacity to c o n tro l resources, com m ercial an d financial activ­
ity, and reg io n al trade.
C o n trary to these acco u n ts, my ex p erien ce in the C h ad Basin was
n o t lacking in testim ony to the strengths o f certain A frican states, such
as C am ero o n , N igeria, a n d C had. T hese states have c ru sh e d rebellions
and o p p o sitio n m o v em en ts n o t only th ro u g h b ru te fo rc e but also
th ro u g h savvy political m an euvering, p ro v in g their respective abilities
to m o n o p o lize the m eans o f violence a n d to com m and cen tral parts o f
the b u reau cratic ap p aratu s. Yet, the efficacy o f these states is also g en ­
erated o u t o f w hat M ichel F oucault d escrib ed as the cap illary effects o f
state pow er, o r the effective constitution o f th e very field o f “the state”
through fo rm s of pow er th a t exceed the state b u reau cracy o r its central
institutions. O u r in tu itio n is th at states p ro d u c e d th ro u g h highly effec­
tive form s o f capillary p o w er are “stro n g ” states, and th o se that resort
to the exercise of pow er th ro u g h “right o f state” and violence are “weak”
states, w hose legitim acy is in question. B u t in th e C had B asin, the em er­
gence o f u n re g u la te d e c o n o m ic activities and v io le n t m eth o d s o f
extraction, such as eco n o m ic ap p ro p ria tio n th ro u g h seizure, indicate
that vio len t practices can also be p ro d u ced as a legitim ate m ode of th e
exercisfe o f pow er. T h a t is, violence can b e p a rt o f th e very legibility
o f power.

93
J anet R oitman

To hom e in on this problem , I m ak e a distin ctio n betw een state

power and state regulatory authority. T his seem s a m o re precise m an ­
ner o f taking on th e state as an a n th ro p o lo g ic a l o b ject, an d it h elp s
m ake sense of the p arad o x between th e increasing intensity o f u n re g u ­
lated activities and th e persistent efficacy o f state in frastru ctu res. In
other words, the conceptual and practical distinction b etw een state reg ­
ulatory authority an d state power acco u n ts, in som e respects, for th e
contradiction betw een th e expansion o f u n reg u lated activities, w hich
seem s to indicate a loss o f state c o n tro l, a n d the c o n tin u ity o f state
pow er in spite of it all. It also has allow ed m e to in q u ire m ore specifi­
cally in to the m odalities by which sta te reg u lato ry a u th o rity is c o n ­
tested, subverted, an d even abetted. I was able to do so d u rin g my stay
in C am eroon in the early 1990s, w hen th e re was m uch p ro te st over reg ­
ulatory authority. A lthough w idespread, this m ovem ent against certain
interventions in p e o p le ’s econom ic lives can n o t be d escrib ed as a m ass
struggle against state regulatory authority o r a m atter o f “society against
the state” (Clastres 1989). Instead, d u rin g this tim e, C am ero o n ian citi­
zens questioned and d eb ated the very7 intelligibility o f th e exercise o f
state regulatory7authority and fiscal relations. This was n o t a question o f
sim ple— m eaning absolutely o p p o sitio n al— resistance to state a p p ro ­
priations or even to state regulation in an d o f itself. W h at was at issue,
rather, were the criteria u p o n which reg u latio n is d efin ed (th at is, ta r­
gets, m odalities, e n d s), w hich im plies co n flict over th e very re la tio n ­
ships p ro d u ced in a n d th ro u g h re g u la tio n , as well as th e rights a n d
obligations inhering in those relationships. In this sense, because th e
relationship produced o u t o f regulation a n d n o t m erely th e fact of reg u ­
lation was at issue, th e very p ro d u ctio n o f th e fiscal su b je c t— o r th e
effects o f truths a b o u t th at relatio n sh ip a n d th e c<o n c e p ts an d cate-
gories it presupposes— was at the h eart o f conflict over th e intelligibil­
ity o f regulatory authority.
This chapter exam ines the co n co m itan t contestation o f regulatory
authority and its redeploym ent. O ne o f th e ch ap ter’s c en tral them es is
that this latter form o f pow er can be b o th unstable yet highly effective.
It stem s from the p o in t th a t state re g u la tio n o f the eco n o m y entails
constant efforts to govern th e frontiers o f w ealth c re a tio n , in clu d in g
the literal frontiers o f th e country7, as well as the co n cep tu al frontiers
of the economy. This process is such th a t in the Chad B asin th e plural-

19 4
 P roductivity in t h e M argins

ization of fig u res o f reg u lato ry authority g o es h a n d in h a n d w ith the

re c o n stitu tio n o f state pow er a n d explains to a large d e g re e how in
recen t times, eco n o m ic and social mobility have b een p ro d u c e d o u t of
situations o f e x tre m e austerity.

M A K I N G M O N E Y IN T H E CH A D B A S I N
T h e g e n e ra l q u estio n o f productivity in m arg in al spaces o f the
global econom y speaks to the subthem es o f how m arginality is central to
th e gen eratio n o f states o f p o w er and how it is constitutive o f th e very
legibility o f pow er. A lthough o n c e linked to th e international econom y
via first the slave trad e a n d th e n the c o lo n ia l cotton a n d p e a n u t
econom ies, th o se living in th e C h ad Basin now suffer econom ically from
th e fairlv re c e n t collapse o f th e se latter m a rk e ts. F u rth e rm o re , the
reg io n has n o industrial base a n d is n o r ts e n an industrial periphery.
How, then, d o e s o n e m ake m o n e y in the C h a d Basin? H ow d o es one
co n n ect into th e global eco n o m y from the e d g e o f the periphery? How
does one eke o u t a livelihood w hen one has n o recourse to significant
n atu ral resources, a viable in d u strial base, o r even service sector em ploy­
m ent? R ecourse to subsistence farm ing is ev id en tly one so lu tio n . Yet
m ost people a re n o t re tu rn in g to their villages, despite th e fact that
p ro sp ects fo r g ain fu l e m p lo y m e n t have d w in d le d in the tow ns and
cities. As in m an y places, th e p ro sp ect o f e c o n o m ic security th ro u g h
fam ily ties and fan n in g does n o t com pete these days with the lu re o f prof­
its to be had in regional and ultim ately transnational m arkets. T his shift
is partially d u e to the dem ise o f w orld m arkets fo r certain prim ary prod­
ucts and the re c e n t re a rran g e m e n t of industrial p ro d u ctio n th a t privi­
leges labor m arkets in S outheast Asia, South Asia, and Latin A m erica.
In the C h ad Basin, “e m e rg in g m arkets” re tra c e the trails o f th e old
trans-Saharan a n d east-west S ah elian eco n o m ies, re p ro d u c in g certain
historical fo rm s o f fin an ce a n d d istrib u tio n w hile g e n e ra tin g novel
resources fro m in tern atio n al m arkets. T he e n d o f the cold w ar an d the
dereg u latio n o f b o th world a n d local m arkets, w hich p recip itated the
in creased c irc u la tio n o f sm all arm s, drugs, m ercen aries, a n d private
secu rity p e rs o n n e l on th e A frican c o n tin e n t, have fa c ilita te d this
process. M ore specifically, a rm s flow fro m E astern E u ro p e , C hina,
S o u th A frica, A n g o la, and th e in d e p e n d e n t rep u b lics o f th e fo rm er
Soviet U nion th ro u g h the S u d a n , Libya, C h a d , C am ero o n , N igeria,

1 95
J anet R o i t m a n

Niger, and A lgeria. M ercenaries from C had, S udan, an d Pakistan circu ­

late th ro u g h o u t th e region, w hile A m erican, F re n c h , an d B ritish p ri­
vate security com panies co n trib u te to this m ov em en t o f guns an d m en
(Bayart, Ellis, an d H ib o u 1997; F ried m an 1993; LeFigaro 1997; H a rd in g
1996; B anegas 1998). Likewise, tra d e in gold, d ia m o n d s, ivory, a n d
drugs finance w ar a n d ongoing factional fighting. A t a m ore m u n d a n e
level, trade in p etro l, hardw are, electronics, grain, cem en t, and stolen
cars or four-w heel-drive trucks supplies factions a n d conflicts in N iger,
Chad, the C e n tra l A frican R ep u b lic, an d th e S u d a n (S o u d an 1996;
Dorce 1996; B ennafla 1997).
The privatization and dow nsizing o f n ational ad m in istratio n s an d
armed services, w hich have sw ollen th e ranks o f th o se seeking a lte rn a ­
tive form s o f e n ric h m e n t, have a b e tte d the e x p a n sio n o f th e se eco ­
nomic activities. B etw een 1992 a n d 1997, 27,000 C h ad ian m ilitary
personnel w ere slated to be dem obilized and d isarm ed (LeProgres 1997;
N'Djamena Hebdo 1997; Teiga 1997; B ennafla 1996). T his m ilitary
dem obilization cam paign has in c ite d newly u n em p lo y ed so ld iers to
enter into sm all-arm s trafficking, for w hich they have contacts and ex p er­
tise. They “en ter the bush,” as they say, w here th ey jo in u p with organized
groups o f ro ad b an d its, especially those co m in g from C am ero o n ,
Nigeria, Niger, th e C entral A frican R epublic, an d th e Sudan. F u rth e r­
more, form al com m ercial concerns have linked up w ith these seem ingly
renegade netw orks. T h e urban-based m erch an t class, which p ro d u c e d
its rents th ro u g h d e b t financing u n til the late 1980s (Bayart 1989), has
been forced to re o rie n t its eco n o m ic activities with th e co n tractio n of
bilateral and m u ltilateral aid. H aving w orked as tran sp o rters a n d sup­
pliers for public w orks projects, th e m erch an t e lite ’s convoys now plow
desert paths an d m o u n tain roads ru n n in g th ro u g h N igeria, C am ero o n ,
the Central A frican Republic, C had, Libya, and th e Sudan. T hey form
critical links in sm uggling o p eratio n s and the illegal trad e in p etro l an d
serve as financial backers of highly organized gangs o f road bandits.
A lthough th ese m erch an t netw orks, w hich are essentially u rb a n ,
have m anaged to sustain p red o m in an ce over th e countryside by re in ­
venting m odalities fo r en rich m en t, such strategies are now acco m p a­
nied by, an d increasingly d e p e n d e n t u p o n , th o se p u rsu ed by th e
unem ployed a n d recently dispossessed. N o d o u b t, th e u n e m p lo y e d

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 P roductivity in t h e M argins

have b e e n k e e n to follow th e p ath s o f th e se co m m ercial convoys,

w orking as tra n sp o rte rs, g u a rd s, guides, a n d c a rrie rs alo n g n a tio n a l
b o rd ers. T h e ir activities p re su p p o se co llu sio n w ith re c e n tly u n e m ­
ployed o r ex trem ely u n d e rp a id m ilitary p e rso n n e l, custom s officials,
an d o th e r g o v ern m en t figures w ho co n tro l safe passage an d reg u late
en try into this lucrative eco n o m ic sector. H ow ever, the u rb an econom y,
th e p o litical a n d social base o f th e m e rc h a n t e lite an d m ilitary p e r­
sonae, is in m any ways now subservient to w hat I will call th e “econom y
o f the b u sh .” N o lo n g e r sim ply th e ag rarian secto r co m p risin g rural
an d agricultural activities, th e econom y o f th e b ush encom passes fu n ­
d am en tal co m m ercial, financial, and m o n e ta ry activities. Its vitality is
attested to by a re p o rt on th e m o n etary situ a tio n in th e fra n c zone,
w hich no tes th e “u rban e x o d u s” o f bank bills a n d coinage th a t have fol­
low ed th e flow s o f tra d e in th e h in te rla n d s a n d especially alo n g
n a tio n a l'b o rd e rs (L ‘A utre Afrique 1997).2 In th a t sense, “e n te rin g the
b u sh ” is n o t ju s t a b o u t p arallel o r shadow eco n o m ic and political activ­
ities. N or is it a space o f regressive attitudes tow ard m oney an d in te rn a ­
tional links th a t p ro cu re w ealth.* T h e econom y o f the bush m ay have its
covert o r even in su rg en t aspects, b u t it is equally a realm o f well-known
strategies o f accum ulation, w h ere claims to th e rig h t to w ealth are now
articulated an d enacted.

C L A IM S T O W E A L T H : “IN C IV IS M E F IS C A L E ”
T h e dism issed , disp o ssessed , dow nsized, an d u n d e r- o r u n e m ­
ployed w ho have taken to th e b ush, highways, an d b o rd ers are m aking
claim s to w ealth an d even to th e very right to w ealth. M any un em p lo y ed
youths have som e form o f ed u catio n , yet they find them selves obliged
to scavenge fo r m oney. T h e econom y o f th e b u sh provides th e m with
cash an d gives th e m a m ean s to c o u n te r w h at they feel is th e sta te ’s
m onopoly over surpluses. T h ey have aired this sen tim en t consistently
over the last decad e, arguing th a t their activities are a m a n n e r o f exer­
cising claim s to w ealth. T hese opinions w ere h e a rd m ost clearly d u rin g
th e 1990s, w hen, ju st after th e legalization o f in d e p e n d e n t political par­
ties, a w idespread political m o v em en t to o k h o ld o f th e m ain cities in
C am eroon. In M ay 1991, this m ovem ent cu lm in ated in the O p eratio n
Villes M ortes cam paign. O rg a n iz e d by th e N atio n al C o o rd in a tio n o f

197
J a n et R oitman

O pposition Parties an d A ssociations, it involved a strategy o f civil dis­

o b e d ie n c e im p lem en tin g g en eral strikes, w ork b o y co tts, eco n o m ic
blockades, and clandestine services— such as m otorcycles th at served
as “h id d e n ” taxis— to deny taxation (C h am p au d 1991; New York Times
1991, Africa Confidential 1991a, 1991b; M onga 1993; Korn 1993;
R oitm an n.d.). T h e strategy of this cam paign was explicit: its aim was
to u n d erm in e the fiscal base of th e regim e. In d e e d , O p eratio n Villes
M ortes crippled the C am eroonian econom y. It resu lted in an estim ated
40 p e rc e n t d ecrease in eco n o m ic activity, w hich re p re se n te d fo u r
b illio n CFA p er day fo r the state, in c lu d in g tax es a n d fees (D iallo
1991:18), or the equivalent of th e p re c e d in g y e a r’s revenues (van de
W alle 1993:381). T hose w ho p articip ated in the m o v em en t expressed
th e ir criticism o f th e re g im e ’s ex actio n s and levies, w hich u ltim ately
fin a n c e th e ru lin g p arty an d th e p o litical elite; th e s ta te ’s m e th o d s
o f extraction, w hich are often heavy-handed; an d th e reg im e’s failure
to p ro v id e eco n o m ic o p p o rtu n itie s a n d eco n o m ic secu rity to local
populations. In tu rn , th e regim e d u b b e d O p eratio n Villes M ortes an d
th e general refusal to pay taxes “incivismefiscal, ’’w hich was in te n d e d to
typify th e m ovem ent as “uncivil” or beyond the pale o f civic behavior.
As I observed this struggle betw een the state an d its citizens u n fo ld ,
it b ecam e clearer to m e th at the p e rtin e n t q u estio n was n o t th e o u t­
rig h t rejection o f regulatory or fiscal authority, but ra th e r d isag reem en t
over th e intelligibility o f the exercise o f that authority. In th e m ark et­
place in the town o fM aro u a (p o p u latio n 120,000), I spoke with p eo p le
b o th d u rin g calm m om ents and ju s t after clashes betw een dem onstra^
tors an d the police. My conversations indicated th a t th e re was n o co n ­
sensus am ong local p eo p le as to th e significance o f th e m ovem ent. I
will n o t quote them at length h ere, b u t m ost people I spoke to basically
ag reed on the n eed to deprive the reg im e o f its fiscal base so as to force
it to respond to certain dem ands. Yet, som e insisted th at this response
sh o u ld entail increased and effective regulation to co m b at the e x te n ­
sion o f u nregulated m arkets, w hereas others u n d e rsc o re d the lib erat­
ing effects o f the m ovem ent and th e desire to throw o ff the shackles o f
state regulation. O n e m erch an t e c h o e d the feelings o f m any o th e rs,
insisting on the ro le o f the state as g u aran to r o f th e m ark et and eco ­
nom ic security, w hich h e viewed as th reaten ed by fo reig n influences.
H e explained:
 P roductivity in t h e M argins

W ith the crisis, workplaces are closed; m erchants hardly sell

anym ore. Com panies are closed, and functionaries are two
or th ree m onths w ithout salaries. W ith these m onths w ith­
out salaries, they have debt. We d o n ’t sell, and som e m er­
chants can ’t pay their licenses. Nigerians [“Nigerians*' refers
to those peddling wares from Nigeria, regardless of national
origin] go door to d o o r with m erchandise, through the
neighborhoods, along all the paths, they hawk their wares.
They sell cheaper. T hey d o n ’t pay for licenses, no taxes;
the adm inistration does n o t take care o f the p ro b lem __
N igeria is killing M aroua. People d o n ’t w ant to consum e
C am eroonian products. M oney is going o u t of the country
...the state must make order; it must cover m e__If the state
has its profits, I’ll have m ine.
A n o th er m e rc h a n t c o n c u rre d , saying, “I ’m obliged to pay taxes,
an d I d o n 't e a rn anything. If th e state ob lig es m e, I m ust d o it. T he
adm in istratio n m ust take its responsibilities in h an d ...th ev m u st elim i­
n ate the am b u lato r)' sellers.”
Many m e rc h a n ts w ho see fo reig n eco n o m ic o p erato rs a n d those
w ho evade reg u latio n , such as am bulatory sellers, as p ro b lem atic also
condem n th e state for its in actio n . However, they hone in o n civil ser­
vants, who are n o longer th e p rin cip al so u rce o f capital fo r ex ten d ed
fam ilies an d netw orks of red istrib u tio n an d w ho co n trib u te to capital
flig h t by p u rc h a sin g g o o d s in n e ig h b o rin g m arkets in N igeria.
M erchants th u s find them selves in the co n trad icto ry position o f having
to “work th e b u s h ” (m eaning u n reg u lated m arkets) and pay taxes. As
an angry m e rc h a n t declared firmly:
T here is no m arket; th ere is no money. T h e civil servants
d o n ’t earn m oney like before. Firms are shut; people are
bankrupt; com panies have no work. T h e problem is capital
flight. I pay taxes, and they go.to the exterior; there is no
m ore m oney in Cam eroon. W e’re obliged to work the m ar­
kets in the bush—and to pay licenses. T he governm ent is the
source o f these problem s. I sell at a loss because things are
cheaper in Nigeria.

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A nother m an rep eated the view th a t civil servants, b ein g both the
primary consum ers an d those w ho m ainly buy a b ro a d , are u n d erm in ­
ing the C am ero o n ian econom y a n d fu elin g u n re g u la te d exchanges:
‘T here is no m arket because th ere is co n trab an d . I b u y m erchandise in
Douala [C am ero o n ], n o t in N ig e ria __ C o n tra b a n d is b reak in g us.
There are a lot o f taxes on us; com m ercial licenses [la patente] are too
expensive. T he state functionaries go to Banki [N igeria] for everything,
even for household item s and food. W ho are we g o in g to sell to?”
On the o th er h a n d , n o t everyone d ep icted th e p o ro u s b o rd er an d
unregulated eco n o m ic activities as p ro b le m s o f sta te . S om e p eo p le
made im m ediate re fe ren c e to “d e m o c ra c y ” as th e fo rc e b e h in d th e
dem onstrations in th e m ark etp lace a n d th e p o p u la tio n ’s new found
refusal to pay taxes. T hus, w hen I asked why people are now willing to
confront the authorities in the m ark etp lace, I was told:
The state m ust function; they [m erchants] have to pay their
droits [taxes and duties]. The problem is Nigeria: the border
is perm eable; the sm ugglers m ust be c o u n te re d . They
[C am eroonian m erchants] c a n ’t sell their p ro d u cts, and
they d o n ’t w ant to pay for a license. They’re selling at a loss.
They’d be willing to pay if the sm ugglers w ere stopped, if
they could sell their own products. They refute th e authori­
ties in the m arket because they’re th reaten ed by N igeria,
and they hold the authorities responsible. O r it’s because of
dem ocratization; it’s dem ocratization m isu n d ersto o d [la
democracie mal comprise]—that’s why they live this ambiguity.
A m unicipal ad m in istrato r p u t fo rth this sam e view: “They b u rn e d
the controllers’ po st and the police po st in the m ark etp lace. Now they
say it’s dem ocracy, an d it spills o v er a n d it’s an arch y . Even w hen th e
police whistle, they say they’re free, it’s dem ocracy7. I t’s a n adjustm ent__
People d o n ’t w ant to pay [taxes], they say it’s dem ocracy.”
W hen asked w h at h a p p e n e d ju s t a fte r a v io le n t c o n fro n ta tio n
between security fo rces an d civilians in th e m ain m a rk e tp la c e, o n e
young man rep eated this view, alb eit fro m the p ersp ectiv e o f the o p p o ­
sition:
The police encircled the city an d the m ark et. People

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decided to stay at hom e. T h e police w ere asking for tax

receipts; if you didn’t have it, they put you in a truck. No one
cam e to th e market. T h e re was g reat disorder. P eople
burned tires; they prevented anyone from circulating, even
the police. We haven’t paid for a year now. We have en tered
into politics. Politics help ed us refuse to pay. It’s democracy.
If we pay taxes, it Finances the RDPC [R assem blem ent
D em ocratique Du Peuple C am erounais]. Forty-nine m illion
rem ains to be paid. I t’s th eir problem ; this governm ent
doesn’t interest us. We used to be obliged; now it’s dem oc­
racy, w e’re no longer obliged.
“But why d o peo p le have th e courage to refu se now?” I asked.
“T h e [a u th o ritie s] are a fra id o f the v an d als; they'll c o m e burn
th em alive, in th e ir houses a n d in th eir cars. T h e state d o e sn 't have any
m eans. It’s th e p opulation th a t has the m eans; they can sell fro m their
ho m es.”
W hile insisting on the sta te ’s responsibilities, m any see th e general­
ization of u n re g u la te d exchanges as a d em o cratizin g force because it
has b ro u g h t do w n barriers to econom ic m obility': black-m arket petrol
is everyw here, everyone has access. As o n e p e rso n p u t it, “T h e petrol
trad e is not clan d estin e anym ore, n o t only b ecau se the g en d arm es and
custom s officials are all involved, b u t also b ecau se it has b e e n d em o cra­
tized: anyone can d o it and ev ery o n e does.”
A nother m a n concurred, u n d ersco rin g ag ain th at this is n o t a m at­
te r o f society' versus the state becau se state a g en ts are all im p licated in
th e effervescence o f u n reg u lated traffic:
People are willing to co n fro n t the authorities because they
have petrol. They can b u rn things, and the gendarm es are
afraid o f being burned alive in their cars o r in their houses.
And all th e people have petrol; it’s everyw here because of
the traffic with Nigeria; it’s all over the streets and in every
house. A nd the gendarm es can’t do anything because they
[themselves] are all involved in the traffic.
G enerally speaking, my conversations w ith th e foot soldiers o f the
eco n o m y o f th e b u sh always cam e back to th e id ea th at— in sp ite o f

20 1
J anet R o i t m a n

strong n ationalist and especially protectionist sentim ents— th e ex pand­

ing trade in u n reg u lated goods is a source o f econom ic freed o m an d
em pow erm ent. A ssociated with the rig h t to en g ag e in co m m erce
regardless o f m eans, th o se w ho sm uggle p e tro l o n th e N igerian-
C am eroonian border o ften described th e ir activities as p a rt o f “dem oc­
ratization” because “anyone-can p a rticip ate.” M oreover, th e ir supply
kept gas p rices low, th u s aid in g th e im p o v erish ed co n su m er. Yet,
d em o cratizatio n — a to p ic I will n o t dw ell on h e re 4— was evidently
being red u ced to the question o f establishing freedom fro m tax. It was
also in terp reted as a m ean s to negate o r rectify exclusions h ereto fo re
established through econom ic regulation, such as licensing. However,
as many p e o p le n o ted , th e police, g en d arm es, an d cu sto m s officials
are involved in u n reg u lated com m erce, th u s m aking th e o p p o sitio n
between “th e m ” and “u s” obscure (see R oitm an n .d .). T h e fact th a t
people are living “am biguity” is an astute p o in t m ade by o n e m an cited
above. U ltim ately, th ere was m uch un certain ty ab o u t th e very field o f
positive know ledge in w hich state in terv en tio n s in citizen s’ lives have
been conceptualized an d enacted. This d eb ate has c e n te re d upo n cer­
tain in terro g atio n s: W hat is the ultim ate source o f w ealth? A nd, as a
corollary, w hat does “les d ro its”— m ean in g taxes as well as rights an d
obligations— refer to? R esponses to this last q u estio n a re d e p e n d a n t
upon th e first, and they th u s vacillate, d e p e n d in g on w h e th e r wealth is
primarily localized as som ething g en erated by and w ithin th e state, the
market, th e consum er, th e civil servant, the citizen, o r so m eth in g else.
This in terro g atio n o f w ealth and rights involves reflectio n ab o u t th e
ways in w hich fiscal ta rg e ts are q u alified as such a n d th e m an n ers
through w hich the fiscal subject em erges in the field o f reg u latio n .5

THE R I G H T TO W E A L T H , T H E R I G H T T O TA X
In C am eroon, the incivism e fiscal m ovem ent was o ften sum m arized
as the refusal to pay la p a te n te , or co m m ercial licenses. T hese w ere
im posed u p o n all m e rc h a n ts ow ning sh o p s an d btisinesses, as well
as petty trad ers selling w ares or pieces o f cloth spread o n the g ro u n d
or on old w’ooden planks set up at the edges of the m arketplace. As a
form of tax, la patente en ters into the general category o f droits, w hich
in French signifies, d ep en d in g on the context, duties, fees, and taxes,
as well as en titlem en ts an d rights o f en try an d access. F ro m my ex ­

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p e rie n c e , those w h o pay taxes in n o rth e rn C a m e ro o n — in c lu d in g

E u ro p ean s— gen erally refer to d ro its in term s o f rig h ts o f access: o n e
pays taxes for th e rig h t to access c ertain m arkets, o r fo r the privileged
rela tio n sh ip s th a t e n su re ex c h a n g e s a n d co m m ercial re la tio n sh ip s .6
Tax is often signified in local p a rla n c e as a “price” (leprix); it is the p rice
o n e pays for th e rig h t o f access. Today, th e tension b etw een obligations
a n d en titlem en ts th a t form s th e sp in a l colum n o f “rig h ts” (les d ro its)
has b eco m e q u ite ta u t. T hus, th e c h ie f o f a b u tc h e r ’s m ark et (sarki
paw a) in M aroua in sisted th at o n e “pays fo r rig h ts” a n d th at u n re g u ­
lated trad e in cattle a n d the p ro life ra tio n of n e ig h b o rh o o d b u tc h e rs
w ho w ork in b ack streets, backyards, an d the b u sh a re a n eg atio n o f
rights o f access in b o th econom ic a n d political term s:
Before, to be a butcher, you h ad to have the paper....N ow
they go get th e paper—the license [la patente] ...b u t they no
longer slaughter under my eye__ If they have th eir papers,
they have paid for certain rights. I explain that they m ust see
me, they m ust respect the rules. Ten years ago, it wasn’t like
th at....T h ey ’re n o t in ag re e m e n t now; it’s n o t dem ocracy
yet.
D u rin g th e so -called incivism e fiscal m o v em en t, th e Paul Biya
reg im e sought to establish a h o m o lo g o u s relationship betw een so u rces
o f political d iso rd e r an d sources o f eco n o m ic d iso rd e r, betw een, fo r
instance, “an tin a tio n a l” activity a n d th e so-called in fo rm al econom y—
w hat o n e m e rc h a n t cited above re fe rre d to as “m a rk e ts in the b u s h .”
C o n seq u en tly , te rm s o f d eb ate a b o u t econom ic citizen sh ip , o r th e
n a tu re o f rights a n d responsibilities in h e re n t in th e fiscal relationship,
h av e b e e n -re stric te d fo r the m o st p a rt to th e q u e stio n o f secu rity
through th e state versus security from th e state. A nd this question basi­
cally involves, as th e O p eratio n V illes M ortes m o v e m e n t itself a rtic u ­
lated , rights to security eith er th ro u g h th e fiscal actio n s o f the state o r
fro m th e fiscal actio n s o f the state. T h erefo re, a lth o u g h paying taxes
has b een c o n stru e d historically as req u isite for— o r even constitutive
o f— th e status o f “free citizen,” in th e p resen t co n tex t, th e constitution
o f th e “free citizen” is construed less in term s of a fo u n d in g econom ic
tra n sfe r than in te rm s o f the c o n d itio n s th at allow fo r th at tran sfer.
T h e m e rc h a n ts’ rem ark s q u o ted above are ex em p lary o f this g e n e ra l

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view point insofar as th ey state th at th o se co n d itio n s in clu d e security

from foreign econom ic an d political influences, as w ell as access to a
market.
Yet, m erchants now contest the id e a o f paying fo r th e right to trad e,
or paying for access to th e m arket (le droit du marche), by m aking claim s
to “th e rig h t to a m a rk e t”— Le droit nu marche, often re fe rre d to as le d ro it
du m arch e — or to th e very conditions th a t would allow o ne to pay tax.
The g en eral public’s very w illingness to co n fro n t th e au th o rities in a
co n c e rte d m an n er was consistently e x p la in e d to m e as a m a tte r o f
access to and control o f petrol: “Nous avons zoua-zoua; c*est lefeu public”
(“We have zoua-zoua; it’s the public fire [or the p u b lic ’s fire ] ” ) . 7 Calls
for le d ro it du m arche (o r le droit au m arch e) w ere th u s both ap p eals
for state protection o f national m arkets an d co n co m itan t assertions o f
the freed o m to engage in com m erce regardless o f m eans, which c o u n ­
ters th e gatekeeping functions o f e n titlem en ts c o n stru e d as rig h ts o f
access. In this sense, o n e m ight a rg u e th at “the r ig h t” (le d ro it) to
wealth, w hich involves b o th entitlem ents and duties, was n o t being co n ­
structed in the specific nam e of the “co n su m er” o r th e “p ro d u c e r” o r
the “w orker,” but ra th e r as the fiscal subject.
T h e constitution o f the fiscal subject is, o f course, inherently related
to th e status of citizenship, a point u n d ersco red at a m eeting betw een
high-level adm inistrators and the m erch an ts o f M aro u a in April 1993.
This g ath erin g was an attem p t by th e reg im e to b rin g in su rg en t trad ers
and businessm en in to th e fold of “civic behavior,” w hich involved th e
form ation o f a special com m ission to investigate tax evasion an d re g u ­
lation o f th e main m arketplace. At this tim e, the local prefect to o k th e
opp o rtu n ity to rem in d th e m erchants,
You are the ones who fostered th e presence o f N igerians,
Chadians—vou benefit from th e ir presence. T h e networks
are very, verv com plicated. The Nigerians and C hadians rent
stores from you__[T]hey’re in the parallel and inform al cir­
cuits that you have initiated__T h e com m ission [on taxes
an d the m arketplace] cannot w ork freely__N o one will
reveal their profit margins. You say you have only four car­
tons of soap [in your store], and you’re riding around in a
M ercedes. We know that the com m and “R efuse!” [to pay

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 P roductivity in t h e M argins

tax] runs through the m arket. But you tell m e that foreign­
ers are the ones who tell, the youth to attack the people from
the M inistry of Finances__Lots of activities take place in the
form o f traffic. Traffic was never the life o f a country [faire
vivre un pays]. And w here that is the case, like in the G am bia,
it was organized by the agents of the state itself. But if you
have houses and cars...an d the state has nothing, w hat can
you do for Maroua? T h e roads must be tarred, public works
are stopped; they m ust continue, but th ere is no m oney....If
you d o n ’t pay taxes, the country will die. T he country is on
its knees because its sons [les fils du pays] d o n ’t pay th e ir
taxes__It’s no use to use a whip, it simply m eans that you are
not free m en.
M any m e rc h a n ts re sp o n d e d th at they w ere n o t o p p o se d to state
regulation o f th e ir econom ic activities, b u t they did object to th e state’s
m anners o f a p p ro p riatio n , as well as the p resu p p o sitio n th a t they were
th e u ltim ate sources o f w ealth , th e fo u n d a tio n s o f the sta te treasury.
Ju st after th e m eeting, o n e sh o p k eep er ex p lain ed to m e,
We are n o t against licenses; before, we paid w ithout force,
w ithout the police. T hey say that if you trade in the m arket,
you n eed a license, at 37,000 CFA....The prefect says it’s not
a political problem . T hey warn us to pay because th e civil
servants d o n ’t have any money. If we pay the licenses, will
th at suffice to pay the civil servants? T he prefect gave
120,000 CFA to 120 policem en to com e m assacre the m ar­
ket. If we d o n ’t pay, they close down o u r shops.
An older m an , w ho had a sm all shop, ad d ed ,
B efore, they came to th e m arket to collect m oney— it was
paid in installm ents, an d we got a receipt. They cam e every
M onday. Even if the governm ent sent a crazy m an, we did
w hat they asked. Now, th e people w ho com e are n o t chil­
dren; they are big. If you say you have nothing, they close
your sh o p ... .For five years now, they shut us down, chain ou r
stores, and they leave. If they close your store and you stay in
the m arket, they say, “G o steal.”
J a n et R oitman

In many ways, the incivism e fiscal m ovem ent expressed— an d even

served to develop— interrogations about th e legitim ate fo u n d atio n s of
state wealth, the forms o f w ealth to be subject to state ap p ro p riatio n s,
the distinction between licit and illicit com m erce, the integrity of the
contours of the nation-state, and the n a tu re of natio n al identity. T he
p resen t regim e has insisted that the d ram atizatio n o f citizen sh ip
should take place prim arily through the fiscal relationship, an assertion
that, o f course, presupposes a stable representation o f n atio n al affilia­
tion. National wealth rests u p o n national unity, which is co n stru ed as
an objective reality. D uring the 1990s, various regional g ro u p s, includ­
ing m em bers of the opposition, some o f w hom have called fo r decen­
tralization and federalism , an d the secessionist m o v e m e n t in th e
A nglophone northw estern and southw estern provinces, explicitly con­
tested the very idea of n atio nal unity. T h e idea was also im plicitly chal­
lenged by ongoing conflicts betw een various co m m u n ities sp an n in g
international borders, such as the Kotoko an d Arab C hoa com m unities
in the north (Socpa 2002; Bah and Issa 1997), and the intensification o f
unregulated cross-border trad e and its a tte n d a n t focm s o f affiliation
(Bennafla 1998, 2002; R oitm an 1998). H istorically speaking, national
unity' has been localized in the national treasury as o p p o sed to ethnic,
racial, or religious authenticity, which has perhaps m itig ated ten d en ­
cies toward decentralization, fragm entation, adversity betw een nation­
als, and regionalization. In his address to th e m erchants o f M aroua and
their political representatives, the prefect thus insisted, th ro u g h circu­
lar reasoning (and in a to n e quite rem in iscen t o f c o lo n ial form s o f
truth): “The treasury is th e unity' of the c o u n try .. .the unity o f th e co u n ­
try depends on the coffers o f the state.” T hese rem arks w ere m ade in
specific reference to the idea that tax receipts in the various provinces
contribute to the central governm ent’s ability to pay civil servants every­
w here in the country.
In recent times, efforts to ensure the continuity o f th e fo undations
of wealth—in the slave, in dependents, in th e head of th e family, in the
consum er, in the civil servant, in the salary', in developm ent aid, in the
national treasury—have intensified. This process has b ro u g h t the ques­
tion of “national unity” to the fore. Since the tim e of colonization by
the French, redistribution has occurred nationally th ro u g h salary' pay­
m ents ensured via ex tern al financing. T h ese have u n d e rp in n e d the

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b urgeoning civil service and p arastatal sectors, pro v id in g the m aterial

m e a n s fo r n atio n al d istrib u tio n a n d th e c o n stru c tio n o f d e p e n d e n c y
relatio n s th ro u g h p atro n ag e netw orks an d e x te n d e d families. As every­
w here, the salary system stru ctu res social stratification. B ut follow ing in
th e traces of th e co lo n ial state, th e C am ero o n ian postcolonial state is
the nexus o f the g re a t m ajority o f salaried activity. T h erefo re, because
th e salary creates relatio n s o f d e p e n d e n c y and d e b t betw een th e state
a n d recipients (a n d th e ir d e p e n d e n ts), it is constitutive of, and reflects,
a p articu lar n o tio n o f citizenship. In C am eroon, salaries are m ost o ften
c o n stru e d as “privileges” as o p p o se d to sim ple re m u n e ra tio n fo r p ro ­
d u ctiv e activity. T h is a ttitu d e is e v id e n t to an y o n e w ho w itnesses th e
p lead in g s of those w ho arrive, day after day fo r m o n th s on en d , at the
b a rre d windows o f th e public offices w here salaries m ig h t (eventually)
b e d istrib u ted . T h is p e rc e p tio n o f th e salary as a privilege an d n o t a
rig h t is the co m b in e d result o f th e d eploym ent o f th e salary as p a rt o f a
disciplinary a p p aratu s establishing relations of d e p en d en cy an d in d e b t­
e d n ess betw een th e state an d its subjects, as w ell as historical u n d e r­
stan d in g s of the relationships th a t b in d wealth, w ork, an d the state.
W ithout e x p a n d in g on th a t last p o in t, w hich has b een dev elo p ed
elsew here (M bem be an d R oitm an 1995; R oitm an n .d .), w hat I wish to
h ig h lig h t h ere is th a t th e m ateriality o f the civil lin k betw een th e state
a n d its subjects has b een realized th ro u g h taxes a n d welfare services—
as in m any parts o f th e w orld— as well as th ro u g h w ealth, or even simply
money, p ro d u ced in state in frastru ctu res. By the early 1990s, th at m o d e
o f financing n a tio n al unity was n o lo n g e r g u aran teed . T hus, w ealth an d
w ork have b een so u g h t o u t elsew here. A n “ex”—ro a d b an d it w ho p artic­
ip a te d in gang-based O rganizations th a t attacked cars, trucks, an d cara­
vans e x p la in e d th a t his ex p lo its w ere a form o f w ork. W hen ask ed
w h e th e r w hat h e d id was th eft, h e rep lied , “N o . I d id n ’t steal, I was
w orking.”
I insisted, “Yes, b u t stealing is n o t w orking!”
“You d o n ’t u n d e rs ta n d an y th in g . T h e th ie f is like a liar. T h e liar
w astes his spit fo r n o th in g ; h e talks to earn n o th in g . T h e th ief steals o u t
o f reflex; he takes everything th a t passes in fro n t o f him , even useless
th in g s.”
‘Y ou seem to b e p ro u d th at you w ere a d ifferen t kind of th ief.”

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J a n e t R oitman

“Are vou trying to insult me? I ’ll say it once m ore: w hen th ere is a
salary at the end, y o u ’re not a thief. Me, I work the ro a d .”
This man w ent on to describe “sm all w ork o p e ra tio n s,” in sistin g
thatw ork involves n o t only attacks on targets o f w ealth fo r the salary b u t
also the clearing o u t o f small g ro u p s o f “thieves” w ho e n c u m b e r th e
roads and prevent the professionals from carrying o u t th e ir “w ork.” As
he said, “I’m sure th a t few people know that th ere are m om ents w hen
we attack other groups to elim inate th e thieves so th a t we can Avork.”
Ultimately, d e b a te about fo u n d a tio n a l term s, su ch as n a tio n a l
w ealth, have o ccasio n ed cross-exam inations o f c e rta in estab lish ed
truths, such as w hat constitutes w ealth and work. P eo p le have in te rro ­
gated the status o f w ealth p roduced th ro u g h seizure an d raiding p e r­
form ed by both ag en ts o f the state an d the local p o p u lace. They have
also probed the statu s o f lim it zones, such as b o rd e rs an d the b u sh ,
w here such wealth is produced. T his cross-exam ination o f established
truths might be th o u g h t o f as a m o m e n t that has e n g e n d e re d su p p le­
m entary definitions o f licit wealth an d legitim ate m a n n e rs o f a p p ro p ri­
ation. In other wor^ls, contrary to “eco n o m ic crisis” o r “legitim acy
crisis” readings o f such m om ents in m any parts o f A frica, the destabiliz­
ing effects of this recognition of th e inconsistent n a tu re o f these seem ­
ingly invariable re fe re n ts have n o t sim ply led to a loss o f sense a n d
m eaning in the w o rld .8 W ith th e ex p an sio n in th e field o f “th e e c o ­
nom ic,” so also the fiscal subject has com e to signify new things. T h ese
are engendered th ro u g h a com plex genealogy, w hich c a n n o t be told
here. But what we can see from this sh o rt expose is th a t th e very p re ­
supposition that citizens are the so u rce o f the state’s w ealth— th a t they
are to pay for access to entitlem ents an d th at the salary constitutes th e
privileged link betw een the state an d its citizens— has b e e n scrutinized.
As a productive m o m en t, incivisme fiscal, o r the process o f q u estio n in g
it entailed, gave rise to transform ations in the discursive field in w hich
“wealth” and “the n a tio n a l” are figured, as well as th e m aterial effects o f
that discursive d o m ain on contem porary practice.
O ne of those effects is the no\>el a rra n g e m e n ts b etw een official
and unofficial form s o f regulatory authority th at have b ecom e in stitu ­
tionalized in the re g io n . T hese relatio n sh ip s involve m o re th a n th e
establishment of m ono p o lies over new form s o f w ealth; they entail th e
normalization of p articu lar definitions o f licit w ealth an d m an n ers o f

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 P roductivity in t h e M argins

ap p ro p riatin g su ch w ealth. T hus, w hile reco u rse to these netw orks of

accum ulation a n d acquiescence to th eir associated figures o f au th o rity
m ay be inspired by a contraction in m aterial w ealth and access to such
w ealth (the “m arginalization of A frica” th esis), they also transpire from
th e extension o f th e discursive field in w hich w ealth and value are fig­
u re d . “Spoils,” fo r instance, is now an am b iv alen t sign in the reg io n al
lexicon o f w ealth: o n ce associated with war a n d asocial form s o f w ealth
creatio n , it now signifies the disavowal o f p a rtic u la r social obligations,
su ch as tax and d e b t (R oitm an 2003). As w ith fra u d u le n t co m m erce,
w hat is seized c a n n o t be taxed. A nd for those living in a web o f in te rn a ­
tio n al and local d e b t relations, seizure is a m ean s o f in terferin g in the
social o rd er im p lied by such obligations. F u rth e rm o re , “spoils” now sig­
nifies a new sociability o f exchange insofar as it is a new m eans o f redis­
trib u tio n . A lthough tax collection was describ ed an d thus d e n o u n c e d
as a form of seizure, m any people, especially dem obilized soldiers and
dispossessed youths, have inverted this pow er e q u a tio n by seizing spoils
them selves.
In th e end, seizu re has b eco m e g en eralized as a m ode o f e n ric h ­
m en t: financial reg u lato rs chain m erch an ts’ sto res shut, haul m erch an ts
to prison, confiscate goods, and exact fines. C ustom s officials a n d g en­
d arm es skim off o f trucks and travelers, u su rp in g contraband a n d often
g o in g p o ach in g them selves, a n d gangs o f p ro fessio n al ro ad b a n d its
hijack cars and attack road convoys. Ultim ately, “tax” can be effected in
sites outside the lim its o f the state-citizen bind. T his view was p u t to ine
d u rin g a visit to C am ero o n in 2001-2003, lo n g after the d em onstrations
associated with incivism e fiscal h ad subsided. In response to criticism for
n o t having paid his official taxes, a young m otorcycle-taxim an, a m em ­
b e r o f the A ssociation des M oto-Taxim en, d eclared ,
We pay o u r taxes every day! W hether we have all the rig h t
papers for th e motorcycle o r not, we pay taxes to the police
and gendarm es. In fact, it’s becom e a reflex. T he policem en
of N gaoundere d o n ’t stop m e anym ore. I ’m all old hand in
the moto-taxi business. I’ve driven m oto-taxis for people in
high places, fo r m en in uniform [who own fleets of clandes­
tine
i m otorcycles]. Furtherm ore, often even when the police
d o n ’t stop m e, I go to them to pay the tribute [in a m onetary
sense].9

209
J anet R o i t m a n

D uring th e sam e conversation, an o th er m oto-taxi driver added:

T he police and the moto-taxim en, w e’re partners. We know
that if we are disposed to giving them a bit of m oney from
tim e to time, we can work together. Together— that is, the
police and the m oto-taxim en—we exploit illegality. Even
when you have all your papers in order, you’re in illegality
because the motorcycle is illegal. N ot even 15 percent o f the
m otorcycles are p ain ted yellow.i() We have im posed o u r
vision o f things on th e authorities. T h e police them selves
close their eyes; they can always find an infraction to ticket—
So th at the system can continue to function properly, it’s
im p o rtan t that th ere are people in violation, because if
everyone was in line with the law, the authorities— the
police— wouldn’t gain their share, and then they would sup­
press the motorcycles on the pretext that they cause acci­
dents, that we are hoodlum s, etc. Today, maybe we are
hoodlum s, but we are hoodlum s who help sustain fam ilies
an d contribute to th e well-being o f agents o f the force of
law. Long live the tolerant police [la police comprehensive]!
W hen asked w h eth er they co n sid ered th e ir activities “licit” o r
“illicit,” th e re was general ag reem en t th a t “anything th a t can m ove a
poor m an fro m h u n g e r a n d begging is licit.” B ut o n e y o u n g m an
argued th at
we struggle in dom ains that force you to circum vent the
law— with all the risks. For exam ple, we sell co n trab an d
petrol and m edicines, etc., which are officially forbidden.
But what do you expect? Often, those who are supposed to
see that people respect the law are o ur sponsors; they give us
o u r original financing. A customs official who finances a
petrol smuggler is n o t going to attack him [the sm uggler] or
the proteges of his colleagues! And w ithout us, the work of
the policem an, the custom s official, the taxman, the head of
the gendarm es would have no interest for those who do it.
T hanks to us, they have no financial problems.
“B ut that's corruption!”

21 o
 P roductivity in the Ma r g in s

T h at’s not corruption. W hen you give 10,000 o r 20,000 CFA

to a policem an or a customs official to get your m erchandise
through, w hat does that change for the national economy?
C orruption is w hen one sells th e Regie N atio n ale des
C hem ins d e F er [rail com pany], the SNEC [w ater com ­
pany], the SONEL [electric com pany], etc. Everyone knows
that th at’s negotiated; there are big com m issions. O ne sin­
gle person can earn in a privatization m o re th a n all of
Touboro [a town known for contraband] can produce, save
in a decade. Us, we give with pleasure, and the police receive
with pleasure, ju st like the custom s official. T hey’ve become
family.
U ntil now, th e desire to m ove frb m th e p ay m en t o f tax as a fee fo r
access— o r as a fo u n d in g econom ic transfer— to th e paym ent of tax as
an a ct th at tran sp ires from e n title m e n t— o r from th e assurance o f e c o ­
n o m ic an d political security— has n o t b een achieved by those w ho now
exercise claim s to w ealth. R egardless o f tran sfo rm atio n s in rep resen ta­
tions, for those w ho engage in th e e m e rg e n t regional a n d tran sn atio n al
eco n o m ies, m ak in g transfers to th e ir associated fig u res o f reg u lato ry
au th o rity in o rd e r to secure th eir livelihood, the q u e stio n o f p ay m en t
fo r access is b ein g m erely tran sp o sed o n to a n o th e r field o f action. In
o th e r words, y o u n g p etro l traffickers m ig h t envision the com m issions
a n d tariffs they pay to th eir p atro n s as th e price o f “d em o cratized ” b u si­
ness, because “an y o n e can p articip ate regardless o f m ean s,” b u t th ey
a re still the fiscal subjects o f n atio n al entities. N o n eth eless, their re p re ­
sen tatio n s o f th o se transfers an d th e ir associated ex ch an g es co n trib u te
to th e in stitu tio n a liz a tio n olL practices o f w ealth c re a tio n th ro u g h
u n re g u la te d activities an d figures o f pow er associated w ith those tra n s­
fers in the C had Basin.

THE PLURALIZATION OF REGULATORY AUTHORITY,

T H E R E C O N F I G U R A T I O N O F ST AT E P O W E R
In the C h ad B asin, new fig u re s o f re g u la to ry au th o rity h av e
a p p e a re d in ta n d e m w ith revived o r newly fo u n d e d netw orks o f
ex ch an g e. This p o w er is exercised by co n tro llin g access to possibilities
fo r a c c u m u la tio n , h e n c e d e te rm in in g th e rig h t to em p lo y m en t a n d

211
J anet R o it m a n

e n ric h m e n t. T his activity takes place a t th e highest levels o f business

through com m issions on deals, right-of-entry taxes, trib u te an d royalty
paym ents, p ro tectio n fees, an d even p ay m en t for safe delivery o f goods
p ro cu red th ro u g h custom s frau d o r fo r th e ir “legal” p assag e thro u g h
custom s (see H ibou 1997). Likewise, it tran sp ires at th e everyday level
o f business th ro u g h levies o n local m erch an ts; p ro tectio n an d entitle­
m ent fees p a id by young m e n engaged as guards, guides, a n d runners;
entry taxes p aid at u n reg u lated b o rd er m arkets; and tolls o n roads n e a r
these eco n o m ically sensitive o u tp o sts (see B ennafla 1998; G regoire
1998).
M ost o ften , those w ho d irect the fin an cin g , labor re cru itm en t, and
m aterial org an izatio n re q u ire d by these reg io n al netw orks o f trade take
part in com m ercial-m ilitary relationships th a t perm it th e m to exercise
th eir a u th o rity over reg io n al econom ic activities, essen tial resources,
and local populations. In C had, these m ilitaro-com m ercial figures are
known as les douaniers-combattants: literally, “custom s officials-soldiers” or,
m ore prosaically, “fighting custom s officials.” They com prise leaders o f
factions o r rebel groups, such as the M ouvem ent pour le D eveloppem ent
around L ake C had, and m ilitary personnel w ho find ren ts o n fraudulent
com m erce m o re attractive th a n their official (and often u n p aid ) salaries
(on the m ilitary-com m ercial connection, see Faes 1997, A bba Kaka 1997,
and N g arn g o u n e 1997). T h ese authority figures com pete w ith instances
o f national regulatory au th o rity insofar as they becom e th e final arbiters
o f e n ric h m e n t an d em p lo y m en t. T h ro u g h levies and d u tie s im posed
on local p o p u latio n s, th ey establish an a u to n o m o u s fiscal base. A nd
in som e resp ects, they h av e becom e g u a ra n to rs of e c o n o m ic security
and access to wealth for local people, in spite o f their association with
violence.
R eg io n al en tre p o ts a n d b o rd e r se ttle m e n ts g e n e ra te d istin ct
regim es o f violence, b ein g highly m ilitarized and often exercising con­
trol over resid en ts and passersby th ro u g h arm s and attack s on ro a d ­
ways. H ow ever, these o u tp o sts also p ro v id e access to w ealth an d
possibilities fo r accum ulation, as well as p ro tectio n an d a b lu ep rin t for
action at a tim e o f insecurity and a sense o f loss o f possibility. Paym ents
m ade to e n su re access to in tern atio n al a n d regional m ark ets, essential
co m m ercial an d financial re la tio n sh ip s, a n d p ro te c tio n serve to fo r­
malize various kinds o f traffic, be it sm all arm s crossing lo n g distances

2 12
 P roductivity in t h e M argins

o r petrol sm u g g led th ro u g h a m o u n ta in pass. T his system m akes such

activities less u n p re d ic ta b le in te rm s o f b o th logistics an d rev en u es.
M oreover, co n trib u tio n s to those w ho regulate access to an d p articip a­
tion in these co m m ercial an d fin an cial activities are n o t w ith o u t ser­
vices ren d ered . T h ese services in clu d e p ro tectio n an d a form al cadre,
b u t they also involve th e re d istrib u tio n th a t takes place th ro u g h the
fin an cin g o f co m m u n ity facilities, such as m o sq u es and c h u rc h e s, or
th ro u g h family dem ands, such as in tim es o f illness, death, o r m isfortune.
T h e p ro liferatio n o f these kinds o f relationships, and th e extractive
a n d red istrib u tiv e logics th a t go w ith them , is such th at local p eo p le
now find them selves im plicated in relationships w ith n u m ero u s figures
o f regulatory authority. But this is n o t necessarily a m atter o f state reg u ­
lation versus non-state regulation. M ilitaro-com m ercial alliances associ­
ate re n e g a d e m ilitias, g en d arm e^ , d e m o b iliz e d 7 soldiers, custom s
officials, piilitary officers, political ad m in istrato rs, wealthy m erch an ts,
an d g o v ern m en t m inisters. A lth o u g h this am algam seem s to rep resen t
m erely the im p licatio n o f m e m b e rs o f g o v e rn m e n t and th e n atio n al
m ilitarv in illegal an d inform al m afia-style syndicates— w hich is som e­
tim es the case— this is an oversim plification. A lth o u g h state regulatory
authority is surely challenged an d im periled by th e ability o f th ese new
authority figures to extract from local p o p u latio n s, these new form s of
pow er do n o t u su rp state power. In fact, in so m e instances we can see
how they even co n trib u te to th e restitution o f state pow er in this tim e of
d e b t and austerity.
As in m any o th e r places, a lth o u g h tran sn atio n al p h e n o m e n a p re­
sen t problem s fo r state reg u latio n , they n o n eth eless becom e p a rt and
parcel o f the political logics o f th e state itself, co n trib u tin g to its capac­
ity to fulfill constitutive tasks, such as ex tractio n o r red istrib u tio n (see
Sassen 1995 o n th e creation o f new legal regim es and, m ore generally,
H ib o u 1 9 9 9 ).11 F o r ex am p le, th e C a m e ro o n ia n a d m in istra tio n has
seized u p o n th e recen tly estab lish ed m ark et tow n o f M ba'iboum as a
new targ et o f fiscal pow er. M ba'iboum m u sh ro o m e d on th e in te rn a ­
tional b o rd ers o f C had, C am ero o n , an d th e C en tral A frican R epublic
in 1987. It serves as a h u b o f u n re g u la te d co m m e rc e in locally p ro ­
d u ced and im p o rte d industrial goods (cem ent, textiles) and co n su m er
item s (salt, sugar, clothing, cassette players, h ard w are), as well as im ita­
tion o r bogus pharm aceuticals, arm s, gold, an d diam onds. In 1992, just
J anet R oitm an

after com m ercial activities in M baiboum intensified, a C am ero o n ian

custom s statio n suddenly a p p e a re d . A lth o u g h th e state h a s provided
n eith er w ater n o r electricity to this “boom tow n,” it now m anages to take
in twenty m illion CFA a year through the sale o f m arket d u ties (droits de
marche) an d licenses (B ennafla 1998:54, 68). Yet, this official presence
does not m e a n the legalization of u n re g u la te d activity, n o r has it
eclipsed th e pow er o f the e m e rg e n t reg u lato rs w ho w ere first on the
scene. T he unofficial (non-state) regulators o f com m erce a t M baiboum
still exercise th eir “rights” over local populations: they collect “entry and
exit” duties in th e m arket (5,000 to 10,000 CFA p er vehicle) an d tolls on
incom ing ro ad s (10,000 to 50,000 CFA for trucks) (B ennafla 1998:68),
n o t to m en tio n com m issions an d protection fees on the m o re lucrative
trade in gold, arm s, diam onds, and rhinoceros horns.
In fact, the C am eroonian governm ent has n o t taken any m easures
to subdue o r extinguish unofficial regulation, and its own custom s pol­
icy has b een described as “accom m odating” and even “e n co u rag in g ,”
with low levels o f taxation on goods and very little surveillance o f the
n atio n al id e n titie s of th o se passing across th e b o rd e rs (B ennafla
1999:66). In b o th C am ero o n and C had, official m ilitary escorts ai^e
som etim es u sed to p ro tect b o th those trav elin g to trad e a t such out­
posts and those engaging in th e fraudulent traffic that feed s them . For
instance, C am ero o n ian m ilitary escorts p ro te c t m erch an ts traveling
betw een M baiboum and outlying cities fro m persistent ro a d bandits.
A nd in C h ad , th e G arde N ationale et N o m ad e is know n to pack into
Toyota p ic k u p trucks and rid e at “b reak n eck sp eed ” th ro u g h town,
esco rtin g vehicles co n ta in in g sm uggled g o o d s to the m ark etp lace
(A bba Kaka. 1997). T he C h ad ian and C am ero o n ian states have every
reason tcrTacilitate b o rd e r traffic and sm uggling o p e ra tio n s because
they provide rem u n eratio n fo r under- an d u n p aid m ilitary personnel
w ho co n v ert to custom s officials. H ence, they red ep lo y th e salary
th ro u g h eco n o m ico -p o litical relatio n sh ip s th a t exceed th e state, or
through private means.
But su ch com plicity d o es n o t necessarily m ean th at u n reg u lated
traffic is legalized. T he state sim ply offers a legal stru c tu re fo r these
activities w hile n o t altering th e fact that they are still d eem ed eith er for­
mally illegal o r based on frau d . Hence, adm inistrative d o cu m en ts that
do not take in to account th e quantitative o r qualitative n a tu re o f the

214
 P roductivity in t h e M argins

co m m e rc e involved are p ro d u c e d . T his am o u n ts to providing a false

legal status for m e rc h a n ts and sm ugglers— o r w hat locals refer to as un
vrai-faux. C om m on practice alo n g the borders o f all states in the C had
B asin— and p erh ap s everyw here in th e w orld— this is ju st one way the
state is at the h e a rt o f the p ro liferatio n o f su b -'an d tran sn atio n al n e t­
w orks o f a c c u m u la tio n and pow er. T h ro u g h th is false leg alizatio n ,
u n d e r- and u n p a id state ad m in istrato rs are “p a id ” th ro u g h the com m is­
sions an d rents they procure. F u rth erm o re, the sta te ’s dire problem s o f
financial liquidity are resolved th ro u g h access to h a rd currency in co n ­
texts w here local m onies are n o n convertible. Traffic betw een the C had
B asin an d the S ah ara is o ne ex am p le. In Niger, th e state is at the c e n te r
o f th e organization o f illegal trad e in A m erican cigarettes. E m m anuel
G reg o ire (1998:100) points o u t th a t “T he N igerian state has, in effect,
set u p a legislative fram ew ork w hich organizes this traffic and ob tain s
significant custom s receipts, estim ated at ab o u t 6 billion francs CFA in
1994 an d 1995, o r th e equivalent o f a m o n th a n d a h alf of fu n ctio n ar­
ie s’ salaries, w hich are six m o n th s past due (January 1998). O p erato rs
act in p erfect legality in Niger, w ith fraud tran sp irin g only at the cost of
n eig h b o rin g states w hich p ro h ib it im ports o f fo reig n cigarettes to p ro ­
tect its own in d u stry (N igeria) oi tax them strongly fo r the sam e reason
(A lgeria and L i b y a ) I n this case, state agents n o t only collude w ith b u t
also d ep en d u p o n in term ed iaries (for exam ple, T u areg s)12 who co n tro l
tra d e routes a n d provide security in dangerous zones, such as so u th ern
A lgeria and the b o rd e r betw een N ig er and C had. State adm inistrators
e n g a g e in these relatio n s fo r p e rso n a l profit, o f co u rse, b u t they are
also a m eans to rem ed y the insolvency o f th e state an d its associated
po litical risks— w hich are constantly o n the h o rizo n , as is attested to by
co n sisten t d em an d s p u t forth by u n p a id b u reau crats, including m em ­
b ers o f the police a n d the army. S uch an exam ple partially answ ers the
d a u n tin g q u estio n o f how in so lv en t states so m eh o w m anage to fu n c­
tio n an d even e x p a n d th eir ad m in istratio n s in spite o f bankruptcy and
in d eb ted n ess. In C am eroon, fo r instance, 20,000 ad m in istrato rs were
a d d e d to the rolls betw een 1987 a n d 1997, d esp ite th e fact th at th ere
was n o official re c ru itm e n t d u rin g th a t tim e (H ib o u 1997:150).
T h e state th u s benefits fro m p ro fitab le situ a tio n s p ro d iic e d by
c o m p etin g regim es o f power. It som etim es also instigates the p ro lifera­
tio n o f u n reg u lated , u n d e rre g u la te d , o r falsely reg u lated activities, and

2*5
J anet R oitman

even beco m es d e p e n d e n t u p o n those w ielding pow er (fo r exam ple,

regulation o f access) an d expertise (for exam ple, security) in sub- an d
tran sn atio n al netw orks. Even th o u g h th ese en d e a v o rs p o ten tially
u n d erm in e state reg u lato ry authority an d natio n al security,_as n o te d
above, th ey also c o n trib u te to th e viability o f th e state th ro u g h th e
p ro d u c tio n o f new re n ts an d possibilities fo r re d istrib u tio n am o n g
strategic military, political, and com m ercial personalities. T his results
in a seem ingly contradictory situation. F or instance, th e C am eroonian
arm y claim s to be fighting “a war” against organized g ro u p s o f highway
ro b b ers a n d in cu rsio n s o f rebel g ro u p s fro m C had, b o th o f w hich
in clu d e dow nsized a n d u n d e rp a id so ld iers, b u t th e p ro life ra tio n o f
arm ed ro a d bandits is n e ith e r sp o n ta n e o u s n o r h a p h a z a rd . In this
“war,” b o rd e r towns have beebm e re a rg u a rd bases as well as fro n tlin e
posts. A C am eroonian soldier posted in th e far no rth d escrib ed what he
and his colleagues referred to as “the fro n t”:
T hese bandits are m en like you and m e. Very intelligent.
They are very well inform ed of p eo p le’s m ovem ents in this
p a rt of the country since they Have their accom plices
everyw here__T h e ir heads [faces] are always m asked in
turbans and they are specialists in rearw ard com bat. After
ever)' assault, they withdraw in cascade, sw eeping the
[C am eroonian] soldiers with gunfire, and they re tre a t to
Nigeria where they know we d o n ’t have the right to pursue
them . (Pideu 1995:6)
In an eighteen-m onth span, “the fro n t” was ravaged by th e deaths o f
betw een 400 and 500 civilians, with five o r six tim es as m any injuries. The^
num bers are hard to gauge, of course, especially since graves are often
uncovered in the bush (m ostly in N igeria) an d m any of th e injured never
rep o rt to officials. D u rin g a sixteen-n>onth perio d a ro u n d 1995, sixty
“highway bandits” w ere killed, according to th e C am ero o n ian m ilitary
posted there. Five soldiers were said to be killed over th e sam e period,
w hich is m o re than th e n u m b er killed in the m ilitary conflict with
N igeria over the oil-rich Bakassi reg io n in th e south (all estim ations
com e from Pideu 1995). “You’re there with your com rades, you see them
leave in a truck. T hirty m inutes later, they com e tell you they were all
killed,” was how one soldier portrayed the im pact of this “parallel arm y,”
 P roductivity in t h e Margins

w hich o u tp o w ers th e C a m e ro o n ia n forces (P id e u 1995:6). A t th e

tim e, the latter h ad n o telephone o r radio links, w ere often im m obilized
for w ant o f p etro l, an d suffered fro m insufficient fu n d s for provisions.
T h eir prim ary task o f escorting convoys o f com m ercial trucks and bus- o r
carloads o f anxious travelers was com prom ised by this lack of infrastruc­
tu re and m ateriel, w hich is often cited as a reason fo r th eir own partici­
p atio n in attacks. T h e state-m ilitary is inform ed a b o u t th e m ovem ents o f
th ese road g angs, w hich, b e in g highly o rg an ized , are traceable. A
C am eroonian so ld ier referred to state knowledge a b o u t these-seem ingly
sp o n tan eo u s acts o f violence: “ [E ]very day, the m ilitary au th o rities in
M aroua and Y aounde are inform ed ab o u t the zones an d villages in w hich
th e killers cam p. In th eir villages, they work just like a regular army. T hey
take g u ard every n ig h t and disp o se o f cars and m otorcycles for th e ir
o p eratio n s” (P ideu 1995:6). T hese regional contingents have their own
villages in C am eroon; indeed, they have their own regions (for exam ple,
W aza to D abanga). T h eir interventions, though explosive, are n o t spo­
radic. In the late 1990s, they d istrib u ted tracts advertising the day an d
tim e o f fu tu re attacks, w arning travelers to be e q u ip p e d with at least
2,000 CFA “nouveau form at” (re fe rrin g to new b a n k n o te s issued in
C am eroon a ro u n d the tim e o f th e 1994 devaluation). T hose who failed
to p ro d u ce the d esired sum in th e right form risked “loss of genitalia,”
according to descriptions of the tracts in Pideu (1995).
At any rate, this levy may be a form o f spoils, b u t it is not necessarily
sim ply h ap h azard theft. As re p o rte d in the local press:
Certain dignitaries of this p art o f Cam eroon th in k that these
attacks are knowingly m aintained by authorities in Yaounde
[le pouvoir de Yaounde], w ith w ell-defined ram ifications for
local adm inistrative authorities. According to inform ants, a
gold wristw7atch belonging to an im p o rtan t perso n from
M aroua [un fils de Maroua] was taken by highwaym en only to
reap p ear later in the Sub-Prefect’s possession in Kousseri.
This provoked lots of com m o tio n in town. F u rtherm ore,
locals com plain that the bandits, once arrested an d put in
the hands of public authorities, are im m ediately released,
thus inciting large-scale crim inality in [the region]. (Pideu_
1995)
J anet R o itm an

O n e w onders, m oreover, w h eth er a truly m arginal o p eratio n would

insist on receiving only new ly p rin ted bills, at the tim e w hen old bills
were generally recycled th ro u g h inform al o r black-m arket exchanges
w ithout m u ch difficulty. M ore recently, an "ex ”-ro a d b an d it, a citizen
o f the C en tral A frican Republic* who sp e n d s m uch o f his tim e on the
C am ero o n ian border, d escrib ed his ex p erien ce, which hig h lig h ts this
point and u n d ersco res th e id e a that "illegal” can be "licit”:
I participated in attacks in which I h ad different roles. I
carded the sack o f spoils /7c sac de butin). I took care o f the
leader’s [le rhefj security. I picked up the arms after an opera­
tion. I participated in the planning o f an attack. 1 never com ­
m anded; I did n ’t have my own group. You know, to have your
own group, you have to have the m eans and the relations.
“W hat m eans, what relations?”
You have to buy the arm s, give som ething to the guys before
going to the attack, pay for their food, lodge them for days
som ew here, pav the inform ers who go to the m arketplace to
identify people who m ade a lot of m oney, etc.
"And the relations?”
[sigh of im patience] I told you that I d o n ’t know everything.
T h e gang leader, som etim es it’s even som eone w ho I ’ve
never seen. My prison friends took m e to the leaders, and
after an attack, som etim es we’d n ev er see one a n o th e r
again, even in th e m arketplace. In the Central A frican
Republic, I had a gang leader who I found som etim e later as
my neighbor out in the [agricultural] fields! There w ere two
guys with whom we’d worked who w ere cultivating his fields.
“W hat relations does a gang leader need?”
A re you naive, or are you doing this on purpose? D o you
think that you can d o this kind of w ork without protection?
For exam ple, the lead er [of an attack previously described]
and myself, in one operation we got a lot of money. I d o n ’t
know how m uch exactly, but betw een the money we found,
th e jew elry, the w atches, etc., th e booty fie butin) cam e to
 P roductivity in t h e Margins

som ething in the millions [CFA]. We were fifteen or twenty

people, 1 c a n 't rem em ber. I got 150,000 CFA. Since we
attacked cattle herders and cattle m erchants, well, it’s sure
that the leader got one over on us, since for him self he kept
millions. But afterward, w hen I saw him in the fields cultivat­
ing, I u n d ersto o d that it was the man in the car who kept
most of it.
“Wait a m inute. W ho is the m an in the car?” This was not the
first time I had heard people talk about a m an who comes in
a car ju st after an attack.
“Oh! I can’t really say. In any case, we threw all the arms and
the spoils in the trunk o f th e car. Those w ho had military
uniform s also threw them in. We dispersed, and then I got
my part in the evening, at the rendezvous.”
“And the m an in the car?”
“I never saw him again. But I’m certain that he went back to
the city.”
“Because he lives in the city?”
“Obviously! If it was so m eo n e from one o f the villages
around here, I would know him! A car in a rural area, that
doesn’t go unnoticed .”
“W hat does the m an in the car, who comes from the city and
makes you risk your life for a pittance, represent for you?”
“You’re the o n e who says th at it’s a pittance! D o you know
what a civil serv an t’s salary is in the C en tral African
Republic? T he 150,000 CFA that I got allowed m e to spend a
peaceful R am adan and to clothe my family for the festivities.
W hat work brings in 150,000 CFA for no m ore than a half­
day’s work?”
“Theft!”
“You also w ant to work the road? Allah carries o u t everyone’s
prayers. T hose w ho d o n ’t w ant to give over the zakkat
[Muslim charity paym ent recognized by the state, one of the

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J anet R o jt m a n

five pillars of Islam], we take up the responsibility to take it

from them . It s a charity paym ent on their fortune, a
revenue tax.”
“So you replace the state tax services! Is that legal? Is it legit­
imate?”
“Legal? Surelv not! As for legitimacy, it is not for you, nor
anyone else, to tell me how I should assure my survival. You,
the civil servants, you have your 'benefits’ on the side. Is that
legitimate? W hen people are nam ed to a position of respon­
sibility, they bring along their close relations, m em bers of
their tribe. W hat happens to those w ho d o n ’t have relations
in high places? In any case, for m e, the ends justify the
means, and long live the man with the car.”
“The m an in the car” o r “the m an from the city” signifies m em bers
of the state bureaucracy, including district governors, p refects, and m il­
itary officers, as well as high-placed co m m ercial figures, w ho are fre­
quently o n e an d the sam e. T h e e n tre p re n e u ria l p u rsu its in clu d e
strategies fo r th e reconstitution o f politico-financial netw orks. T hese
networks m ay etch out autonom ous political spaces vis-a-vis state power,
constituting w hat was described as a p arallel— illegal b u t licit— tax sys­
tem, but th e ir activities serve to finance political patrons th ro u g h trans­
fers that m ove u p the hierarchy. This system ultim ately prevents th e
em ergence o f a counterelite o r counterpow er, thus clarifying how this
country, m ark ed by ✓ severe inequalities, ex trem e poverty, an d “e th n ic ”
tensions, has avoided civil war. It is a m a tte r o f the very form ation an d
m aintenance o f a dom inant political class— o r the stability o f a regim e.13
However, beyond political com m issions an d payouts, and u n d e r­
w riting p o litical stability, ren ts (o r w ealth ) p ro d u c e d in this way a re
essential to “an extrem ely com plex system o f revenue tran sfers from
formal and official circuits to parallel ones, from u rb an households to
rural ones, from the richest to the m ost dispossessed (via allocations to
families; social expenditures and diverse benefits such as school fees,
health, fu n erals, particip atio n in cu sto m ary c e re m o n ie s)” (M bem be
1993:367-68). T hese forms o f redistribution are a prim ary m ode o f the
exercise o f state power. A p p ro p riatin g rents-associated w ith sub- an d
transnational netw orks of accum ulation— an d thus co llab o ratin g with

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 P roductivity in t h e M argins

a n d m an ag in g th e ir associated figures of fin an cial pow er an d reg u la­

tory authority— m eans creatin g w ealth for off-budget activities, such as
h irin g private secu rity co m p an ies o r fin an cin g political p arties, an d
sta te fu n ctio n s, su ch as p ay in g ad m in istrativ e salaries o r fin a n c in g
ex tern al conflicts. In this sense, th e regional netw orks described h e re in
are a resource th a t contributes to th e political logics o f p red atio n th at
d efin e the historical exercise o f state pow er in A frica.34 Yet, this is n o t
to red u ce this situ atio n to a historical-cultural necessity: sim ilar situa­
tio n s o b tain in C olom bia, P eru , A lgeria, an d R ussia, w here trib u tary
re la tio n s b etw een th e state a n d sub- and tra n sn a tio n a l n etw o rk s of
w ealth and pow er prevail. M oreover, although this form o f m ed iatio n
betw een state pow er and e m e rg e n t figures of p o w er may be in te rp re te d
as in keeping with certain historical continuities (for exam ple, th e role
o f in te rm e d ia rie s in th e A tlan tic slave trad e o r in th e en actm en trrrf
co lo n ial po w er), its specificity arises o u t o f th e co n te m p o ra ry global
political econom y.
M any o b serv ers (H ib o u 1999; Vallee 1999; R eno 2001) have
described how state consolidation o n th e c o n tin e n t is now taking place
via indirect, o r n o n b u reau c ratic, m eans. This is in large part d u e to the
em erg en ce an d d ereg u latio n o f p articu lar m arkets (for exam ple, sm all
arm s, m e rcen aries, private secu rity c o m p an ies), as d escrib ed above.
B ut is this m a n n e r o f exercising pow er via in d irect m ediations a novel
aspect of state pow er in Africa? R ecourse to private, foreign agents, for
exam ple, is a long-standing m a n n e r o f en su rin g the effective exercise
o f state power. In .Africa, this m e th o d has involved th e use o f ex tern al
alliances, such as th e cold w ar pow ers, or e x te rn a l resources, such as
foreign aid, to m an ag e in tern al conflicts and th e dem ands o f factions
co n stitu tin g the.basis o f state p o w er (Bayart 1989; R eno 1995; H ib o u
1997, 1999). In th a t sense, the reco n fig u ratio n o f pow er on th e co n ti­
n e n t today is less a m a tte r o f new practices o f th e exercise o f state
pow er than o f novel ways o f n eg o tiatin g the ch an g in g world econom y
o r m an ag in g extraversion. In th e C had Basin, sub- and tran sn atio n al
reg im es o f accu m u latio n are critical c o n n ectio n s to today's e x tern al
re n ts; they a re a n o th e r m ean s o f in sertio n in th e w orld econom y.
Figures o f reg u latio n associated w ith these reg im es are critical to the
co n so lid a tio n o f state pow er, ev en th o u g h th ey w ork to u n d e rm in e
state regulatory authority. T hey rep resen t, th ro u g h the p ro d u ctio n of

22 i
J anet R o i t m a n

wealth on th e frontier, o n e place w here th e ten tacu lar effects o f state

power are redeployed in th e sta te ’s quest fo r th e m eans to red istrib u te
and pro d u ce new targets o f w ealth.
Evidently, a p articu lar historical fiscal su b ject is p ro d u c e d in and
th ro u g h rela tio n sh ip s w ith th ese new fo rm s o f reg u lato ry au th o rity .
This fiscal su b ject, o r subjectivity, is n o t p ro d u c e d prim arily th ro u g h
the form s o f rationalization a n d individuation associated w ith m o d ern
liberalism a n d b u reau cratizatio n . N or does it resu lt from a seem ingly
autonom ous an d oppositional “m oral eco n o m y ”15 that has e m e rg e d in
the m argins o f state failure. Insofar as the generalization an d intensifi­
cation of u n reg u lated eco n o m ic activities an d violent m odes o f ap p ro ­
priation have led to the process o f q u estio n in g th e status o f licit versus
illicit p ractice, it is surely th e basis for th e reco n fig u ratio n o f govern­
m ental relationships. Yet, th ese processes d o n o t establish th e bases for
new form s o f sovereign pow er, u n d ersto o d as a condition of u n q u a li­
fied power. F or o n e thing, th e possibility o f such form s o f p o w er is, as
M ichel F o u cau lt argued, nonsensical, o r at least an irrelevant question,
because such totalizing, c o h e re n t, and u n itary situations d o n o t obtain
(Foucault [1978] 1990: esp. 9 3-97, 1980:82-102). M ore significantly, it
is not at all clear that the d o m a in inscribed by th e realm o f u n re g u la te d
exchange a n d th e pluralization o f regulatory authority ch allen g es this
juridical rep resen tatio n o f pow er: To w hat e x te n t is the intelligibility of
the very id ea o f sovereignty destabilized? To w hat ex ten t can we discern
changes in th e p ro d u ctio n o f valid statem ents ab o u t what th e sovereign
is or is not? It is clear th a t th e d efin itio n an d circu m scrip tio n o f new
realm s o f th o u g h t and actio n give rise to u n p re c e d e n te d possibilities
for the o rg an izatio n o f eco n o m ic and political life, leading to th e plu­
ralization o f regulatory au th o rity in the C h ad Basin today. B ut th e ulti­
m ate q u estio n is w h eth er such changes resu lt from tran sfo rm atio n s in
the o rg an izatio n o f know ledge o r in the prevailing m a n n e r o f p ro d u c­
ing valid statem en ts such as “this is (legitim ate) regulatory a u th o rity ” or
“this is a (legitim ate) sovereign.”

N otes
I th an k th e SSRC-M acArthur Foundation P rogram on Peace a n d Security
Fellowship; th e Ciriacy-W antrup Fellow ship of th e University of C alifornia,
Berkeley; an d th e M acA rthur F oun d atio n Program o n Global Security an d

222
 P roductivity in the M argins

Sustainability for their k in d support. 1 also th a n k H am idou B o u b a an d Saibou Issa

for th eir h elp and M ariane Ferm e and D eb o rah Poole for th e ir critical input. All
language translations are my own.

1. 1 lived in this reg io n (M aroua, C am ero o n , and N ’d ja m en a, Chad)

during various periods fro m 1992 to 2002. “T h e C had Basin” is a fairly vague
geographical concept, b u t 1 use the term h e re to refer to w hat are today n o rth ern
Nigeria, n o rth ern C am ero o n , C had, and th e C entra! African R epublic. This is a
w orking definition based o n my research p reoccupations.
2. d e Boeck (1999) describes how y o u n g Zairian u rb an ites have m igrated
to rural areas along the A ngolan border to p artak e in the d ia m o n d economy.
This m ig ration has led to th e ir inclusion in a “dollarized” econom y, the bush
econom y— as opposed to th e urb an econom y— becom ing th e very source of
tokens o f w ealth and co n sum p tio n .
3. C ontrary to F erguson (1999), w ho describes how c e rta in signifying
practices associated with represen tatio n s o f ru ral life, d en o ted as “localism,” are
contrasted with those associated with u rb an life, o r “cosm opolitanism ,” in
Zambia. F or debate over his book, see F ard o n et al. (2001).
4. A lthough the refe ren ce to “dem o cratizatio n ” is w idesp read in these q u o ­
tations, it is best to thin k o f th e actual process as m ultiparty politics.
5. T h e question o f uncertainty in the field o f positive know ledge in which
econom ic regulation is conceived and justified is an im m ense topic that m erits a
genealogical perspective, w hich is attem p ted in Roitnian (n .d .).
6. W hen trying to u n d erstan d peo p le's use o f the term /m rcw h en referring
to what I w ould call tax, I was surprised to discover that m any E uropean business­
m en co n flated price an d tax, putting fo rth th e sam e reaso n ing th a t 1 received
from C am eroonians: tax is a price because it is a right of e n try o r access. On the
significance o f the conflation betw een tax a n d price as p art o f a technology' o f
power, see Roitm an (2003, n.d.).
7. 7.ona-zou<i \s the term used to signify' illegal petrol.
8. As is im plied by Jam e s Ferguson’s re c e n t (1999) an d otherw ise interest­
ing read in g o f the situation in the Zam bian c o p p e r belt. F or a critique of the “dis­
en ch an tm en t” reading o f contem porary eco n o m ic p h en o m en a, see Bayarl
(1994).
9. I thank Saibou Issa for earn in g o u t these conversations.
10. In the regim e’s effort to quell incivisrne fiscal, w hich it d id with some
success, the regim e insisted, am ong o th er things, that clan d estin e motorcycle

223
J anet R o i t m a n

taxis enter into officialdom throu g h a new tax called th e impot liheraloire, vehicle
registration, vehicle insurance, an d so forth, and th at they be p ainted yellow.
Drivers are now supposed to w ear helm ets and gloves, n eith er of w hich I have
ever seen.
11. Some m ight argue that although the co n tin u ity o f a regime m ig h t
occur through the appropriation of m odes of w ealth creation established in
transnational networks, the state is im periled by tran snatio n al exchanges that
evade its authority. However, if these networks en ab le the state to p erfo rm its
essential tasks (extraction, enabling productive eco n o m ic sectors, red istrib u tio n ,
financing war), they perpetuate the viability of the state as a political institution
as much as a particular regime.
12. G regoire (1998:95, 101) notes that the T uareg o f H oggar are especially
known as passeurs between A lgeria an d Niger an d th a t the Nigerian arm y often
offers protection for convoys ru n n in g illegal deliveries betw een N iger an d Libya.
13. A good exam ple in C am eroon is the Biya re g im e s tolerance— lest we not
sav sanction— of high military officials’ involvem ent in the arms, drugs, an d
counterfeiting sectors.
14. On the m ultiple m anifestations of the p red ato ry logics of state power,
see Bavart (1989), and on the dedoablement de Vetat in the form of conseils
administrative, for exam ple, see Bavart (1977: esp. 64—67). O n dedouhlement as a
mode of power, see M bembe (1992).
15. For a critique of ihe concept o f moral econom y, see R oitrnan (2000).

224
 9
T he Signature o f the State

The Paradox of Illegibility

Veena Das

R e c e n t fo rm u la tio n s o n th e g en e a lo g ie s o f th e state have ta k e n

in sp ira tio n from B e n ja m in ’s ([1978] 1986) discussion on the oscilla­
tion betw een th e fo u n d in g and m ain tain in g violence o f law, and esp e­
cially his insight in to th e ways the legal form d etach es itself from w hat it
is su p p o se d to “re p re s e n t.” W hile th is ap p ro a c h h as b e e n extrem ely
p ro d u c tiv e in show ing th e im p o rta n c e o f states o f ex cep tio n as lying
b o th inside and o u tsid e th e law (A gam ben 1998), it has also ten d ed to
re n d e r sovereignty as if it w ere best analyzed as a sp ectral relic of a past
political theology. I a rg u e in this c h a p te r th a t an a tte n tio n to the sockv
logics th ro u g h w hich claim s to sovereignty are m ad e an d sustained, o n
th e o n e h an d , an d th e authority o f th e state as literalized in everyday
co n tex ts, on the o th er, m ig h t h elp us see the state as n eith er a p u rely
ratio n al-b u reau cratic organization n o r sim ply a fetish, b u t as a form o f
reg u latio n that oscillates betw een a ratio n al m ode a n d a magical m o d e
o f b ein g . As a ratio n al entity, the state is p resen t in th e structure of rules
an d regulations e m b o d ie d in the law, as well as in th e institutions fo r its
im p lem en tatio n . B u t like m any o th e r w riters in this volum e, I d o n o t
re g a rd law as a sign o f th e sovereignty o f the state o r as an institution

225
V e e n a D as

th ro u g h w hich d iscip lin ary reg im es are p u t in to place. R ath er, 1

ap p ro ach th e law h e re as a sign o f a distant b u t overw helm ing pow er
b ro u g h t into th e fram ew ork o f everyday life by th e rep resen tatio n and
p e rfo rm a n c e o f its rules in m o d e s o f ru m o r, gossip, m ockery, an d
m im etic re p re s e n ta tio n a n d also as a re so u rc e fo r seek in g c e rta in
rights, alth o u g h a resource w hose use is fra u g h t w ith u n certain ty an d
d an g er. A part fro m in stitu tin g o th e r m odes o f actio n in w hich states
reco g n ize one another, the state also acquires a d iffe re n t k in d o f p res­
e n c e , w hich I call m agical, in th e life o f c o m m u n ities th ro u g h th ese
local practices. I deploy the n o tio n o f m agic h e re , n o t to suggest th at
th e state tricks th e a u d ie n c e — a n o tio n u se d by F e rn a n d o C o ro n il
(1997) with g re a t effect in his re c e n t study o f th e state in V enezuela.
Instead, I wish to m ake four specific claim s in this regard. First, m agic
has co n seq u en ces th at are real; h en ce, I p refer to speak o f th e m agic o f
th e state ra th e r th a n the fictions o f the state. W hile I am perfectly aw are
th a t Fictions b e lo n g to life, in c h a ra c teriz in g m ag ic as having co n se­
qu en ces th at a re real, I am try in g to stay close to th e rep resen tatio n s I
e n c o u n te re d in th e field. S e c o n d , th e fo rces m o b ilized fo r p e rfo r­
m a n c e o f m ag ic a re n o t tra n s p a re n t. T h ird , m agical p ra c tic e s are
closelv a lig n e d to forces o f d a n g e r becau se o f th e c o m b in a tio n o f
obscurity an d pow er. Finally, to en g ag e in m agic is to place o n e se lf in a
p o sitio n o f vulnerability. I h o p e to show th e m o d alities by w h ich the
state in In d ia is su sp en d ed b etw een a ratio n al a n d m agical p resen ce,
b u t the eth n o g ra p h y I p resen t, even at its d ram atic m om ents, rests on
everyday practices. T his is why, in stead o f c o u n tin g on th eatrical p er­
form ances o f state rituals, th e th e a te r o f kitsch, o r the g ro tesq u e p aro ­
dies o f the d o u b le funeral as d escrib ed by Taussig (1997), I look at the
spectacular as nevertheless g ro u n d e d in th e ro u tin e s o f everyday life.
A n d it is h e re th a t I find m yself p ro p o sin g th a t th e idea o f sig n atu re,
tied as it is to th e w riting te ch n o lo g ies o f th e state, m ay be useful in
cap tu rin g this d o u b le aspect o f th e state.

WRITING AND SIG NATURE

We owe to Ja c q u e s D e rrid a th e idea o f w ritin g as o c c u rrin g in a
co n tex t th at is n ev er fully satu rated . D errida (1988) has arg u ed force­
fully th at in u n d e rsta n d in g w ritin g , we n e e d to go beyond th e usual
u n d e rs ta n d in g o f w riting as a n e x ten sio n o f o ral c o m m u n ic a tio n .

226
 T he S ignature of the St a t e

W riting, fo r him , is n o t o n ly a m eans o f c o m m u n icatio n w ith ab sen t

persons, b u t m ore im portantly, it q u estio n s th e very m o d el o f language
as a system (o r only as a system ) o f co m m u n icatio n . In th e critique o f
intentionality, w hich w ould tie consciousness in speech acts to th e p res­
ence o f th e p e rso n a n d in w riting to th e a p p e n d in g o f a sig n atu re,
D errid a p o in ts to th e fo rce o f b reak in g in h e re n t in th e act o f w riting
itself. T h e n o tio n o f w riting h ere does n o t follow from th e logic o f tex­
tual d o m in atio n in p e rfo rm a n c e o f au th o rity as in M essick (1993), b u t
ra th e r fro m th e in stab ility in tro d u c e d by th e p o ssib ilities o f a g ap
betw een a ru le an d its p erfo rm an ce.
T h u s, if th e w ritten sign breaks fro m th e c o n te x t b ecau se o f th e
co n trad icto ry aspects o f its legibility a n d its iterability, it w ould m ean
that o n ce th e state in stitu tes form s o f g o v ern an ce th ro u g h technologies
o f w riting, it sim ultaneously institutes th e possibility o f forgery, im ita­
tion, an d th e m im etic p erfo rm an ces o f its power. T his, in tu rn , brings
the w hole d o m ain o f infelicities an d excuses on th e p a rt o f th e state
into th e realm o f the pu b lic. O ne o f th e m eth o d o lo g ical observations
that follow is that to study th e state, we n e e d to shift o u r gaze from the
obvious places w here p o w er is ex p ected to reside to th e m argins an d
recesses o f everyday life, w here such in felicities b e c o m e observable.
T h ere is, o f course, a p arad o x here, fo r it is in the realm o f illegibility,
infelicity, an d excuses th a t o n e sees how th e state is re in c a rn ate d in new
form s. W h ereas T aussig (1997) talks o f th e spasm odic re c h a rg e, th e
circulation o f pow er b etw een the d ead a n d the living, th e state and the
people, I w ould like to sta rt with certain inscriptions.

TWO EXAMPLES
C o n sid er two d iffe re n t kinds o f d o c u m e n ts that I e n c o u n te re d d u r­
ing my w ork am ong survivors o f the 1984 riots after th e assassination o f
Mrs. G an d h i, then p rim e m inister o f In d ia .1 I fo u n d these do cu m en ts
intriguing. T h e first was a typical form o f th e First In fo rm atio n R eport
(FIR) filed in police sta tio n s after th e rio ts h ad b e e n b ro u g h t u n d e r
co ntrol in M angolpuri a n d S ultanpuri, two ad jacen t localities in W est
D elhi w here I w orked w ith survivors. T h e second w ere divorce ag ree­
m ents d raw n by th e caste P an ch ay at (literally th e “assem bly o f five,”
re fe rrin g to th e legislative an d ad ju d icato ry pow ers in v ested in caste
o r village eld ers) in th e se localities to fo rm alize “d iv o rc e s” betw een

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w idow s an d th e ir d ead h u sb a n d s— duly ex ecu ted on stam p ed c o u rt

paper. L et m e revisit the scene o f th e riots in these two places after the
assassination o f M rs. G an d h i a n d th e way I cam e across th ese d o c u ­
m ents. W hat follows is n o t a ch ro n o lo g y of the riots b u t certain scenes
in to which I e n te re d .
A lter th re e days of killing a n d looting in the resettlem en t colonies
o f D elhi, th e riots had been b ro u g h t u n d e r control. Som e survivors in
M angolpuri a n d Sultanpuri w ho h a d been shifted to relief cam ps in the
city g a th e re d e n o u g h co u rag e to go to the police statio n to reg ister
crim inal cases against those w ho h a d looted their pro p erty o r killed a
fam ily m em ber. They did this m o re to obtain official p ro o f th a t these
grievous events h ad indeed o c c u rre d , and that they h ad b een affected
by these events, th an in any h o p e th a t th e p erp etrato rs w ould be cau g h t
o r p u n ish ed , because the survivors w ere well aware o f th e com plicity of
the police in th e riots. T he p o licem an on duty at th e station insisted on
dictating th e fram in g sentences o f th e First Inform ation R eport, w hich
is a norm al p ractice in police statio n s (see Das an d Bajwa 1994). T he
stan d ard fram in g sentences, w ritten in H indi, ran as follows:
D inank 31.10.84 ko B h arat sarkar ke p rad h an m an tri
Shriniati Indira Gandhi ki unke do suraksha karm achariyon
dwara nirm am hatya karne ke karan Bharat ki rajdhani Dilli
m ein ja n ta m ein bhari rosh hone ki vajah se kai sthanon par
jan ta nein m ajma khilafe kanoon banakar agjani, lootm ar va
katle aam kiya, vibhinn G urudw aron Sikh gh aro n va unki
dookanon ko loot liya.
O n O cto b er 31, 1984, d ue to the fact that the Prim e M inister
o f In d ia Mrs. Indira G an d h i was cruelly m u rd ered by h er
two security guards, the p eo p le in Delhi, the capital of India,
being enraged, engaged in illegal activaties of arson, loot­
ing, an d mass killing. Several gurudwaras, Sikh families, and
their shops were looted, (my translation)
T h e FIR th e n becam e sp ecific in e n u m e ra tin g nam es o f fam ily
m em bers w ho h a d been killed o r m aim ed and th e p ro p erty th a t had
b een looted o r destroyed.
How is it, th en , that the fram in g sentences of the FIR used language

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that a ttrib u te d a certain subjectivity to th e crowds, claim in g that they

had b e e n so maddened by anger th at th ey attacked p eo p le an d property?
After all, th e victims w ere well aware th a t the attacks h a d been led o r
o rch estrated by local politicians an d w ere u n d er the com m and o f th e
local statio n house officer. First, w hen o n e w ent to th e police station to
register a com plaint, o n e d id so because local brokers o f pow er (dalals,
as they w ere know n in th e locality) h a d said that it w ould be difficult to
claim any co m p en satio n f o r loss w ith o u t legal proof. In th e police sta­
tion, an o fficer dictated th e first p art o f th e FIR to claim ants. They w ere
told th a t a c o m p lain t c o u ld n o t be reg istered w ith o u t such a fo rm al
statem ent. Such fo rm u laic m odes o f reco rd in g co m p lain ts are ro u tin e
in police stations an d a re often o rie n te d to the im ag in atio n of how th e
case will b e p resen ted in a court o f law (Das and Bajwa 1994). In this
case, th o u g h , a term su ch as katle aam (m ass killing) evokes a historical
im agery o f chaos, in w hich invading arm ies kill local p o p u latio n s en
masse. W h at is h a u n tin g in this case is th a t these FIRs, w hich en co d ed
wlvat o n e m ig h t call th e lie o f th e sta te , w ere also re q u ire d by o th e r
o rg an izatio n s en g ag ed in relief w ork as p ro o f o f th e victim status o f
claim ants. F o r in sta n c e , even g urudw 'ara (Sikh te m p le ) com m ittees,
which o ffered pensions to widows o f rio t victims, d e m a n d e d an FIR as
p ro o f th a t a w om an’s h u sb an d h ad d ie d in the riots. T h u s, ironically,
those w ho w ere lo ck ed in a com bative relationship w ith the state a n d
who h a d d ire c t ev id en ce o f the c rim in a lity of th e sta te n ev erth eless
en d ed u p bein g p u lle d in to the gravitational force o f th e state th ro u g h
the circu latio n of d o c u m e n ts p ro d u c e d by its fu n ctio n aries.2
My seco n d exam ple com es from d o cu m en ts know n in the co m m u ­
nity as talaqnamas (d e e d s o f divorce). T h ese were e x e c u te d by the caste
P an ch ay at o f the S iglikars (th e m a jo r caste g ro u p I w orked w ith in
S u lta n p u ri) on sta m p e d co u rt p a p e r. T h e d o c u m e n ts re c o rd e d th e
a g re e m e n t betw een th e natal family o f a m an who h a d d ied in the riots
and his widow, s ta tin g th a t they w o u ld divide th e c o m p en satio n
received from the g o v ern m en t equally. In ad d itio n , u n d e r this a g re e ­
m ent, th e p aren ts o f th e dead m an a g re e d to give a “divorce” to his
widow. As I have d escrib ed elsew here (D as 1990), d u e to the custom o f
leviratic m arriag e in th is com m unity, th e re was s tro n g pressure o n a
young w idow to m arry a b ro th e r o f th e d e a d m an, if o n e w ere available.
T he g o v ern m en t d ecisio n to awrard com pensation fo r th e death to th e

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V e e n a D as

widow m eant th a t m any young w om en could get in d e p e n d e n t access to

cash incom es. In*addition, the g urudw ara co m m ittees instituted a “p e n ­
sio n ” for the widow s an alo g o u s to w hat widows receive from th e gov­
e rn m e n t w hen th e ir husbands die in the line o f duty, as in war o r in an
accident. From th e perspective o f th e com m unity, th e rightful h e ir o f a
d e a d m an was his c o p a rc e n e r— th a t is, e ith e r a fa th e r o r a b ro th e r.
Even a m an's m o th e r was said to have a stro n g e r m oral claim on th e
m o n ey aw arded in c o m p e n sa tio n fo r his d e a th th a n his w idow h ad .
H e n c e , the c o n flic t b etw een th e se n o rm s o f in h e rita n c e a n d state
n o rm s caused co n sid erab le ten sio n in the com m unity. A resolution was
so u g h t in the n a tu re o f a co m p ro m ise. If a w idow refused to m arry h e r
deceased h u sb a n d ’s b ro th e r o r a n o th e r suitable kinsm an, she was given
a “divorce,” afte r th e division o f th e c o m p en satio n betw een h e r h u s­
b a n d ’s fa th e r a n d h erself, so th a t m u tu al claim s w ith h e r affinal kin
cam e to an en d . I was n o t able to a tte n d any o f th e Panchayat m eetings
because they w ere h eld at n ig h t, su rro u n d e d by an air of clan d estin e
o p e ra tio n . B esides, because o f various th re a ts I h a d received fro m
th o se en g ag ed in th e violence, it w ould have b e e n fo o lh ard y to risk
g o in g to the m eetin g s at late h o u rs. I was in te re ste d to learn, how ever,
th a t even in arriv in g at a c o m m u n ity co n sen su s th a t vio lated state
in ju n ctio n s, th e P an ch ay at h a d evoked th e a u th o rity o f th e state.
E qually stu n n in g was th a t th e P an ch ay at trie d to m ake its d ecisio n s
“legal” by evoking th e authority o f th e very state th a t had p e rp e tra ted
th e terror.
I hope th at th ese exam ples show the m ode in w hich the state is p re ­
se n t in the life o f th e com m u n ity — its suspension betw een a rational-
b u reaucratic entity a n d a m agical entity. As a ratio n al entity, it is p re se n t
in th e structure o f rules an d regulations; com m unity^eustom s are m ad e
to a p p e a r valid in th e shadow o f th ese rules a n d reg u latio n s. B ut its
m agical qualities are a p p a re n t in th e uncanny p resen ce it achieves in
th e life of th e com m unity, even at m om en ts o f th e co m m u n ity ’s d efi­
an ce o f the state— as though th e com m unity derives its own existence
fro m a particular read in g o f th e state.
I realize th at u sin g the term community h e re m ay give th e im p res­
sion that I am settin g up a b in ary opp o sitio n b etw een state an d co m ­
m unity’. I h o p e th a t it is sufficiently clear from my descriptions th a t th e
life o f the com m unity was com pletely en tan g led w ith the form s o f gov-

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 T he S i g n a t u r e of t h e S t a te

e rn m e n ta lity th a t were set in m o tio n after th e riots. H ow ever, it is

im p o rtan t to keep in m ind th a t th e form s o f governm entality a re consti­
tuted h ere th ro u g h sporadic, in te rm itte n t co n tact, rath er th an thro u g h
an effective p a n o p tic system o f surveillance. N o r is the state dealing
with iso lated individuals. U rb a n n e ig h b o rh o o d s, especially o n the
fringes o f th e city, are m ad e u p o f m igrants w ith stro n g k in sh ip and
caste n etw o rk s; netw orks o f re la te d kin co m e to occupy c o n tig u o u s
h o u sin g u n its set u p on la n d th ey have sim ply o ccu p ied o r th a t has
been allo cated to them u n d e r d ifferen t g o vernm ental schem es. These
m aterial c o n d itio n s allow c ertain form s of co m m u n ity to be re-created,3
but such co m m u n ities can be m ain tain ed only by en terin g in to various
kinds o f n e g o tia tio n s with a g e n ts o f the sta te , such as p o lic e m e n or
state in sp ecto rs. T h e ability o f p eo p le living in th ese n eig h b o rh o o d s to
protect th e ir h o m es from d em o litio n , o r th e ir “illegal” h o u seh o ld pro ­
d u ctio n fro m closure, d e p e n d s u p o n th e ir n e g o tia tio n s w ith these
agents o f th e state— a point I ela b o ra te on in la te r parts o f this chapter.
I shall now go on to suggest th a t w hat sustains the d o u b le existence
o f the state betw een a ratio n al m o d e and a m agical m ode is th e state’s
illegibility.

R E A D I N G T H E LAW
Allow m e to loop back to th e devastation o f th e riots in a street in
S ultanpuri. As I have described in my earlier w ork, the spatial distribu­
tion of th e rio ts is best u n d e rsto o d in term s o f the a n ch o rin g o f local
hostilities to n atio n al events (D as 1996, 1998), b u t w hat in te re sts m e
h ere is how th e p erp etrato rs evoked the im age o f law. T h e in te rp re ta ­
tion o f ev en ts was n o t easy fo r th e victims, fo r th e distinction betw een
the legal a n d th e illegal was so b lu rre d in th e ir everyday lives th a t it was
h ard for th e m to read what was h ap p en in g . My field potes d escrib e the
events in o n e street, A /4 , o n N o v em b er 1. C row ds had g a th e re d and
were acco m p an ied by a p o licem an , the station h o u se officer (SH O ) of
that locality. T h e m om ent is fro zen in my m em o ry from th e acco u n ts I
was given— it was described by m any as th e tu rn in g p o in t, w h en vio­
lence m oved fro m verbal ab u se a n d pelting w ith stones to killing.
T he crow d gathered o u tsid e th e house o f th e A /4 pradhan (head­
m an of th e caste) and ch allen g ed him to com e o u t. T he p ra d h a n cam e
o u t with a g u n . T he SHO o rd e re d him to take th e gun b ack in to the
V een .a D.4S

house. Some o th er Sikhs, h earin g the noise, g ath ered n e a r the scene.
The SHO o rdered all Siglikars to go back in to th e ir houses an d th reat­
ened that otherw ise they w ould be h a u le d o ff to the p o lice station.
Frightened and som ew hat confused, they w ent back to th e ir houses.
When the pradhan cam e o u t again, this tim e accom panied by his two
adult sons, the crowd started hu rlin g abuses at him . 1 am n o t very clear
as to the precise statem ents m ade at this tim e, b u t it seem s th at abuses
and insults w ere a m ix tu re o f fragm ents fro m d ifferen t k in d s o f dis­
courses. T here was co n tin u in g an g er at th e Siglikars having m ad e good
and the adm onishm ent th at now they w ould pay the price for having
been so arro g an t about th e ir w ealth. T h e ch arg e referred to the fact
that as craftsm en, som e Siglikars had secu red jobs in th e M iddle East
and were w ealthier than th e ir neighbors w ho belonged to th e C hainar
(previously untouchable) caste. But the eroded hurled o th e r abuses at
the pradhan.
Frequent challenges (lalkars) ln u led by th e crowd w ere “Khun ka
badla khun" (“Blood m ust be avenged with blood") and “Tumne ham m i
mo ko mam hai” (‘Ton have killed ou r m o th e r").' Crowds that had gath­
ered outside the hospital w here Mrs. G a n d h i’s body lay on O cto b er 31
had occasionally shouted these slogans, an d they gained in intensity for
the next few days while h e r body lay in state at the N ehru M useum . As
pictures of h er body and trib u tes paid to h e r were telecast, o n e could
hear these sam e slogans in th e background, ^t appears th at in this local­
ity, at the m om ent of violence, a certain “nationalist" discourse, picked
up from im ages on television, began to speak th ro u g h the body o f the
crowd gathered there. T h e p rad h an and his sons were badly b eaten ,
the crowd asking him to seek forgiveness, to apologize. A pologize for
what? he asked repeatedly. F or having ab ro g ated privileges beyond the
status of the Siglikars, fo r having killed “o u r m o th e r.” T h e m o re he
tried to fight, th e m ore the crow d beat him with lathis (sticks). Flis sons
tried to com e to his aid an d w ere also b eaten . Eventually, th e leaders of
the crowd, assisted by constables, poured k ero sen e over his b eaten and
bruised body and set fire to him . His two sons were killed in a sim ilar
manner. His wife, w ho was h id in g in sid e, co u ld nor. c o n ta in h e rse lf
when she heard h er sons calling out to her. T h e crowd th re a te n e d and
warned her to stay inside, b u t she insisted on com ing to h e r sons and
was similarly killed. All the w hile, the bodies w ere b u rn in g , th e dying

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p erso n s w ere calling o u t fo r w ater, a n d th e SH O was sh o u tin g th a t if

an y o n e d a re d in te rfe re w ith th e law ( kanoon ke k h ila f kisi ne hath
uthaya— raise a h a n d a g ain st th e law ), he w ould b e s h o t dead. T h e
crow d d isp e rse d — n o o n e co u ld tell nie w h en — b u t the S H O
a n n o u n c e d th at all Siglikars h ad to stay w ithin th e ir h ouses if life was
d e a r to them . T h e Siglikars in this locality said th a t a t first they w ere
stu n n e d . Was this a legal operation? T h e SH O had evoked the a u th o r­
ity o f th e law, even as p e o p le w ere b e in g killed by th e constables.
F rig h te n e d th at th e crow ds m ight co m e back, they w o n d ered , sh o u ld
they try to escape in th e cover o f darkness? Escape w here? W hen som e
p e o p le trie d to sn eak o u t to n e ig h b o rin g houses to co n su lt (m any
n e ig h b o rs w ere close k in ), they discovered that a w atch was being k e p t
from th e terraces o f two houses. T h ey w ere w arned th a t if they did n o t
re tu rn im m ediately, they w ould be sh o t dead.
L e t m e take th e case o f th e jh u g g i (shanty) d w ellers in a n o th e r
street, P / l , located at th e edge o f th e colony, with a p ark and a b ro ad
stre e t dividing th e pucca (cem en t) dw ellings o f th e P block from th e
jh u g g is. A little distance away, a sew age canal divided S u ltan p u ri from a
jhuggi jhopdi clu ster (a clu ster o f sh a n tie s an d h u ts) in th e ad jo in in g
colony. T h e jh u g g i dw ellers o f th e P / l cluster, b o th H in d u s a n d
M uslim s, had assured th e Sikhs living w ith them th a t they w ould be p ro ­
te c te d a t all costs. O n N o v em b er 1 a n d 2, w hen aggressive crow ds,
so m etim es a c c o m p a n ie d by p o lic e m e n , h ad ro a m e d th e colony, th e
Sikhs in this block h ad h id d e n in th e ir n e ig h b o r’s jh u g g is. O n the th ird
n ig h t, a police je e p h a d g o n e a ro u n d an n o u n cin g a curfew and threat-
e n in g jh u g g i dw ellers th a t if they c o n tin u e d to give sh e lte r to the Sikhs,
th e ir w hole cluster w ould be set o n fire. T h e police blatantly claim ed
th a t it was “illeg al” to give sh e lte r to any Sikh. F rig h te n e d by th ese
th reats to th eir n eig h b o rs an d feeling a m oral obligation n o t to e n d a n ­
g er th e ir n eig h b o rs’ lives, th e Sikhs d e c id e d to ru n tow ard the sewage
canal th a t divided th e colony from M angolpuri. Som e h o p e d to h id e in
th e fields, b u t the police follow ed th e m an d shot at th em . Later, in th e
c o u rse o f a p o lice in q u iry in to th e se events, the S H O d e fe n d e d his
actio n s by saying th a t th e p eo p le h e sh o t at were tro u b lem ak ers w ho
h ad tried to defy th e curfew . Precise estim ates are n o t possible, b u t at
least tw enty p eo p le d ie d in this block, a n d the total n u m b e r of Sikhs
killed in this locality was close to a th o u san d .

2 33
V e e n a D as

T h e exam ples I give show how th e d o c u m e n ta ry practices o f the

state, on the o ne h a n d , and th e u tteran ces th at em b o d y it, on th e other,
a c q u ire a life in th e practices o f th e com m unity. It is the iterability of
w riting, the citability o f its u tteran ces that allows a w hole realm o f social _
p ractices to em erg e th at even in resisting the state rep ro d u ce it in new
m o d es. T he circu latio n o f w ords such as law d u rin g the riots, a n d th e
fact th a t crowds w ere led in several instances by a policem an, show ed
th e b lu rred lines betw een law a n d its violation. In recalling th e events
o f N ovem ber 1, p e o p le repeatedly stated th at it was n o t clear w h eth er
th e Sikhs w ere g o in g to be p u n is h e d fo r th e assassination o f M rs.
G an d h i and w h e th e r th e crim e was seen as co m m itted on b eh alf o f the
com m unity. A lth o u g h m any p ro te ste d that they h a d n o th in g to d o with
th e crim e, th eir legal responsibility fo r the act was never very cle a r to
th e m . Thus, even th e question o f w hich co m m u n ity they b elo n g e d to
was tied to th eir re a d in g of th e law. W ere they p a rt o f th e local Siglikar
com m unity th at h a d n o co n n ectio n s to the m ilitan t m ovem ent, o r wTere
th ey now to c o n s id e r them selves p a rt o f th e la rg e r Sikh co m m u n ity ,
w h ic h they believed was in som e ways responsible fo r the assassination?
T h e presence o f th e SH O in u n ifo rm , the evocation o f “law” (“if any­
o n e dares lift his h a n d against th e law”), m ad e th e state p re se n t p re ­
cisely w here its ab sen ce as a rule-governed entity was m ost evident. T h e
voice o f the p o licem an evoking th e authority o f th e law w hen th e law
was clearly dead was w hat a n n o u n c e d the spectral presen ce o f th e state.
It is this illegibility o f th e state, th e unreadabilty o f its rules an d reg u la­
tio n s, as well as th e lo catio n o f legitim acy o f cu sto m ary in stitu tio n s
su c h as the caste P anchayat in th e ability to rep licate th e d o cu m en tary
p ractices o f th e state, th at allows th e oscillation betw een th e ratio n al
a n d th e m agical to b eco m e th e d e fin in g fe a tu re o f th e state in such
m argins.

I T S I N T E R N A L LIFE
T h e exam ples I have given m ig h t suggest th a t I am m aking a sh arp
d istin ctio n betw een the fu n ctio n aries of the state a n d the m em b ers o f a
com m u n ity to w hom the state is illegible. In fact, it is my a rg u m e n t th at
m an y o f the fu n ctio n aries of th e state them selves find the p ractices o f
th e state to be illegible. I was n o t able to interview th e SH O a b o u t his
ow n role in the carn ag e, so I tu rn to o th e r scenes.5

‘
^ 34
 T he Signature of the State

I interview ed o th er po licem en ab o u t th e ir roles in th e co u n terin ­

surgency o p e ra tio n s in th e P unjab, an d I fo u n d th e ir way o f talking
ab o u t th e ir roles in th e m a in te n a n c e o f law to be sh o t w ith am biva­
lence. R a th e r than talk like state fu n ctio n aries engaged in im p lem en t­
in g rules a n d reg u latio n s, they occasionally talked as if they directly
em b o d ied th e law, 1 suggest th at a com plicated e n ta n g le m e n t of state
and co m m u n ity m akes th e m act as if they are direct em b o d im en ts of
the state, especially in relatio n to harn essin g the energies o f th e dead.
H ere are ex cerp ts from an.interview with Tej Singh, a se n io r police offi­
cer in th e P u n jab who was directly involved in anti-insurgency o p era­
tio n s.6 T h e sam e p o lic e m a n was later sh o t d ead by o n e o f his own
ju n io r officials; I will give a b rie f acco u n t o f the retellin g o f th at event
by a n o th e r police officer later. I hpve to be som ew hat circum spect in
giving p re c ise dates a n d locations b e c a u se o f th e c o n d itio n s o f
anonym ity u n d e r which such inform ation was offered.
Tej S ingh was statio n ed in Am ritsar, o n e o f the cen ters o f the mili­
tan t m o v em en t. D uring O p eratio n B lue S tar (the co d e n am e for th e
arm y o p e ra tio n against th e m ilitants in 1984), he was p a rt o f a team
that su rro u n d e d the tem p le an d was to give cover to arm y p erso n n el as
they m oved in to the tem p le. T h e arm y an d police had sustained heavy
losses in this o peration, yet Tej bore little re se n tm e n t a b o u t th e risks he
had b een m ad e to take. In fact, he d eflected any discussion ab o u t the
actual o p e ra tio n by d escrib in g instead a sm all local event in th e police
statio n a b o u t o n e w eek p rio r to O p e ra tio n B lue Star. H e spoke in
Punjabi laced with occasional English ph rases. H ere h e describes th e
atm o sp h ere in the police statio n in th o se ten se days a n d a visit by an
astrologer, w ho regularly o ffered inform al advice:
T he Pandit came to the police station— he used to com e to
collect som e m oney, an d we would ask him to p red ict the
fu tu re7. So I said, “P andta [a form o f address], look at my
h a n d and tell m e w hat will h ap p en .” H e studied my palm
and shook his head, putting his hands on his ears, and said,
“Parlay, parlay” [referring to a cosmic flood, m entioned in
H in d u sacred texts, that ends an era in the cycle o f tim e]. I
said, “Stop this bakbak [nonsense]— tell m e what you see.”
H e said, “Sahib, duniya khatam hojayegipar tu bachuga” [“Sahib,
V eena D as

the world will come to an end, but you will survive”]. W ien 1
was standing on the terrace of a house in the street giving
cover and bullets were com ing from all directions, one grazed
my headgear, and I thought o f the Pancjit. (my translation)
This vignette shows in a sm all way how p o lic e officers m ay be
charged with im plem enting the rules and reg u latio n s o f the state, b u t
thev do not cease being m em bers o f local w orlds with their ow n cus­
toms and habits. T h e weekly visit o f the astrologer to th e police statio n
in the m iddle o f extrem ely risky operations, th o u g h described w ith a
sense of the absurd, points to these lines of co n n ectio n . T he n ex t ex am ­
ple, however, shows how the local im peratives w ith in which th e ra tio ­
nality of the state is em bedded led Tej Singh to ex p erien ce h im se lf as
the direct em b o d im en t o f these contradictory discourses that in c lu d e d
reference to locality and caste. In this interview, h e reflects on th e m ili­
tant m ovem ent an d his own sense o f being a police officer b elo n g in g to
a previously “u n to u ch ab le” caste:8
We know these boys— we know there are som e to whom
Khalistan [the imagined hom eland of the Sikh militant dis­
course] m eans som ething and others for w hom it is an occa­
sion to indulge in liquor, drugs—we also know who are the
big m en who are using the young m en to carry their own
ambitions. The genuine leaders o f the m ovem ent trust m e,
although we are on opposite sides. But these other kind—
they really fear me. So they have been after my blood [this
phrase was spoken in English]. So one day, as my driver and
I are going on a high road at night, this truck bears down on
us at high speed. The truck driver fled after hitting us— my
driver was in a coma. I know who those buggers— excuse my
language— were. My driver was in hospital for two m onths,
but he recovered. By som e m iracle I escaped. T hen, three
m onths later, I was sleeping on the lawn o f my house. My
subordinate officer came and whispered to m e that the m an
who had arranged for my “accident” was caught in an
encounter. Now I know that the correct thing is to hand him
over to the law, but I also know these buggers— they have
bought the law. I told my subordinate n o t to wait till the

2 36
 T he S ignature of t h e S t a te

m orning but to b rin g him in the d ark to this large public

park. I then took* a bath, wore a white kurta pajama, drank a
whole bottle of whiskey, and then I w ent to the park. T here I
kicked this man till he was begging for mercy. H e was a ja t [a
high caste, a landow ner]— I am a C h am ar [untouchable],
and I rem em ber him boasting once, w hen have the Cham ars
w ielded a gun ind ep en d en tly ? So w hen I kicked him to
death, I showed him that he can buy u p th e upper castes in
the police and the courts, but he can n o t buy me, this low-
caste Cham ar.
I m ust confess th at I was chilled by this story— n o t because I did not
know that such fram ed e n c o u n te rs were n o t u n u su al, but because this
police officer h ad the re p u ta tio n 'o f im peccable integrity, even am ong
th e m ilitants. H aving risen fro m th e lowly caste o f un to u ch ab les, he was
widely resp ected in his village fo r his charism a across the d ifferen t caste
groups. A few m onths after th ese interviews to o k place, he was killed. I
h e a rd that th e m ilitants a n n o u n c e d an in fo rm al cessation o f hostilities
fo r two days after his d eath so th a t the fu n eral co u ld be c o n d u cted with­
o u t any m ishap. Ironically, h e d ied not as h e h ad an ticip ated — at the
h an d s o f a m ilitan t o r on th e o rd ers o f the m afia— but by a b u llet mis­
takenly fired by his own g u n m a n .
A n o th er policem an to ld m e later that o n e o f his tru sted gunm en,
Sukkha Singh, was assigned to p en etrate o n e o f the m ilitant organiza­
tions. Sukkha becam e very involved in its affairs an d began to receive
drugs and illicit m oney. H e becam e a party to these transactions, either
because he d id n o t w ant to blow his cover o r because he b ecam e greedy
an d began to accep t m oney fo r him self. As th e policem an ex p lain ed to
m e, o n e could never say w ith certainty w hat kinds o f transactions these
w ere, for the b o u n d aries b etw een the licit a n d illicit are so th in . In any
case, Sukkha Singh received a n o tice to face an inquiry. B ecause he was
very close to Tej Singh, th e la tte r told him th a t he w ould a tte n d the
inquiry and th a t he h ad n o th in g to fear. In fact, I was told th a t the pre­
vious evening, Tej h im se lf h a d d ictated a w ritten resp o n se to the
charges the policem an was to face. O n the day o f the inquiry, o n e o f the
sen io r police officers in ch arg e asked S ukkha to h an d over his service
revolver. H aving an accused policem an h a n d over his w eapon is purely

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lo u tin e, and it w ould have been restored to him after he was cleai ed of
any charges. H ow ever, for som e in ex p licab le reaso n , S u k k h a co m ­
pletely lost his cool. H e resp o n d ed angrily, “N o o n e asks Sukkha Singh
to hand over his w eapon," and he p u lled th e trigger, first k illin g Tej
Singh and th en him self. T hose p resen t w ere certain that the sh o t was
n o t intended for Tej, Sukkha’s senior and frien d , b u t that Tej h ad got­
ten in the way an d was accidentally sh o t d e a d . Tej s last w ords w ere
“Sukkha tu?”{“Sukkha— even ywvD* So th ere was confusion, the police
officer told m e. Perhaps Tej Singh died with th e th o u g h t th at Sukkha
Singh had been b o u g h t over by the m ilitants after all.
T he version o f the story I relate h ere did n o t a p p e a r in the new spa­
p ers o r official accounts. T he police officer w ho told m e this story did
n o t treat it as exceptional. H e insisted th at this kind o f m isreading h ap­
p e n e d m ore often than could be adm itted. T hus, the illegibility o f the
rules, and th e h u m an actions th at em body th ese rules, ap p ears to be
p a rt o f the way th at rules are im p lem en ted . It is n o t that the m o d e of
sociality to be fo u n d in the institutions of the state is based o n clarity- of
rules and regulations and that these becom e illegible to the p o o r o r the
illiterate, but th a t the very p erso n s ch arg ed w ith im p lem en tin g rules
m ig h t also have to struggle with how to read the rules and regulations.
In the n ex t section, I w ant to address the p ro b lem of th e re la tio n ­
sh ip between law and regulation in the co n tex t o f th e illegibility7 o f the
state, draw ing from som e w ork o n th e N ational E m ergency in In d ia in
1975, when d raco n ian m easures w ere taken b o th to reduce th e p o p u la ­
tio n and to clean u p cities by rem oving slum dw ellers to the periphery.
I follow that w ith exam ples o f how sim ilar processes are o p erativ e in
low -incom e n e ig h b o rh o o d s in a variety o f c o n te x ts, even w h en th e
p o litical situ atio n seem s “n o rm a l.” A lth o u g h this discussion m ig h t
seem like a digression, I w ant to suggest th at riots do not b rin g som e­
th in g entirely new in to existence. T h e p erip h eral colonies, in w hich the
p o o r have com e to be “resettled ,” a re scenes o f th e arbitrary n a tu re of
state regulations, so the everyday ex p erien ce o f th e state is m ark ed by-
all kinds of neg o tiatio n s betw een th e local fu n ctio n aries an d th e resi­
dents. T he policies on h o u sin g an d sterilization cam e to be lin k ed , of
co u rse, d u e to th e special d isp e n sa tio n o f th e E m ergency, a n d they
w ere applied with special rig o r in D elh i in 1975. T hey constitute an ear­
lier link in the lives o f the u rb an p o o r in th eir relation to th e state, and

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 T he S ignature of the S t a te

though these policies are n o t linked an y m o re, o ne can see certain con­
tinuities in th e m ode o f surveillance th at I ex p lo re later. In th e p o p u lar
im agination, th e E m ergency was know n as the tim e o f nasbandi (steril­
izatio n ). T h is p erio d show s w ith stark clarity how the p o litic s o f the
body lies at th e in tersectio n betw een law a n d regulation.

T H E N A T IO N A L E M E R G E N C Y A S T H E T IM E
OF NASBAN D I
E m m a T arlo (2000) offers an ex cellen t analysis of th e m a n n e r in
w hich two adm inistrative schem es that w ere p a rt o f the sta te ’s norm al
h o u sin g p o licies an d fam ily -p lan n in g services for th e p o o r— the
R esettlem en t S chem e a n d th e Family P la n n in g S chem e— cam e to be
im p lem en ted d u rin g th e N ational E m ergency. T h e c e n te r o f gravity in
h e r analysis is th e everyday eco logy o f fe a r an d greed th ro u g h w hich
the p o o r e n d e d up as p a rtn e rs in the coercive program s o f th e state.
T h e E m ergency was a p erio d w hen all fu n d am en tal rig h ts w ere sus­
p en d ed on gro u n d s th a t th e country was in d a n g e r o f falling in to anar­
chy. It was also a p e rio d o f g re a t p re ssu re to obtain re su lts in the
fam ily-planning p ro g ram , w hose target.w as prim arily th e u rb a n poor.
T h o u g h n u m erical ta rg e ts h a d always b e e n p a rt o f fam ily -p lan n in g
policies in India, the E m ergency was w idely reg ard ed as a p e rio d o f cri­
sis in w hich th e g o v ern m en t was able to exercise u n b rid led c o n tro l over
the im p le m e n ta tio n o f th e se policies (D ayal and B ose 1997; Shah
C om m ission 1978). As w ith m ost coercive a n d ill-p lan n ed program s,
there was pressure at every level o f the b u reau cratic h ierarch y to pro­
duce results, b u t it was th e low er echelons o f the bureaucracy th at bore
th e b ru n t o f this p re ssu re to m eet ta rg e ts a n d p ro d u c e resu lts. T he
au th o ritarian ism o f M rs. G a n d h i’s rule in this period an d th e destruc­
tion o f in stitu tio n s m a d e it im perative fo r th e b u reau cracy to im ple­
m en t the policies o f th e go v ern m en t, n o t in accordance w ith rules and
regulations b u t in acco rd an ce with b u re a u c ra ts’ reading o f th e wishes
of th e ir su p erio rs. T h e state was literally seen to be e m b o d ie d in the
p erso n o f M rs. G an d h i a n d h e r y o u n g e r so n , Sanjay G a n d h i, w ho
becam e, as was widely acknow ledged, th e ex traco n stitu tio n al c en ter of
pow er (M ehta 1978). It was com m on know ledge that in stead o f w ritten
o rd ers, th e b u re a u c ra ts receiv ed o ral o rd e rs to im p le m e n t policies
(Shah C om m ission 1978). R um ors a b o u t th e fate o f those w ho defied

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V e e n a D as

those orders or im plem ented th em in h alf-hearted ways m ade lower-

level officials extrem ely anxious ab o u t their jobs. So on the o n e h an d ,
normal bureaucratic procedures were suspended. O n the other, it was
widely acknow ledged that M rs. G a n d h i’s son, Sanjav G a n d h i, was
emerging as an im portant c en ter o f pow er artel that the beautification
of Delhi and the co n tro l o f p o p u la tio n w ere his favorite p ro g ram s.
Although all o f this is generally know n, Tarlo pro v id es a m eticu lo u s
examination o f the files in the slum d evelopm ent d e p a rtm e n t o f o ne
locality in Delhi w here these schem es were im p lem en ted . She show s,
first, how the p o o r were forcibly rem oved from th e ir habitats in th e city
and, second, that th eir claims to housing in the p erip h eries o f th e city'
were made d ep en d en t upon the p ro d u ctio n of sterilization certificates.
None of this was strictly legal, b u t the p a ra p h e rn a lia o f re c o rd in g
claims, exam ining certificates fo r authenticity, a n d so on, gave it the
aura of a legal operation. In o th e r words, the life o f docum ents c o n tin ­
ued as if it were “business as usual.”
The governm ents unacknow ledged ways o f linking claims to h o u s­
ing with sterilization were tran slated at local levels in to a stru c tu re o f
co-victimhood— people searched for p o o rer relatives o r n eighbors w ho
could be induced to un d erg o sterilization for m oney. Poor m igrants,
beggars, and o th e r hom eless p erso n s w ere also in d u c e d to u n d e rg o
sterilization, and an inform al m ark et in sterilization certificates devel­
oped. Those w ho n eed ed to show th a t they h ad m otivated o th e rs to
become sterilized, so that they co u ld keep th e ir jo b s o r th eir houses,
bought the certificates. By po rtray in g the poor as active p articip an ts in
state policies of repression, rath er than passive victim s or noble resisters,
Tarlo shows how the political regim e o f the N ational Em ergency was able
to use fear and greed to draw d ifferent sections o f p eo p le into its im ple­
mentation. T he p o in t is th at n e ith e r the lower-level b u reau crats n o r
those who were relo cated o n p ro d u c tio n o f sterilizatio n certificates
could draw a line betw een th e legal and illegal. T h e certificates, o n ce
they became p art o f the norm al bureaucratic o p eratio n s of reco rd in g ,
became proof o f th e “legality” o f th e o p e ra tio n s. In the local-level
offices where h o u sin g was a llo c a te d , th e p ro cesses o f re c o rd in g th e
certificates and en u m eratin g claim s sanctioned o n these bases gave the
whole operation an air of norm alcy.

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 T he Signature of the S tate

A lth o u g h T arlo states th a t th ere a re lines o f co n tin u ity betw een

th e s ta te ’s n o rm al p ra c tic e s an d fo rm s o f g o v ern an ce d u rin g the
E m ergency, sh e does n o t provide us w ith any e th n o g ra p h y o f the
continuity o f these practices at the tim e o f h e r fieldw ork in th e urban
n e ig h b o rh o o d she stu d ied . I take this o p p o rtu n ity to p ro v id e a b rief
description o f the fu n ctio n in g o f the state in everyday life, an d especially
how form s o f governance an d m odes o f surveillance are p u t in opera­
tion in the offices o f petty bureaucrats o r o n street co rn ers w here police
constables p atro l n eig h b o rh o o d s. It is at these sites th at bribes for ru n ­
ning illegal h o m e p ro d u ctio n in karkhanas (small industrial w orkshops)
are n e g o tia te d , o r new m ig ran ts w ho o fte n occupy state-ow ned land
learn how to avoid eviction, o r the stealing o f w ater o r electricity is con­
d o n e d in e x c h a n g e fo r b rib es, votes, o r o th e r services lin k ed to the
underlife o f politics. My in ten tio n is n o t to rom anticize these practices
or to castigate the p o o r— fo r very sim ilar processes o p e ra te in upper-
in co m e n e ig h b o rh o o d s, w h ere bribes a re o ffered fo r th e stealin g o f
electricity o r the ru n n in g o f factories in residential colonies. B ut u n d er
the co n d itio n s in w hich resid en ts o f jh u g g i jh o p d i co lo n ies live, such
negotiations becom e necessary to ensure econom ic survival. T h ese sites,
then, are particularly im p o rta n t for u n d e rsta n d in g how states m anage
populations at the m argins, and also how those living in these m argins
navigate th e gaps betw een laws and th e ir im p lem en tatio n .
L et m e take two ex am p les o f these processes in everyday life from a
low -incom e n eig h b o rh o o d in Delhi, n o t very far from th e resettlem en t
colony T arlo studied. W h en I initiated m y p resen t study in h ealth prac­
tices an d local ecologies in 1999, I was given directions to th e house o f
the local p ra d h a n , N ath u S ingh (a fictitious n a m e ). I w ent to m eet him
an d explain my study. W ith in a couple days, a n o th e r m an co n fro n ted
m e an d said th a t he was th e lead er of th e locality and w arn ed m e against
those w ho h ad m isled m e in to thinking th a t N athu Singh was th e p rad ­
han. O ver tim e, I was able to w ork o u t th e co n to u rs o f th e com plicated
relatio n s b etw een th ese two m en. It a p p e a rs th at th e se c o n d perso n
had b e e n th e caste le a d e r b u t had b e e n d isp laced fro m his position
th ro u g h a series o f contests w ith N athu S ingh over w ho co u ld offer bet­
ter services to th e local com m unity by n eg o tiatin g with th e forces o f the
state. In brief, N athu h a d proved to be m o re ad ep t in d ealin g with the

241
 V eena D as

“outside world.” As he told m e how he secured lead ersh ip o f the local

community, Nathu a ttrib u te d his abilitv to deal w ith new com m u n ity
problems to his earlier jo b as a “room boy” in a p ro m in e n t hotel, w hich
had propelled him outside his n eig h b o rh o o d into new kinds o f ex p eri­
ences. Nathu had spent his childhood in the village fro m which m any
of his current neighbors h ad m igrated, a n d he h ad stu d ied till eig h th
grade in the ullage school. His father h a d m igrated to D elhi som etim e
in the early fifties, so it was easy for him to leave the village and jo in his
father in 1970. He then got the jo b in th e hotel and le a rn e d how to talk
to people, how,to hold his own in conversations with ed u cated people,
and how, as he put it, to h o ld his head high. Further, h e was able to p u t
aside money from th e tips he received from h o tel guests. T h en , in
1982, a number of people from the village p u t up jh u g g is on the lan d
they now occupy. This act led to serious disputes w ith earlier settlers in
neighboring areas. The G ujjars (a caste o f pastoralists) living in nearby
areas were angry with this g ro u p — especially because o f caste rivalries
and the Gujjars' not w anting to live n e a r “u n to u ch ab les.” O n e night, sev­
eral men from the G ujjar com m unity cam e to attack th e new residents.
N athu was able to gather E nough m en to wage a fig h t an d chase away
the aggressors. This act gave him prestige in the eyes o f local residents.
However, Nathu was w orried ab o u t th e security o f th e ir claims over
the land they had occupied. So he n eg o tiated with a policem an resp o n ­
sible for patrolling the area to p ro rid e th em with security in exchange
for a hafta agreem ent (an ag reed -u p o n weekly b rib e w ith alm ost th e
force of custom). He asked every h o u seh o ld for two ru p e e s (about fo u r
cents) a month as a voluntary co n trib u tio n to deal w ith various kinds o f
state officials, though h e claim ed th a t th e c o n trib u tio n s were n o t
steady, it gradually becam e clear to everyone that h e was a m ore effec­
tive leader for the com m unity than th e caste p ra d h a n . Sim ilar to th e
mediators described by T sing (1993), N athu Singh d isp laced the trad i­
tional leader to becom e an effective n eg o tiato r w ith th e new forces o f
the state. I give one exam ple o f the m odality o f state p resen ce and th e
kinds of negotiations th a t have to be effected.
Because this colony is an u n au th o rized colony, th e re are no electric
connections in the houses. However, every househ o ld has drawn lines
from the electric pole in th e street to its dwelling. S om e years ago, it
was rumored that if a dw elling un it h a d an electric m e te r in stalled ,

242
 T he S ignature of t h e S tate

th e m eter w o u ld eventually b eco m e p ro o f o f o c c u p a tio n , so the

g o v ern m en t co u ld n o t evict such h o u seh o ld s an d reoccupy th e ir land.
In law, the la n d on which p e o p le have m ade th e ir jhuggis is ow ned by
th e state. B ut th e legal position is com plicated because som e years ago,
N ath u S ingh m an ag ed to g et a stay o rd e r fro m th e H igh C o u rt that
restrained the governm ent from evicting residents from this lan d unless
alternative h o u sin g was p ro v id ed to them . W ith th e h elp o f a lawyer,
N ath u h ad reg istered the resid en ts as an official Society o f H arijans
(scheduled castes, who enjoy certain benefits u n d e r the In d ian constitu­
tion because o f th e ir depressed position in society)— thus secu rin g for
them som e k in d o f legal status. T h e ju d g e used this provision to grant
th e stay o rd e r to the registered society. B ut even though th e residents
could n o t b e evicted from th e ir dw elling u n its, th ere was still a p ro b ­
lem . T hose w ho h ad installed m eters but n ev er paid the electricity bills
fo u n d th at su b seq u en t to th e re c e n t privatization o f electric supply in
D elhi, they faced huge bills. T hey simply d id n o t have the resources to
pay these bills. T his created a precarious situ atio n for them .
O n a re c e n t visit to th e locality in D e c e m b e r 2002, I fo u n d the
w hole place p lu n g ed in darkness. W hen I m ad e inquiries, N ath u Singh
told me th a t h e h ad h eard ru m o rs o f a raid o n the locality by govern­
m en t officials an d that they m ig h t dem olish th o se houses th a t h ad n o t
paid th eir electricity bills. T his w ould p u t all th e households in to je o p ­
ardy b ecau se they w ere all e n g a g e d in so m e illegal activity, a n d one
thing could lead to another. U n d e r earlier^arrangem ents, local govern­
m e n t officials u n d e rsto o d this situ atio n a n d c o n d o n e d th e in frin g e­
m ents (h e lp e d by weekly b rib es), b u t a new set o f officials m ig h t p u t the
w hole a rra n g e m e n t u n d e r risk. To avoid th is risk, all h o u seh o ld s
decided to c u t off th eir electric supplies so as n o t to give a p re te x t to
any official to visit the area. I asked the resid en ts how they w ere going
to deal w ith this problem , since they could n o t live w ithout electricity
forever. I th e n learn ed th a t several p rad h an s from ad jo in in g localities
w ere g o in g to h o ld m eetin g s a n d w ere p la n n in g a dharna (sit-in) in
fro n t o f th e H ig h C ourt. T h e resid en ts w ere h o p efu l th a t becau se a
general electio n was sch ed u led fo r 2004, an d because they constituted
im p o rta n t vote banks, they w ould be able to have th eir colony au th o ­
rized. R ecall th at d u rin g th e N ational E m ergency, people w ere able to
get legal claim s over their houses by o b tain in g sterilization certificates.

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Now it seemed th at the struggle was to p u t p ressu re on the local gov­

ernment to grant legal status to th e colony, and th u s titles to the o ccu­
pied land so th a t resid en ts co u ld g e t electricity, w ater, and sew age
systems. I hope th a t these exam ples m ake it clear th a t th e E m ergency
brought out th e p ractices o f g o v e rn a n c e in sh a rp re lie f b u t fo r th e
poor, such practices w ere n o t exceptional. T he in te rm itte n t n atu re of
governmental control, the illegibility o f the law, a n d th e negotiations
around the thin lines betw een th e legal and th e illegal are p art o f the
everyday life of these neig h b o rh o o d s. T h e state is p re se n t in the form
of rum or—its signature is read everyw here. It m ay b e w orth rem em b er­
ing Benjamin ([1978] 1986), w ho stated th a t th e tra d itio n o f th e
oppressed teaches us that the state o f em ergency in w hich we live is n o t
the exception b u t th e rule. T h e p recario u s n a tu re o f th e everyday in
the neighborhoods I have d escrib ed gives us g ro u n d s to believe th a t
this is not a m etaphysical statem ent, b u t one lo cated in th e conditions
of life and labor in these areas.

LEGITIMACY A N D T H E Q U E S T I O N O F S I G N A T U R E
I hope the iterability of u tteran ces an d actions in w hich the signa­
ture of the state can detach itself fro m its origin an d b e grafted to o th e r
structures and o th e r chains o f significadon is clear. H ow does the state
then claim legitim acy in th e face o f obvious fo rg e rie s, c o rru p tio n
within its own procedures, and th e m im esis o f its structures? To u n d e r­
stand this, I turn to the realm o f excuses— a classical subject in A u stin ’s
(1962) analysis o f language b u t n o t o ften used in u n d e rsta n d in g th e
realm of politics, alth o u g h it has b e e n used in legal literatu re in th e
battered-woman d efen se and th e cu ltu ra l-d e fen se a rg u m e n t (see
Kelman 1994 an d W alker 1999).
In Austin’s u n d erstanding, excuses p o in t to th e realm o f infelicities
when perform ative utterances fail. U tterances w ith illocutionary force
are felicitous w hen the context is in place and o u r tru st in conventions
is secure. It is then we can say th at accuracy and m orality are on th e side
of saying that “my w ord is my b o n d ” (Cavell 1994). However, my claim
in this chapter is th at fragility o f c o n te x t is built in to th e situation in
which signature c a n n o t be tied to w h at o ne m ig h t th in k o f as th e
notion of u tteran ces an d actions o f th e state. It is this fragility th a t
accounts for the oscillation o f th e state betw een th e rational an d th e

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 T he S ignature of the S ta te

m agical m o d e s. Excuses th e n provide us e n try in to a re g io n of lan ­

guage in w hich we co n fro n t th e vulnerability o f hum an actions, as well
as vulnerability o f hum an u tteran ces. My actions are v u ln erab le because
o f the lim itations o f the h u m a n body, an d m y utterances b eco m e vulner­
able b ecau se m y w ords m ay be tra n sfig u re d elsew h ere (see Cavell
1994). In o rd in ary life, this is th e region o f h u m a n vulnerability— I may
be q u o ted o u t o f context, my. w ords can be rep ro d u ced in a m ood of
irony, or they m ay be infused w ith a n o th e r affect. In the life o f th e state,
that very iterability becom es n o t a sign o f vulnerability b u t a m o d e of
circulation th ro u g h w hich pow er is p ro d u ced .
T he ex am p les o f FIRs, talaqnam as, sterilization certificates, ration
cards, a n d h u n d re d s o f o th e r such d o c u m e n ts show how th e state
com es to b e p resen t in th e everyday life o f its subjects. B ecause it can be
m u ltip lied , literalized th ro u g h co u rt p a p e rs, certificates, a n d forged
docum ents, it can en ter th e life of the com m unity'. But as Je g an ath an ,
Ferine, an d P oole have a rg u e d in their respective ch ap ters in this vol­
um e, the su b je c t’s identity' can never be fully assum ed in th e en c o u n te r
with the state. It is precisely' because the d o cu m en ts can be forged and
used out o f context, and because the bureaucratic-legal processes are
n o t legible even to those responsible fo r im p lem en tin g th em , that the
state can p e n e tra te the life o f th e com m unity an d vet rem ain elusive.
In its tu rn , the b u reau cratic rationality o f th e state can alwavs evoke
the very facts o f its illegibility to th e p o o r as th e m a jo r forrri o f its
defense. C onsider, for in stan ce, that b u reau crats w ithhold inform ation
in any crisis o n the g ro u n d s th a t b ecau se p e o p le are illite ra te o r ill
inform ed, they have a ten d en cy to panic. E lsew here I have analyzed the
way this ex cu se is ro u tin ely evoked in th e m an ag em en t o f epidem ics
(see Das a n d D asgupta 2000). A dam A shforth has analyzed th e way in
w hich th e H IV /A ID S e p id e m ic in S o u th .Africa poses a tre m e n d o u s
th reat to th e legitimacy' o f th e state. W h at I w ould like to show is how
bureaucratic logic displaces n o tio n s o f irratio n ality and p an ic to a cred­
ulous p u b lic an d thus c o n stru c ts itself as “ra tio n a l” in its d e lib e ra te
absence o f transparency.

P A N IC A N D B U R E A U C R A T I C R A T I O N A L I T Y
T he c o n c e p t o fp a n ic to signify' the n a tu re o f the collectivity to be
m anaged by a rational b u reau cracy finds an in terestin g genealogy in

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the field o f public h ealth , especially in th e m an ag em en t o f epidem ics.

H ere is an early exam ple o f how m an a g e m e n t of life a n d exercise o f
sovereignty w ere m utually co n stru cted in th e m argins o f th e colonial
state. T h e details p re se n te d below co m e from M isra (2000) and from
my own n o tes at the In d ia O ffice Library.
T h e y ear was 1893, w hen the first la b o ra to ry -p ro d u c e d vaccine
against c h o le ra was to b e tested in th e field in In d ia . H affkine h a d
arrived in India, having officially o b ta in e d perm ission to test his vac­
cine in th e n atio n ’s ch o leric districts. T h e re was con sid erab le trep id a­
tion in official circles a b o u t the advisability o f giving H affkine
perm ission to test his vaccine. T he role o f ru m o r in the m utiny of 1857
had n o t b e e n forgotten, an d officials w ere cautious in insisting that the
g o v ern m en t bureaucracy should n o t be seen as actively su p p o rtin g this
m ission. T hus, in a disp atch o f M arch 16, 1893, S urgeon G eneral W. R.
Rice evoked the n o tio n o f a “p o p u lar m in d ,” arg u in g th a t though sci­
entifically proven to b e effective, the vaccine was not co n sid ered h arm ­
less in th e p o p u lar m in d (M isra 2000). R u m o r was said to play a very
im p o rta n t ro le in th e fe a r o f the new vaccine. F or in stan ce, in th e
S eram pore m unicipality o f Calcutta, w h ere cholera h ad bro k en out, a
team was sent to in o cu late people on th e request o f residents, b u t th e
o p eratio n h ad to be su sp en d ed the n e x t day because o f “ru m o rs” o f th e
ill effects o f the vaccine. T h e report on this in cid en t stated, “N o d o u b t
som e d e g re e o f panic was n atu ral a m o n g th e low caste p eo p le w ho
work in th e mills, but it is surprising th a t stories, how ever intrinsically
ab su rd a n d im p ro b a b le , sh o u ld have b e e n a c c e p te d by e d u c a te d
Natives a n d English m an ag ers w ithout any attem p t at en q u iry ” (cited in
M isra 2000). T h ere w as also m uch discussion in th e new spapers th a t
H indus w ould be in cen sed that anim al pro d u cts o f a p o llu tin g n atu re
had b e e n injected in to th em , an d o n e official n o te d th a t “native
cred u lity ” co u ld be u n scru p u lo u sly “played u p o n ,” je o p a rd iz in g th e
legitim acy o f th e governm ent.
T h e d ep lo y m en t o f th e co n cep ts o f panic, ru m o r, and native
credulity shows how th e question o f sovereign pow er was linked to the
m an ag em en t of p o p u latio n s and especially the m an ag em en t of public
o rd er in th e face of ru m o rs an d panic. T h e bureaucracy could establish
itself to b e rational in co n trast to th e native p o p u latio n . T hus, govern­
m en t a b a n d o n e d the p ro je c t o f vaccinating the p o p u latio n , justifying it
on g ro u n d s o f native credulity. It is in te re stin g th at ju stificatio n an d

246
 T he S ig n a t u r e of the S tate

excuses th at called u p o n risks o f causing panic am o n g native p o p u la ­

tions w ere accep tab le m odes o f ex p lain in g th e actions of the b u re a u ­
cracy an d thus d efin e d the realm o f th e civil.
T h e ex am p le o f H affkine a n d th e position o f th e g o v ern m en t o f
In d ia tow ard th e field trials in 1893 shows th at bureaucracies co n stru ct
th e ir actions as vulnerable in a field o f en u n ciatio n s th at is o v e rd e te r­
m in e d by h u m a n .passions— th e se passions are p ro je c te d to o th e r
agents, such as native credulity. As p art o f th e distribution o f e x p ecta­
tions, b u reaucracies are ex p ected to “m an ag e” these p o p u lar passions.
T h e play betw een law and reg u latio n an d the “m an ag em en t o f life” was
n o t only evident in th e case o f epidem ics b u t also in th e case o f o th e r
d isru p tio n s to “o rd e r.” T h e fo rm o f reaso n in g th a t attrib u tes d istu r­
b an ce o f o rd e r to p o p u la r passion^ was evoked repeatedly in th e case of
riots, too, as th ese w ere seen as em b o d im en ts o f “p o p u la r p assio n ” (see
P andey 1990).
T h e stability o f these rep resen tatio n s becam e evident to m e w hen I
was p art o f a 1984 delegation in D elhi petitio n in g th e lieu ten an t gover­
n o r to publicly acknow ledge th e n u m b e r o f Sikh m en w ho had <Jied in
th e riots. We w ere to ld that to publicize these facts w ould lead to a flar­
ing o f public passion, w hich co u ld lead to m o re deaths. Sim ilarly, the
S rikrishna C om m ission, set u p by th e g o v ern m en t o f India in 1994 to
investigate riots in M um bai in D ecem b er 1992 a n d ja n u a ry 1993, fo u n d
th at accusations a b o u t the com plicity o f the police w ere ex p lain ed away
by sen io r police officers as “co m m u n al bias” o n th e p a rt o f th e low er
ru n g s o f the p o lice force. S en io r officials claim ed th a t m em bers o f the
low er rungs w ere n o t fully e d u c a te d and h en ce w ere subject to sectar­
ian prejudices. F o r instance, re fe rrin g to the d ep o sitio n of o ne R am deo
Tyagi, the jo in t co m m issio n er o f police, Ju stice S rikrishna, stated the
follow ing:
To a pointed question as to w hether in his assessment there
was any com m unal bias on the part of the constabulary in
handling the rio t situation, he also diplom atically replied
that in any society, unless people arefully educated, there is bound
to be a h id d en bias in the m ind of every person belonging
to one com m unity against the other and th at such bias
m ust have surfaced. However, when it cam e to opening
fire the police had been im partial though com plaints had

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been m ade to him by the Muslims that their establishm ents

were attacked an d dam aged in the very presence of police
personnel. (Srikrishna 1998:214; em phasis added)
T hus, in ex p lain in g w hy m o re M uslim s died in p o lice firing, th e
officer reso rts to claim in g th a t the g e n e ra l level o f e d u c a tio n of th e
p o p u latio n was resp o n sib le fo r c o n ta m in a tin g the p o lice force. T h e
b u reau cracy institutes itself as rational by c h a ra c teriz in g th e people as
credulous an d irrational. It is notable, th o u g h , that th e low er rungs o f
th e police are assim ilated in to this fold o f th e “u n e d u c a te d p u b lic.”
T he w hole realm of accep tab le excuses creates the realm o f the civil, in
which th e very illegibility o f th e state to its citizens b eco m es the m o d e
of establishing its legitim acy.
In his reflections o n th e S rikrishna C om m ission R ep o rt, H ansen
argues th a t such rep o rts are in the n atu re o f state spectacles that p ro ­
vide a k in d o f public cath arsis an d try to rep re se n t w h at h e calls th e
“sublim e” dim ensions o f th e state— “its fairness, <rationality, tolerance
and ju s tic e ” (H ansen 2001:158). H ansen is rightly sk ep tical w h eth er
such state spectacles w ould be able to m ain tain this “m y th ” of the state
as rational an d just, b ecau se the bro ad er conditions u n d e r which a vio­
lence o f h a tre d takes p lace have taken ro o t in all kinds o f ways in India.
H e exhorts us that “We th u s n eed to re th in k what the state m eans a n d
how it presen ts itself in everyday life, a n d explore how governance has
becom e o rg an ized a ro u n d co m p etin g lan g u ag es— bio-political ratio ­
nalities as well as various form s o f sovereignty (legal, political, etc.)—
both w ithin and beyond th e state” (H ansen 2001:233).
My ow n co n te n tio n is th a t despite H a n s e n ’s g o o d in ten tio n s, his
em phasis o n state spectacles as a route tow ard g en eratin g u n d erstan d ­
ing of sovereignty and everyday life is theoretically flawred because o f its
allegiance to the id ea o f th e state, at least theoretically, as an o rd e r­
g en eratin g m echanism . T his idea fails to address the issue o f how th e
practice o f sovereignty itself operates, especially in relatio n to the p ro ­
duction o f “killable b o d ie s” (A gam ben 1998). H an sen ’s form ulation o f
politics asks fo r special a tte n tio n to sp ectacles in p u b lic spaces a n d
looks to theatricality, ra th e r th an a d escen t in to the everyday, as a site
for u n d erstan d in g how law7 itself becom es constitutive o f various form s
of sociality, away from its official sites. I have argued in stead that if we

2 48
 T he S ignature of the S ta te

u n d erstan d th e everyday as a g ro u n d from w hich we m ove tow ard the

official sites o f law (such as co u rts o f law an d in q u iry com m issions),
th e n we can g et b etter insight in to the force o f law. T h e perform ative,
n o t as settled convention b u t as th at w hich breaks from co n tex t, as in
th e exam ples o f vulnerability we saw, stands in tense relation to th e ped-
agogic (B habha 1994b). T h e im p o rtan ce o f looking at excuses is th at it
im m ediately draw s atten tio n to th e m argins as places that are m anaged
b u t th at also in se rt them selves in gaps an d fragilities of c o n te x t. It is
h e re that new m odalities o f ru le are initiated in th e search fo r survival.
In the next sectio n , I argue th a t m argins are im p o rta n t for u n d e rsta n d ­
in g the fu n c tio n in g of the state, n o t only in postcolonial societies b u t in
m etro p o litan cen ters— for states, like nations, are by d efin itio n un fin ­
ished projects everyw here.

COMPARATIVE OBSERVATIONS
From th e d escrip tio n s a n d exam ples I have u sed in this ch ap ter,
o n e m ight be tem p ted to c o n clu d e that the state becom es illegible in
non-W estern co u n tries because it i$ an im p o rt fro m th e W est. I w ant to
argue, on the o th e r hand, th a t it is part of th e logic o f the state th at it
constructs itself as an in co m p lete project, because th ere are always m ar­
gins on w hich p e o p le have to b e educated to b eco m e p ro p e r subjects of
th e state. I w o u ld th en like to o ffer a dig ressio n , shifting m y gaze to
re c e n t developm ents in cultural-defense arg u m en ts used in US courts
o n b eh alf o f A sian im m igrants, to give us an insight in to this issue.
L eti V olpp (1994) has a rg u e d th a t th e assu m p tio n b e h in d th e
cultural-defense arg u m en t in US courts is th a t im m igrants are n o t fully
in teg rated in to th e nation: h e n c e , a person is n o t fully c o n stru cted as
a n ag en t resp o n sib le for his o r h e r actions in th e eyes o f th e law. T hus,
re c e n t im m igrants are d istin g u ish ed from earlier im m igrants, w ho are
seen as fully in te g ra te d in to A m erican cu ltu re. In h e r analysis o f The
Peoplev, Dong H u Chen, in w hich D o n g H u was accused o f killing his wife
because he su sp ected h er o f h av in g a relatio n sh ip w ith a n o th e r m an,
V olpp shows how the case co n stru cts the im m ig ran t as the average p er­
son belonging to a particular cu ltu re, versus a reasonable p erso n w ho is
seen to be universal. T h e d efen se lawyer in this case h ad cited th e hold
o f C hinese c u ltu re o n the d e fe n d a n t as c o n stitu tin g a tte n u a tin g cir­
cum stances fo r th e act. T he c o u rt h ad called fo r ex p e rt testim ony from

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V e e na D as

an area expert, a P rofessor P asternak. In so licitin g the e x p e rt testi­

mony, the court was in terested in finding o u t how a hypothetical aver­
age m ainland C hinese m a n w ould b e h av e in such a situ a tio n , as
opposed to a typical A m erican m an. P astern ak argued that in his expe­
rience, an average h ig h lan d C hinese m an w ould be co m p elled to kill
his wife under these circum stances. In fact, P asternak c o m p a re d the
pressure of the com m unity to “voices in th e h e a d .” In h o ld in g D o n g H u
C hen as not fully resp o n sib le for his a c tio n , th e ju d g e d isp la c e d the
notion of agency from the perso n of the d e fe n d a n t to the voices o f the
community. How are we to un d erstan d th e ju d g e ’s co n stru ctio n o f con­
text here?
It is notable first th at w hile receiving th e cultural plea d efen se, the
ju d g e did not make any in q u iry ab o u t e ith e r c o n te m p o ra ry fam ily
structure in China or C h in ese ju risp ru d e n c e on these issues. Clearly,
what was at stake in the ju d g m e n t was th e co n cern with th e ro le o f law
in creating the A m erican nation. T he ju d g e m ade many asides on the
openness of American values and that e x p o su re to these values w ould
transform im m igrants in to the reaso n ab le m en o f A m erican law.9 In
o th er words, the defense p lea was accep ted in this case b ecau se o f the
assum ption that values em b o d ied in A m erican law are n o t tra n sp a re n t
to the immigrant. In o th e r cases, courts, rejected the cu ltu ral-d efen se
argum ent when it seem ed to violate w hat are seen as basic h u m a n val­
ues. It is interesting th at on th e one h a n d , by accepting th e id ea o f cul­
ture as a source of value a n d allow ing agency o f the d e fe n d a n t to be
displaced onto the com m unity, the co u rt ex p an d s the realm o f th e civil,
while on the other han d , by positing this “d ev ian t” behavior as a result
o f the failure to read A m erican society correctly, the co u rt also creates
peripheries that are “e d u c a b le ” and h e n c e capable of b e in g b ro u g h t
in to the center at so m e fu tu re tim e. T h e im m ig ran t c o m m u n itie s
becom e, thus, a site in th e U nited States o n w hich the id ea o f th e ratio­
nality of the A m erican way o f life is c ite d , th ereb y also c re a tin g the
“norm alcy” of patterns o f racial discrim ination.

CONCLUDING T H O U G H T S
I have suggested in th is ch ap ter th a t th e co n cep t o f sig n a tu re is
im portant for und erstan d in g the presence o f the state in th e life o f the
community, both as a b e a re r of rules a n d regulations an d as a spectral

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 T he Si g n a t u r e of the S tate

p re se n c e m aterialized in d o cu m en ts. I claim th a t th e rationality effect

is created through^a w hole field o f en u n ciatio n s-th at com e to th e fore
in th e m a n a g e m e n t o f crises— th u s, m a n a g e m e n t o f epidem ics an d
breakdow n of law a n d o rd er b e lo n g to the sam e field o f enunciations,
legislative practices, an d tech n iq u es o f control th ro u g h which th e state
co m es to co n stru ct itself as ratio n al in opposition to a credulous public.
I suggest a series o f concepts— rationality, m agic, legibility, legitim acy,
vulnerability o f a c tio n , an d vulnerability o f u tte ra n c e — to capture th e
life o f th e state in th e m arg in s. V ulnerability a n d pow er are n o t
o p p o se d here. In ste a d , through a n exchange b etw een th e real an d the
im aginary as in n o tio n s o f panic, ru m o r, and credulity, th e dom ain o f
th e civil is in stitu ted an d co n tro lled . T h ere are th e n n eith er p u re vic­
tim s n o r noble resisters— to use T a rlo ’s (2000) felicitous phrasing— b u t
a series o f p artn ersh ip s th ro u g h w hich state and com m unity m utually
en g ag e in self-creation an d m ain ten an ce. This d o e s n o t m ean th a t we
c a n n o t engage w ith questions o f ju stic e and rights o r th at com m unities
fo rm e d th ro u g h su ffe rin g are d eleg itim ized . T h e p lace from w h ich
th e se e n g a g e m e n ts occur, th o u g h , is n o t that o f th e m oral sp ace o f
in n o c e n t victim hood b u t o f the ro ugh-and-tum ble o f everyday life.
N otes
E arlier versions o f this ch ap ter w ere p resen ted to th e C e n te r for D eveloping
Societies in Delhi; S cho o l o f O riental a n d A frican Studies, L o n d o n ; Sociological
R esearch C olloquium , D elhi School o f E conom ics; A m erican A nthropological
A ssociation, W ashington, D.C.; and th e advanced sem inar “T h e State at Its
M argins” at the School o f A m erican R esearch in Santa Fe. I am very grateful to
p articip an ts in these sem in ars for the stim ulating discussions an d especially to
T alal Asad, who, w ith characteristic generosity, brought m an y dispersed ideas in to
sh ap er focus in his co m m en ts during th e sem in ar at Santa Fe. 1

1. For earlier acco u n ts o f this w ork, see Das (1995, 1996, 1998).
2. A m ong the various reports p ro d u c e d by civil rights organizations, see
especially P U D R /P U C L (1984) and C itiz en ’s Com m ission (1984) for evidence o f
the com plicity of various politicians an d th e police in the riots.
3. I thank P eter G eschiere for this p o in t. For details o f th e caste com posi­
tion in these n eigh b o rh o o ds, See Das 1996.
4. T he use o f this term is in terestin g because it locates th e act in a structu re

2 5 1
V e e na D as

o ffen d relations (Das and Bajwa 1994). It is im perative in a feud th a t a person

who has b een am bushed an d is ab o u t to be killed m ust be given the reason in the
form o f a challenge. A lthough the m edia re p o rte d such locutionary form s as
political slogans, they occupy a hybrid position as both p art o f the traditional
repertoire an d p art o f the m o d ern dem ocratic rig h t to protest.
5. Because I assisted the P e o p le ’s Com m ission and the Police Inquiry
Com m ission in gathering evidence and, along w ith NGOs w orking in this area,
helped get com pensation for victim s by doing th e ir paperw ork, the police officer
could easily identify me. Besides, in the atm o sp h ere of fear an d suspicion, any
attem pt to even talk to local police officers co u ld have caused fear am on g
survivors.
6. T he nam es of policem en are fictitious. T h o u g h there is no way for me
to directly acknow ledge th eir h elp in this study, I w ant to express my p ro fo u nd
gratitude to the policem en an d lawyers who ex ten d e d their h elp to me.
7. P an d it is a B rahm in subcaste. But in th e Punjab, unlike m any o th er
regions in India, the B rahm ins do not enjoy a h ig h status. T hey are considered
d ep en d en ts o f pow erful landow ning castes. T h o u g h their purity is n o t in ques­
tion, they are m ore figures o f fun than of awe. In this case, the P an d it was a small­
time astrologer an d palmist.
8. Form s of civility’ an d legal req u irem ents in India do n o t p erm it the use of
such term s as untouchable o r Chamar because o f th e ir stigm atizing connotations.
In m ost contexts, I would use an officially accep tab le term such as scheduled caste,
or one that is coined by these castes (Dalits). H e re I am using the term s Tej Singh
him self used, because m uch o f the force o f his affect would be lost if I substituted
these term s with others.
9. In a recen t paper, Sita R eddy (2002) arg u es that w hen it com es to wom en
defendants accused of filicide, the courts deploy the idea o f universal m aternal
em otional m otives that any reasonable traditional w om an w ould have in any
culture. R eddy m akes a bold m ove in suggesting th a t at the h e a rt o f the cultural-
defense arg u m e n t is the th erap eu tic state th a t assum es that the ills o f the alien
culture will be cured over tim e. I regret th at I cam e across this p a p e r only after I
had com p leted the present c h a p te r and h en ce can n o t take up h e r arg u m e n t in
greater detail, b u t it points to ways in which m anagin g life and exercise of
sovereignty com e to be linked in the m argins.

25 2
 io
Contesting Displacement in Colombia

Citizenship and State Sovereignty

at the Margins
Victoria Sanford

C o n tro l will b e stric t in th e fro n tie rs o f th e fu tu re ,

O n ly the survivors will be a d m itte d .
— M ario Bendetti, In v e n ta rio

O n my first trip to C o lo m b ia in O c to b e r 2000, I visited B arran -

cab erm eja in th e d e p a rtm e n t o f S an tan d er in th e region re fe rre d to as
M agdalena M edio— a lush, g re e n river valley lo cated in the hills east o f
A n tio q u ia, w est o f V enezuela a n d n o rth of B o g o ta. B arran ca, w ith a
p o p u latio n o f so m e 300,000, is an u rb an center. It also form s o n e o f the
m an y internal fro n tiers w here we can see how th e m echanism s o f state
c o n tro l are re co n fig u red in relatio n to displaced com m unities. I arg u e
in this chapter th a t such co m m u n ities are n o t only objects o f state co n ­
tro l b u t are actively involved in sh ap in g their fu tu re s in relatio n to the
state. W ith assistance from the U n ite d N ations H ig h C om m issioner for
R efu g ees (U N H C R ), I w ent to B arran ca to in terv iew in te rn a lly dis­
p laced C olom bians w ho struggle w ith what it m ean s to be C olom bian
w hile living a d isjo in ted existence, disarticulated fro m th eir co m m u n i­
ties an d pushed to survive at the m arg in s o f the C olom bian state (D as et
al. 2000:1-19). T h e U N H C R office is located in B arran ca’s o n e high-
rise building, th e Estrella, w hich h as twelve floors. From th e U N H C R
balcony, one sees a large oil re fin e ry to the far left. To the rig h t is a
d en sely treed n e ig h b o rh o o d w h e re oil co m p an y a d m in istra to rs live.
A d jacen t to the h ead q u arters is a large arm y base, an d directly in fro n t

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are the grid streets of B arranca. Beyond the grid , th e horizon holds the
n u m e ro u s u n p a v e d b arrio s o f th e city’s p o o r and w o rk in g people.
D uring my stay, m usic from discos floated u p in to the n ig h t, an d the
streets w ere filled with traffic a n d n ig h tlife, d esp ite th e fact th at for
m o re th an two m onths, at least two bom bs h a d exploded each week.
Ju st beyond th e street cafes a n d discos, th e tow n abruptly stops at the
river to th e rig h t. O n the o th e r side o f th e river and dow n its banks,
FARC (R ev o lu tio n ary A rm ed Forces of C o lo m b ia) g u errillas control
th e territory.1
O n m y first day, I trav eled across in te rn a l fro n tiers o f th e state,
d em arcated in B arranca by arm y checkpoints, to one o f th e p o o r bar­
rios. My g u id e was E sm eralda, a local le a d e r o f displaced com m unities
now p recario u sly resettled in th e p e rip h e ra l barrios. O u r taxi driver
h ad been assigned to us by th e P opular F em in in e O rganization (O FP),
a local N G O w orking with displaced w om en in p o o r barrios. O u r driver
was de confianza (trustw orthy) a n d was d ire c te d by an O F P lead er to
“stay with th e m at all tim es a n d b rin g them b ack safely.” We traveled out
to the b arrio s to m eet with displaced w om en an d visit O FP b arrio pro ­
jects.2 A t o n e project, a local youth lead er said, “O u r w ork is difficult.
We open a sp ace h ere so th a t youths have a p lace to distract them selves
from th e v io len ce th at su rro u n d s us. We h o p e th at this vio len ce will
end. We stru g g le for life” (a u th o r’s interview O cto b er 2000).
As we left h e r barrio, we cam e u p o n tw enty-four professional sol­
d iers at a m ilitary c h e c k p o in t. T h e e x a c t status of this c h e c k p o in t
within a legal-adm inistrative fram ew ork was unclear. O n th e o n e hand,
these spaces are set up presum ably to p ro te c t citizens against threats o f
terror, b u t o n th e o th er h a n d , th e m ilitary o r param ilitary p erso n n el at
these ch eck p o in ts may u n leash violence o n p eo p le they co n sid er “sus­
p ect” (see also Jeganath'an in this volum e). T h e barrio ch eck p o in t that
stopped us is o n e o f the m any frontiers th a t crisscross B arran ca and the
rest o f th e country. T h ree vehicles were sto p p e d ahead o f us. T h e bicy­
cles an d m o p e d s o f five y o u th s w ere strew n over the stre e t. O n o u r
right, fo u r o f th e youths h a d th e ir h an d s o n a wall an d sto o d spread-
eagled as fo u r soldiers frisked them roughly. Two o th er so ld iers pushed
a n o th e r y o u th tow ard the wall as they took his schoolbag. T h ey laughed
as they e m p tie d th e b a g ’s c o n ten ts o n to th e street. T h e soldiers
a p p e a re d to b e p u sh in g th e youths in to th e wall as they asked them

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q uestions. A large, black p erso n n el ta n k with n o w indow s on th e sides

to w ered over th e sto p p e d vehicles in fro n t o f the ch eck p o in t. La Policia
en Busqueda de Paz, “T h e Police in S earch o f Peace,” was w ritten o n th e
side o f th e tank in larg e w hite letters. T h e rest o f th e soldiers p o in te d
th e ir m achine g uns a t th e youths, at th e people in th e cars in fro n t o f
us, a n d at us. To o u r left, th e c o m m a n d e r stood in th e m iddle o f th e
ro ad , laughing as h e aim ed his m ach in e gun at each vehicle. All th ese
so ld ie rs, in c lu d in g th e ir co m m a n d e r, fin g e re d th e trig g e rs'o f th e ir
m a c h in e guns.
T h is c h eck p o in t was m a n n e d by professional soldiers. T hey w ere
easy to d istin g u ish fro m th e eig h teen-year-old re c ru its w ho h a d n e r­
vously reviewed o u r p ap ers at o th e r arm y checkpoints. T h e profession­
als w ere in th e ir la te tw enties to ,e a rly th irties. T h ey w ere larg e a n d
m uscular, as o p p o se d to th e skinny kids w ho fill th e ranks. T h ese sol­
d iers w ore black b a n d a n a s a ro u n d th e ir heads a n d belts o f m a c h in e
g u n am m u n itio n crisscrossing th e ir chests in w hat C olom bians re fe r to
as “Ram bo-style.”
As we pulled u p to th e co m m an d er, o u r taxi d riv er tensed th e m us­
cles in th e back o f his neck. E sm eralda trem bled. W h e n we n eared th e
co m m an d er, m a c h in e gun barrels e n te re d th e o p e n car windows. W e
sto p p ed in fro n t o f him , and th e soldiers step p ed back. T h e co m m an ­
d e r c o n tin u e d lau g h in g . H e p o in te d his m ach in e g u n inside o u r car,
first th ro u g h th e d riv er’s window, nearly to u ch in g th e driver’s tem p le,
th e n in to my window , waving us alo n g as th e b arrel to u c h e d the h a ir o n
th e side o f my h ead . W e drove o ff in silence. W hen we w ere out o f sight
o f th e soldiers, we b eg an to talk a b o u t o u r pow erlessness and inability
to h e lp th e d e ta in e d youths. “T h e re is n o th in g to b e d o n e ,” said th e
taxi driver. “T hey w ould ju st finish o ff all o f us.”3 A t th e O FP office, I was
asked to m ake an official co m p lain t a b o u t th e arm y ’s behavior to th e
D efen so r P ublico (P ublic D e fe n d e r’s O ffice). A fter I gave th e p u b lic
d e fe n d e r specifics a b o u t th e in cid en t, h e told m e th a t h e w ould w rite a
le tte r to th e local arm y base co m m an d er. H e also to ld m e that th e p ro ­
fessio n al soldiers w ere elite tro o p s, tra in e d by th e U n ite d S tates in
co unterinsurgency, an d th at in th e two weeks since th e elite troops h a d
arrived, th ere h ad b een m any p ro b lem s in the b arrio . “T h e p ro b lem is,
they believe they can d o w hatever th ey w ant, b ec a u se they c a n ,” h e
ex p lain ed .

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Vi ct o r i a S a n f o r d

Academ ic and policy analysts com m only p o in t to C o lo m b ia as a

weak o r “failed ” state, citin g th e inability o f state ag en cies to fulfill
administrative m andates (such as the public d e fe n d e r’s inability to do
anything m ore than w rite a le tte r to th e arm y base c o m m a n d e r)
(CPDH 1991; DP 1999). My research, however, suggests th at C olom bia
is neither a failed state n o r a state lacking in fu n ctio n in g in frastru ctu re.
Rather, it is a state in w hich th e actions o f th e elected g o v e rn m e n t,
bureaucratic agencies, a n d legal ap p a ra tu s are, in large p a rt, d e te r­
mined by the reco n stitu tio n o f the state a n d its in fra stru c tu re at its
margins th ro u g h the arm y ’s use o f su rveillance and state-san ctio n ed
violence, in clu d in g the u se o f proxy p aram ilitary forces. M oreover,
many who argue that C olom bia is a failed state also favor stre n g th e n in g
the C olom bian army, which indicates a m o re th an im plicit recognition
of the army as integral to state power. At th e sam e tim e, this arg u m en t
contradicts th e failed-state thesis. In this c h a p te r, I w ant to ex p lo re
how the state exercises pow er in m arginal areas over w hich it claim s to.
have little control, yet in w hich it m aintains o r stren g th en s its central­
ized base o f pow er th ro u g h th e use o f v io len ce and su rv e illa n c e —
at least tem porarily an d a t g reat cost to its citizens. M ich ael H ard t
and A ntonio N egri (2000:39) suggest th at “th e sovereignty o f E m pire
itself is realized at the m argins, w here b o rd ers are flexible a n d identi­
ties are hybrid and fluid. It w ould be d iffic u lt to say w h ich is m ore
im portant for Em pire, th e c e n te r or its m arg in s.” T ho u g h H a rd t and
Negri refer to the sovereignty o f a globalized, p o st-n atio n -state em pire,
their point about sovereignty being realized at the m argins is applica­
ble to the nation-state’s constitution and reco n stitu tio n o f sovereignty
as well.
B uilding on W alter B en jam in ’s belief th a t the “state o f ex cep tio n ”
is the rule in which we live, G iorgio A gam ben identifies th e sovereign
as “having th e legal pow er to suspend the validity o f law” a n d thereby
the pow er to be legally “ou tsid e the law” (1998:55). In this sense, the
notion o f sovereignty is tied to the ability o f th e state to reso rt to a “state
of ex cep tio n ,” “state o f sie g e ,” a n d /o r su sp en sio n o f citizen rights,
which, in tu rn , enables it to exercise violence th at is b o th in sid e and
outside the law. If the location o f power was lim ited to th e nation-state,
so, too, w ould be the C o n stitu tio n and re c o n stitu tio n o f sovereignty.
But M ichel Foucault ch allen g ed traditional ju rid ico -in stitu tio n al con-

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c e p tio n s o f pow er, a n d thus sovereignty, by a rg u in g th a t ra th e r th a n

look fo r a “central fo rm ” of pow er, o n e m ust seek to recognize p o w er
in its “m ultiplicity” o f form s and stu d y these form s as “relations o f force
th a t in tersect, in te rre la te , converge, or, on the co n trary , o p p o se o n e
a n o th e r o r ten d to can cel one a n o th e r o u t” (1 9 9 7 :5 9 ). W ritin g on
“state-m aking” a n d th e recent trials o f P inochet a n d Milosevic, Ja c q u e s
D errid a observes th e a n n o u n c e m e n t o f “a tran sfo rm atio n ” and “m ajo r
ev en t” in which th e “sovereignty o f th e State, th e im m unity of th e h e a d
o f state are no lo n g e r in principle, in law, u n to u c h a b le ” (2001:57). My
ow n u n d e rs ta n d in g o f sovereignty is based o n b o th B en jam in ’s a n d
A g a m b e n ’s th eo rizin g th at the “state o f ex cep tio n ” is a m arker o f sover­
eignty, w ithout lo sin g Foucault’s reco g n itio n o f th e m ultiple lo catio n s
o f p o w er and D e rrid a ’s obseijvation th a t the sovereignty o f the state is
no lo n g e r absolute. T h is fram ew ork provides an o p p o rtu n ity to “m ove
b ey o n d th e u n b o u n d e d borders o f th e nation-state” by acknow ledging
th e n a tio n as a c o n te ste d 's p a c e in w hich citiz e n sh ip an d state so v er­
eignty are re co n stitu ted at the m arg in s (A ngel-A jani, n .d .:5 ). F u rth er, it
allow s fo r e x a m in a tio n o f the re la tio n sh ip b e tw e e n citizen sh ip a n d
state sovereignty, recognizing th a t p o w er rests in th e citizens, as w ell as
th e state, and th a t th e pow er o f ea c h is m utually co n stitu ted (even, an d
p e rh a p s even m o re so, during a “state o f e x c e p tio n ”).
I consider th e lived experiences o f C olom bians w ho have b e e n dis­
p la c e d inside th e ir co u n try in o r d e r to u n d e rs ta n d the role o f th ese
m arginalized acto rs in the com plex processes th a t b o th challenge an d
re c o n stitu te state sovereignty a t its cu ltu ral a n d p o litical m a rg in s. I
u n d e rsta n d the p ra c tic e o f d isp lacem en t to be a key m ilitary strateg y o f
war, ra th e r th a n a b y p ro d u c t (S a n fo rd 2001). T h u s , I w ant to p ro b -
lem atize and investigate the in terrelatio n sh ip o f th e replication o f this
a n d related p ractices by the army, in su rg en t forces, an d param ilitaries
in th e ir struggle fo r dom inance a n d hegem onic pow er.
We can o b serv e how the su rv eillan ce m ech an ism s o f the sta te in
C o lo m b ia slide in to violence at a variety of fro n tie rs: betw een u rb a n
a n d ru ral, betw een C olom bia a n d n e ig h b o rin g states. My e x p e rie n c e
at th e C o lo m b ian a rm y ’s u rb an c h e c k p o in t in B arran ca h e lp e d m e
u n d e rsta n d the m u ltip le in tern al fro n tiers an d m arg in s of C olom bia.
In p articu lar, w h e n I visited th e P eace C o m m u n itie s o f th e U rab a-
C h o co region in 2000 an d 2001, th e arm y’s u rb an checkpoint called my

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attention to the exercise of state pow er th ro u g h arm y and param ilitary

checkpoints along the A trato River and its tributaries. T he stru g g le for
dom inance in this region is both a m eans an d an en d for th e arm y, the
param ilitaries, and the guerrillas because the river and its trib u taries
are strategic pathways for the sm uggling of guns, m oney, an d cocaine.
In this chapter, I focus on C o lo m b ia’s fifty-nine self-p ro claim ed
Peace Com m unities, which I suggest challenge an d re c o n stitu te citi­
zen sh ip and state practices (w ith im p o rta n t im p licatio n s fo r sover­
eignty) by constituting new dom ains for th e p ro d u c tio n o f tru th
— dom ains in which F oucault fo u n d th e very “practice o f tru e an d
false” to be transform ed (1980:131—32). M oreover, these new dom ains
rep resen t new sites on which th e state is sought to be m ade tra n sp a re n t
an d accountable to its citizens, even as they face th e kind o f pow er tac­
tics deployed by the army an d param ilitary th at I have described. In the
Peace Com m unities, these sites are constituted at the local level w ithin
th e com m unities themselves; at th e regional level, thro u g h th e accre­
tion o f truth when expressed by the collectivity o f com m unities; at the
national level, through involvem ent o f the C atholic C hurch, national
an d international NGOs, and unarm ed agents o f th e state itself; an d at
th e international level, thro u g h th e political bro k erin g o f th e U N H C R ,
international NGOs, and in tern atio n al observers.
In the sum m er of 2001, w hile international an d urban C olom bian
hopes for resolution of the arm ed conflict th ro u g h peace neg o tiatio n s
rem ained high, the peace process had no visible o r experiential im pact
on state surveillance and violence, o r on th e state an d param ilitary con­
frontations with FARC guerrillas, w hich had b ecom e a q u o tid ian factor
o f peasant life in the Peace C om m unities. D escribing the U raba-C hoco
region oTColom bia, Father L eonides M oreno said, “H ere th e re is no
peace process. H ere there is d o m in io n and the territorial advance of
arm e d actors” (au th o r’s interview July 5, 2001). In d e e d , u n til 1996,
C hoco had been the dom inion o f the FARC fo r two decades. In 1996,
the FARC’s dom ination o f th e region was challenged by param ilitaries
(w ho have long-standing a n d close ties to th e C olom bian arm y and
trace their roots to serving as h ired guns for plantations, factories, and
d ru g lords). Many who today occupy h ig h -ran k in g p o sitio n s in the
C olom bian army were m aterial an d intellectual au th o rs o f param ilitary
violence in the 1980s. As com m anders of the arm ed forces, they have

2 5s
 C ontesting D is p l a c e m e n t in C olombia

ties to th e param ilitaries, in c lu d in g co o rd in atio n o f arm y/param ilitary

m aneuvers.4 In the w ords o f o n e in tern atio n al functionary, “It took the
p aram ilitaries less th an fo u r years to c o n q u e r th e territory it h a d taken
the_FARC two decades to occu p y ” (a u th o r’s interview O cto b er 2000).
T he key to param ilitary success in gaining c o n tro l o f the reg io n was to
attack river co m m u n ities, violently d isp lacin g m o re than 45,000 peo­
ple. T h e fifty-nine Peace C om m unities th a t exist today rep re se n t som e
12,000 d isp la c e d p e o p le w h o have r e tu rn e d to th e ir lan d s. U raba-
C hoco is o n e o f th e m an y e m b atd ed m argins o f th e C olom bian state. It
is precisely because m arg in s function like states o f exception th a t they
becom e im p o rta n t sites fo r u n d erstan d in g th e way in w hich n o tio n s o f
sovereignty an d e x c e p tio n a re tied to g eth er. T h e use o f p aram ilitary
forces to co n tro l ch eck p o in ts highlights th e m a n n e r in w hich co n tro l is
vested in to agents w ho a re in o n e sense o u tsid e th e law b u t in a n o th e r
sense a re inside the law, fo r they are able to fu n ctio n precisely because
they en jo y th e p ro te c tio n o f th e state. T h is situ atio n m akes th e rural
an d u rb a n m argins th e te rra in from w h ich su ch agents, fu n c tio n in g
bo th w ith in an d o u tsid e th e state, can estab lish , c o n so lid ate, an d
advance th e ir exercise o f p o w er (HRW 1 9 9 8 b ). T hus, as in th e cases dis­
cussed by P oole and R o itm an in this volum e, it is also at these m argins
that th e privatization o f state violence is revealed.

THE P E A C E C O M M U N I T Y OF C AC AR IC A
My e x p e rie n c e in C o lo m b ian P eace C o m m u n ities b e g a n in
O cto b er 2000 w hen I p articip ated in the U N H C R -coordinated accom pa­
n im e n t o f th e displaced resid en ts o f C acarica o n th eir re tu rn to th e ir
village. Param ilitaries h a d displaced th e resid en ts in February 1999. In
ad dition to th e U N H C R , th e displaced w ere also accom panied by rep­
resentatives o f Peace B rigades In tern atio n al, Justicia y Paz (Justice and
P eace), H um an id ad V igente (Vigilant H u m an ity ), the Ministry o f H ealth,
th e M inistry o f th e In te rio r, th e vice p re s id e n t’s office, th e D efen so r
Publico, th e H um an R ights O m budsm an, a n d th e Red de S olidaridad
Social (Social Solidarity N etw ork, also a g o v ern m en t organization).
C a c a ric a is a P eace C om m unity. P e ace C o m m u n ities a re sm all,
m ostly ru ra l river villages th a t have o rg a n iz e d to assert th e ir n eu tral,
n o n v io len t stance in th e face o f the surveillance, control, a n d ex trem e
violence o f th e army, param ilitaries, an d guerrillas. By d eclarin g th eir

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village a P e ace C om m unity, resid en ts a re d em a n d in g th a t arm ed

groups stay o u t o f their village.
C acarica is located in th e U raba zo n e in n o rth e rn C h o co and
n o rth w e ste rn A ntioquia, U ra b a is a strateg ic area lo c a te d on the
P an am an ian frontier. To re a c h Cacarica, we traveled by b o a t from the
p o rt city o f T u rbo across th e G ulf o f U raba for ab o u t two h o u rs until we
re a c h e d th e A trato River. A t th e A trato , we e n te re d th e ju n g le .
We trav eled th e river fo r a b o u t fo u r h o u rs, th en trav eled alo n g a
sm all trib u ta ry for a n o th e r two ho u rs to reach th e p ath to C acarica.
From the sta rt o f the p ath , it is a tw o-hour hike through th e ju n g le to
the actual village. P aram ilitaries d o m in ate th e rivers a n d trib u taries
here. B oth guerrillas and param ilities use the A trato to m ove w eapons
from P anam a. Cacarica is clo ser to P anam a th an to any o th e r C olom ­
bian town.,
T h e e n tire U raba a re a is rich in n a tu ra l reso u rces d esirab le to
in te rn a tio n a l businesses a n d local elites. B oth natio n al a n d in te rn a ­
tional co m p an ies have am assed great w ealth via the extraction of wood
h ere. In a d d itio n , m any p e o p le believe th a t th e region c o n ta in s oil.
U rban elites in U raba-C hoco also talk ab o u t a new canal b e in g built
th ro u g h th is area, as well as th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f lu crativ e A frican
palm oil tre e plantations. In d e e d , a D ecem b er 6, 2001, article in the
C olom bian new spaper El Tiempo noted in tern atio n al in terest in both a
canal an d oil extraction in this region.5 M oreover, the A trato a n d Sucio
Rivers, th e ir trib u taries, a n d th e su rro u n d in g ju n g le a re p rin cip al
corridors fo r m oving arm ed colum ns, w eapons, cocaine, a n d m oney.
T he lo catio n and g eo g rap h y of b oth guerrillas and param ilitaries
in this reg io n highlight th e in ten se com petition for control o f th e rivers
an d river com m unities th a t fo rm the physical, cultural, political, and
econom ic fro n tiers of the state. This is n o t to suggest that th e river com ­
m unities a re th e only fro n tiers o r m argins o f th e state. O n th e contrary,
g eo g rap h ical, political, eco n o m ic, and cultural frontiers a n d m argins
o f the state can be found th ro u g h o u t C olom bia, including b u t n o t lim­
ited to u rb a n p erip h eries, ru ra l co m m u n ities, in d ig en o u s a n d Afro-
C olom bian com m unities, as well as the shadow econom ies a n d cultures
o f coca grow ing, drug trafficking, g u n ru n n in g , and m oney laundering.
T h e colonization o f these rivers was the focus o f the m ost recen t waves
(late 1970s to early 1990s) o f state-sanctioned m igration, developm ent,

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a n d fro n tie r e x p an sio n . In the U rab a-C h o co reg io n , guerrilla e x p a n ­

sion in th e zone p aralleled colonization untTTthe early 1990s, w hen th e
param ilitaries, in ta n d e m with the C o lo m b ian army, b e g a n attem pts to
reg ain state co n tro l o f th e rivers. T h is increasing o ccu p atio n by p a ra ­
m ilitaries ultim ately displaced overt arm y control (o r m ad e it u n n eces­
sary ). N o n e th e le ss, to travel th e riv ers o f the ju n g le , o n e m ust pass
th ro u g h n u m e ro u s C o lo m b ian arm y ch eck p o in ts. W h ile this re g io n
has b e e n co n sid e re d historically a n eco n o m ic, te rrito ria l, and social
fro n tie r o f th e state, th ese ch eck p o in ts, an d the co lu m n s o f p aram ili­
taries a n d guerrillas o n e com es u p o n betw een them , p o in t to the over­
lap a n d tension b e tw e e n th e c o n cep ts o f fro n tiers a n d m argins. T h e
rivers re p re se n t th e m arg in s o f sta te sovereignty, w h e re the violence
an d reg u lato ry p ow ers o f th e state b e c o m e clearly privatized in b o th
g u e rrilla an d p aram ilitary m an eu v ers a n d checkpoints. In this sense,
th e rivers are m ore th a n territorial o r social frontiers. T h ey are m argins
th a t ru n th ro u g h th e spectral state. F o r exam ple, th o u g h th e C olom bia-
E cu ad o r b o rd e r is p a tro lle d by C o lo m b ian an d E cu ad o rian state agents
(im m ig ratio n , custom s, arm ed fo rces), th e massive “illegal” m ovem ent
o f arm s, arm ed co lu m n s, drugs, m oney, an d u n d o c u m e n te d im m igra­
tion constitutes a m arg in o f the state as well.
L ike m ost d isp lacem en t in C olom bia, th e F ebruary 1999 C acarica
d isp lacem en t was n o t th e first o r th e last in the region. In the C acarica
area, param ilitaries displaced 2,000 p e o p le (civilians) in 1997 (a u th o r’s
interview A ugust 2 0 0 1 ). T h e alleged stre n g th (or alleg ed civilian su p ­
p o rt) o f th e guerrillas was used to ju stify d ev elo p m en t o f param ilitaries
as a strategy to re ta k e territory. T h e param ilitaries co n so lid ated th e ir
c o n tro l using d isp lacem en t as the p rin c ip a l tactic to em pty the zone o f
any possible g u errilla support.
A cco rd in g to th o se w ho have b e e n displaced, d isp lacem en t o p e ra ­
tions are jo in t m an eu v ers betw een th e param ilitaries a n d th e army. T h e
arm y fre q u e n tly u ses p lan es an d h e lic o p te rs to b o m b civilian are a s,
fo rc in g in h a b ita n ts to flee w hile p a ra m ilita ries c a rry o u t g ro u n d
m aneuvers, d estru c tio n o f th e physical com m unity, th re a ts to and assas­
sin atio n s o f those d e e m e d subversive o r potentially so, an d som etim es
full-scale m assacres (a u th o r’s interview s 2000 and 2001). A param ilitary
w ho h a d recen tly r e tu rn e d fro m c o m b a t c o n firm e d survivor testi­
m onies. Specifically a b o u t m assacres, h e told m e, “H u m a n rights a re a

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problem. Now we can ’t m assacre everyone, we have to kill th em o n e by

one, one by o n e” (author’s interview August 7, 2001) .G
In February 1999, p aram ilitaries e n te re d C acarica an d o rd e re d
community m em bers to displace them selves w ith in twenty days. T hey
were told to go to Turbo, w here they were to b e received by th e police.
For the residents o f Cacarica, w ho have only heavy w ooden b o ats with
small outboard m otors, this trip took aro u n d e ig h t hours. H ow ever, the
trip takes only two hours in th e high-pow ered boats available to only
UN, Peace Brigade, and C olom bian m ilitary p erso n n el.
When Cacarica residents reach ed Turbo, th e local police w ere wait­
ing for them. T he newly hom eless were taken to th e local so ccer field,
where the police told them to set u p cam p. A t th e field, th ere w ere no
services w hatsoever— no ru n n in g water, n o sa n ita tio n , no s h e lte r—
nothing but a field. At this ju n c tu re , the C ath o lic social ju stice gro u p
Justicia y Paz becam e involved w ith the co m m u n ity .7Ju sticia y Paz, a
Bogota-based Catholic social ju stice organization, pushed for th e provi­
sion of basic health care, w ater, sanitation, fo o d , an d o th er h u m a n ita r­
ian services. It was able to considerably im prove th e basic quality o f life
for displaced Cacarica residents with the assistance of O xfam , D octors
without Borders, and the In tern atio n al Red C ross. However, it is im p o r­
tant to keep in m ind that the displaced of C acarica represent on ly 2,000
of the 280,000 civilians displaced by violence in 1999.

THE STATE AND ITS P R O X Y F O R C E S

[n the U raba area, p aram ilitaries c o n tro l th e n o rth e rn p a rt o f
Uraba, A ntioquia, and C o rd o b a; p aram ilitary le a d e r C arlos C astan o
dominates this area. P aram ilitaries in U rab a a n d elsew here s u p p o rt
local econom ic powers an d m ove freely fro m n o rth to south in th eir
areas of control (except for m ountainous areas dom inated by g u erril­
las). At the sta te ’s m u ltip le m argins, these asp ects o f state p ra c tic e s
become evident th ro u g h arm y m aneuvers a n d p aram ilitary ch eck ­
points. Indeed, in A partado, arm y soldiers p a tro l the streets— g u ard in g
the restaurants and bars w h ere off-duty p aram ilitaries eat, d rin k , and
dance. Traveling from A partado to the beach tow n o f Necocli o n public
transportation, ou r bus was sto p p ed a n d /o r w aved through five tim es
at paramilitary checkpoints, as arm y vehicles m oved up and do w n the
highway and arm y platoons patro lled the highw ay at the p e rip h e ry o f

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each to w n less than a k ilo m e te r fro m each p aram ilitary ch eck p o in t.

T he in frastru ctu re o f C olom bian arm y patrols, tro o p m aneuvers, an d
security checkpoints len d s p ro tectio n to the p aram ilitaries and allows
them safe freedom o f m ovem ent a n d action. O n ce revealed, this rela­
tio n sh ip betw een th e arm y and th e p aram ilitaries, w hich is m utually
b en eficial o n a strategic level, m akes legible a re la tio n sh ip o f pow er
in te n d e d to rem ain illegible by proxy param ilitaries o f th e state o p e ra t­
ing in th e anonym ity o f th e m arg in s o f th e state. T h u s, w hat at first
glance ap p ears to be sim ply a privatization o f state violence is revealed
in p ractice as state violence by proxy.
D isplacem ent in th e U raba area can be traced back to the fo u n d in g
of th e p aram ilitaries b etw een 1994 a n d 1995 (C o m isio n A n d in a de
Ju ristas S ecional 1996; G arcia 1996). In d e e d , th e larg est b a rrio in
A p artad o is Barrio O b re ro , fo u n d ed by civilians d isp laced by param ili­
taries b e tw e e n 1995 a n d 1997. T oday B arrio O b re ro is co n tro lled by
p a ra m ilita ries and sicarios, o r h ire d th u g s. In this way, m arg in alized
c o m m u n itie s on th e u rb a n p e rip h e rie s also b e c o m e m arg in s o f th e
state a n d sites o f c o n te n tio n w h ere sta te sovereignty is m ade visible
th ro u g h violence and surveillanceu As is th e case in o th e r areas, it is the
use o f p ro x y param ilitary forces th at show's how sovereignty stands b o th
inside a n d outside th e law.8
T h e param ilitaries have used d isp lacem en t as th e ir central m ilitary
tactic in ru ra l areas. O n th e u rb a n p e rip h e rie s, p a ra m ilita ries m o st
often use threats, disappearances, a n d assassinations in th eir exercise
of state pow er. W hile ag en ts o f th e state may assert little to no co n tro l
w ithin th ese com m unities, in fact, th e ranks of the param ilitaries com ­
prise p o o r young m e n re c ru ite d sh o rtly after c o m p le tin g m ilitary
service in th e C o lo m b ian arm y (a n d th e re fo re th e y a re tra in e d by
the C o lo m b ian arm y p rio r to jo in in g th e param ilitaries). M oreover, on
the streets o f A partado in broad daylight, I w itnessed a n o ld er m an in
plain c lo th e s giving o rd e rs to a g ro u p o f soldiers o n th e street. I also
w itnessed an arm y o fficial in u n ifo rm giving o rd e rs to a g ro u p o f
young m e n , w ho, as th ey say in A p a rta d o , tenian p in ta de paramilitares
(had th e p a in t [or m ask] o f param ilitaries), referrin g to th eir carriage,
style, a n d dress.
O p e ra c io n L im pieza (O p eratio n Social C leansing) is a parallel sys­
tem o f ju stic e that p aram ilitaries have established in th e u rb an areas

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now claim ed in their dominion. In this p arallel system o f ju stic e , it is

safe to leave item s in one’s car in A partado, for exam ple, because a p er­
son seen stealin g will be shot. Indeed, this system is p a rt o f th e p h e ­
n o m e n o n o f social cleansing targeting d ru g users, stre e t c h ild re n ,
'p ro stitu tes, a n d petty thieves. Social cleansing also targets N G O leaders
an d m em bers, as well as other poor individuals, who are killed if they
try to o rganize a union or protest injustice. O n e exam ple o f this paral­
lel system o f justice took place in the spring o f 2001 n ear A partado. A
m ayor called a community m eeting with local leaders, w ho w ere orga­
nizing fo r th e rights of banana plantation w orkers. H e offered to facili­
tate co m m u n icatio n between the p la n ta tio n an d the w orkers. He
passed a ro u n d a sign-up shedt for the m eeting, w hich was sch ed u led to
take place th e following week. W ithin one week, all but o ne p erso n who
had signed th e list had been killed. As th e individual w ho reco u n ted
this story o n condition of anonymity pointed out, “Now th e victim s sign
th e ir n am es to the death lists” (a u th o r’s interview A ugust 6, 2001).
A ctions su ch as this are carried out in th e n am e of “citizen security,”
w hich depoliticizes structures of state te rro r by placing th em outside
the fram ew ork o f international hum an rights an d h u m an itarian law.
T his so cial cleansing needs to be d iscussed in term s o f h u m an -
rights violations, and the victims of social cleansing need to be included
in in v e n to rie s that quantify victims of p o litical assassinations. T he
killings co n stitu te political m eans and have political ends— they create
an d sustain te rro r among those who m ost n e e d to organize to defend
th eir rights. A t the same time, social cleansing provides a level o f assur­
ance to th e m iddle and u p p er classes, w ho m ay feel p ro te c te d from
crim e a n d view the victims o f social cleansing as so m eth in g less than
h u m an , liv in g on the m argins o f society. In d e e d , o ne in te rn a tio n a l
h u m a n -rig h ts w orker com m ented, “It’s n ice to be able to leave the
doors u n lo c k e d and the windows open w hen I am n o t h o m e — it’s a
benefit o f th e paras” (author’s interview July 2001).
T heoretically, we need an idiom to a rg u e th at these a re political
killings b e c a u se they are n o t com m on crim e: they are system atic
because they target specific populations. If victim s o f social cleansing
are n o t in c lu d e d in the quantification o f h u m an -rig h ts vio latio n s, a
co m m e n ta to r will speak about the n u m b er o f political killings (5,000
p er year) a n d then point out that the n u m b e r o f “non p o litical” assassi-

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n atio n s (25,000 to 30,000 p e r year) was actually higher. T h is simplifica­

tion o f a n incredibly co m p licated political situation allow s fo r the con­
clusion th a t C olom bia is sim ply a “v io len t” country an d C olom bians are
“by n a tu r e ” violent p e o p le , o r th at th e y h ave a “c u ltu re o f violence”
(co m m en ts I have h e a rd b o th inside a n d ou tsid e C olom bia) (see Poole
ed. 1994). In addition to th e obvious racism an d eth n o cen trism , this type
o f co n clu sio n is especially problem atic because it n eg ates th e political
ch aracter o f the conflict an d im plies th a t th e re can be n o political solu­
tion because these p eo p le an d this cu ltu re are “by n atu re” sim ply violent.
In U ra b a today, th e param ilitaries c o n tro l m u n icip alities through
allian ce w ith, o r re p re s e n ta tio n of, lo c a l eco n o m ic p o w e r interests.
T hey a ct in ways co n sisten t with rack eteers o r m ob bosses, charging for
p ro te c tio n a n d o p e ra tin g like P in k erto n s w ith carte b la n c h e . T h e guer­
rillas d o m in a te the m o u n tain s; the p aram ilitaries co n tro l th e rivers andr
m unicipalities. T he g u errillas are a ro u n d th e rivers, a n d th e param ili­
taries a re a ro u n d th e m o u n tain s. T h e C o lo m b ian arm y is p re se n t at
c h e c k p o in ts o n th e riv ers, in h e lic o p te rs flying o v e rh e a d , and in
g ro u n d m aneuvers a ro u n d (and o ften th ro u g h ) P eace C om m unities.
T h e civilians are everyw here in b etw een th e gu errillas, th e param ili­
taries, a n d th e army.

N E W S I T E S OF S T A T E L E G I B I L I T Y
B etw een 1997 a n d 1998, Justicia y Paz sought s u p p o rt from inter­
n a tio n a l h u m an -rig h ts N G O s an d fo re ig n em bassies to p ressu re the
C o lo m b ian g o v ern m en t to b ro k er th e safe re tu rn o f th e displaced resi­
den ts o f C acarica to th e ir hom es. W ith su p p o rt from th e U N H C R and
in te rn a tio n a l an d n a tio n a l N GOs, th e d isp laced were a b le to form alize
th e ir efforts in D ecem b er 1999 in ag re e m e n ts with th e C olo m b ian gov­
e rn m e n t th a t allow ed th e ir safe r e tu r n to th e ir la n d s as Peace
C o m m u n itie s. T h ese a g re e m e n ts c o n ta in e d several k ey g u aran tees
from th e g o v ern m en t p e rta in in g to th e security, p ro te c tio n , education,
h e a lth c a re , an d d o c u m e n ta tio n (in c lu d in g land titles a n d personal
id en tificatio n ) o f th e disp laced p eo p le fro m Cacarica.
F o r security, a C asa d e Ju sticia (lo cal h o u se o f ju s tic e o r sm all
c o u rt) was to be e sta b lish e d , w ith a civ ilian re p re se n ta tiv e from the
n atio n al governm ent rein fo rcin g th e co m m u n ity ’s p o sitio n o f neutral­
ity w jth th e arm ed acto rs, including th e param ilitaries, guerrillas, and

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army. T he actual Casa dejusticia building has b een constructed, an d a

go v ern m en t representative is now residing in th e com m unity.
A particularly significant p o in t in the ag reem en ts is that n o arm ed
entity (legal, illegal, or extralegal)— including th e army, guerrillas, and
param ilitaries, respectively— may e n te r the territo ry o f the com m unity.
In d eed , at th e entrance to C acarica, a h an d -p ain ted sign in th e Peace
C o m m u n ities’ rainbow colors states: “We are a P eace C om m unity. We
a re special because we do n o t carry any w eap o n s. N o arm e d acto rs,
w h eth er legal o r illegal, are p e rm itte d in o u r com m unity.” F u rth er, the
a g re e m e n ts guarantee that th e re will be n o co lla b o ra tio n w ith any
a rm e d g ro u p s. This guarantee is am o n g th e c e n tra l co n c e rn s o f all
com m unities in zones of conflict, because if th e arm y enters a co m m u ­
nity, the resid en ts become g u e rrilla targets, a n d if g u errillas e n te r a
com m unity, th e residents becom e targets o f the param ilitaries a n d the
arm y. T h u s, th e Peace C om m unities d o n o t w an t any a rm e d acto rs
e n te rin g th e ir territories. This provision is p articu larly significant for
fem ale peasants/w ho are often fo rced to provide food and lo d g in g to
arm ed m en passing through th e ir com m unities. T h o u g h p ressu red to
give support, the act of doing so m akes the w om en m ilitary targ ets for
th e next g ro u p that comes th ro u g h .
T h e ag reem en ts between C acarica an d th e C o lo m b ian g o v ern ­
m e n t are significant for C acarica residents becau se they allow ed resi­
d e n ts to re tu rn to their hom es. T h e ag reem en ts are also view ed as a
m odel for o th e r displaced residents seeking to re tu rn hom e, as well as
th o se seeking to consolidate th e ir in d e p e n d e n c e from arm ed actors.
T h e ag reem en ts also represent th e possibilities fo r m utually reco n sti­
tu tin g state sovereignty and citiz e n sh ip at th e m arg in s o f th e state.
W hile state violence and surveillance at the m arg in s co n tin u e to reco n ­
stitu te state pow er and sovereignty, th e ag reem en ts reach ed w ith the
Peace C om m unities suggest th a t subaltern agency, by asserting citizen­
sh ip rights a n d creating new sites fo r political a ctio n th ro u g h local,
national, an d international alliances, also plays a role in th e co n stitu ­
tio n o f state sovereignty and state legibility (see C oronil 1997; D irlik
2000; Sassen 2000; J. Scott 1998; D as this v o lu m e). T h e a g re e m e n ts
reach ed w ith the Peace C om m unities, as well as th e actual ex isten ce of
th e Peace Com m unities, re p re se n t a new form o f subaltern co n testa­
tion to th e arm ed ambition o f th e C olom bian arm y, param ilitaries, and

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guerrillas. T his co n testatio n challenges th e pow er o f th e a rm e d actors

by o fferin g a new terrain o f en g ag em en t w ith o u t reco u rse to violence.
T he ag reem en ts re p re se n t su b altern e n g a g e m e n t in th e reco n stitu tio n
o f th e state at its m argins, m ak in g the p resen ce o f the state m o re legible
on th e fro n tiers o f th e P eace C om m unities an d , in d eed , transform ing
the state itself (for an in terestin g co m p ariso n , see R oldan 2002).
O f co u rse, the ag reem en ts are only th e b eg in n in g o f th e process.
T he im p lem en tatio n will d eterm in e its success o r failure. T h e govern­
m e n t re p re se n ta tiv e in C acarica is fro m th e M inistry o f th e Interior.
O stensibly, it is his jo b to en su re th at n o a rm e d groups e n te r th e com ­
m u n ity ’s territo ry . O f c o u rse , o n e w o n d e rs how o n e m a n fro m the
M inistry o f th e In terio r is g o in g to im p le m e n t such a m o n u m e n ta l task.
In a d d itio n , issues th a t a t first seam ed c le a r suddenly a p p e a r murky.
F or e x a m p le , w here d o es th e te rrito ry o f th e co m m u n ity b e g in an d
end? W h o decides? Is it a vio latio n if a n a rm e d g ro u p is o u tsid e the
co m m u n ity ? s u rro u n d in g it? w alking th ro u g h it? W h at if a n arm ed
g ro u p m ak es threats to co m m u n ity .m em bers fa rth e r do w n th e river?
W ho is responsible to adjudicate? H ow will th e g o v e rn m e n t respond?
W hat if th e soldiers sen t in response are a m o n g th e 12,000 professional
soldiers tra in e d by th e U n ite d States in c o u n te rin su rg e n c y tactics? A
C o lo m b ian arm y official, w h en asked a b o u t th e p a ra m ilita ries, said,
“T h e en em y o f the p aram ilitary is my enem y. So the p aram ilitary is my
frien d ” (a u th o r’s interview D ecem b er 2001). W ill arm y so ld iers protect
villagers fro m param ilitaries w hen th e p aram ilitaries claim th a t the vil­
lagers are “subversives” o r su p p o rt th e guerrillas?
P articu larly w orrisom e is th e diffuse stru c tu re o f ju s tic e betw een
th e resp o n sib ilities, o b lig atio n s, a n d p o w ers o f th e H u m a n R ights
O m b u d sm an , M inistry o f In terio r, D efen so r Publico, a n d p ro se c u to r’s
office. T h e C asa de Ju stic ia can receive a c o m p la in t a n d advise th e
various m inistries o f th e com plaint, b u t it can take n o p en al actio n . T he
H u m an R ights O m b u d sm an can investigate a n d sanction, b u t it mostly
focuses its en erg ies o n p re v e n tio n o f h u m a n -rig h ts v io latio n s. T h e
public d e fe n d e r’s office p ro m o te s a n d d istrib u te s in fo rm a tio n ab o u t
h u m a n rig h ts; it also pro v id es tech n ical assistance to p e o p le seeking
redress. T h e p ro se c u to r’s office investigates rig h ts violations b u t can
take n o p rev en tativ e a ctio n s o n b e h a lf o f h u m a n rig h ts. W h at does
this c o n v o lu te d stru c tu re m e a n w hen a n a rm e d g ro u p v io lates the

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a g re e m e n ts by e n te rin g th e te rrito ry o f C acarica? W hich o ffice is

responsible fo r w hich aspect o f a claim ? How are th e residents to know?
A n d d o e sn ’t th is situ atio n m ak e in actio n (d u e to co n fu sio n a n d /o r
fear) easy for functionaries?
F u rth er, th e C an ad ian g o v e rn m e n t d o n a te d a sp e e d b o a t a n d a
satellite co m m u n icatio n system fo r th e Casa de Ju sticia so th a t th e gov­
e rn m e n t rep resen tativ e can notify th e army, police, and M inistry o f th e
In te rio r if an a rm e d g ro u p e n te rs th e co m m u n ity . T his e q u ip m e n t
arrived in July 2000. In m id-O ctober, th e D efen so r Publico an d H u m an
R ights O m b u d sm an w ere still fig h tin g ab o u t w ho was resp o n sib le for
th e m ain ten an ce a n d up k eep o f th e eq u ip m en t; th e boat was n o t in use
because they h a d n o t yet d e te rm in e d w ho w ould pay for gas. T h e Social
Solidarity N etw ork was h elp in g b o th offices reach an in terin stitu tio n al
ag reem en t o u tlin in g responsibility fo r m ain ten an ce and u p k e e p o f the
eq u ip m en t. T h e Social S olidarity N etw ork folks are fam iliar w ith this
dilem m a— they, too, h ad a b o at b u t n o resources to pay for gas. In sum ,
th e Casa d e Ju stic ia in C acarica has a rustic h o u se , one staff p erso n ,
eq u ip m en t th a t is still n o t u p an d ru n n in g , n o h o u se for th e re p re se n ­
tative to live in, n o com puter, a n d an extrem ely com plicated, d a n g e r­
ous, and ill-defined m an d ate to carry out.
It is also im p o rta n t to n o te th a t th e ag reem en ts are b ein g carried
o u t with a c c o m p a n im e n t an d im p le m e n ta tio n o f program s by re p re ­
sentatives fro m th e n atio n al g o v e rn m e n t (n o t th e local g o v ern m en t,
because it is d o m in a te d by p aram ilitaries). Still, despite a co n v o lu ted
m an d ate, th e ag re e m e n ts have estab lish ed lim its to the way th e state
can operate o n th e m argins. T h e new adm inistrative sites are am plified
fro m local to in tern atio n al d o m ain s th ro u g h th e presence o f n atio n al
a n d in te rn a tio n a l N G O s. R ep resen tativ es o f Ju sticia y P az, P eace
B rigades, a n d o th e r n a tio n a l a n d in te rn a tio n a l g ro u p s a re living in
C acarica w ith re to rn a d o s (th e re tu rn e d ) to in crease th e ir safety an d
security. Ju stic ia y Paz c o n tin u e s to seek safety an d p eace fo r o th e r
d isp laced c o m m u n itie s, a n d P e ace B rigades now has fo u r offices
th ro u g h o u t th e country. E ach g ro u p provides reg u lar u p d a te s to the
in tern atio n al com m unity th ro u g h W eb sites, e-m ail lists, sp eak in g tours
in the U nited States an d E u ro p e, a n d in te rn a tio n a l observation tours
in C olom bia. It is th ro u g h this process, and th ro u g h their collectivity as
P eace C om m unities and th e ir adm inistrative relationships to u n arm ed
state actors, th a t each P eace C o m m u n ity tra n sc e n d s its lo cality as a

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m ere village on a river in C olom bia a n d becom es a site fo r the reconsti­

tu tio n o f state so vereignty. M oreover, th e c o n stitu tio n o F P eace
C o m m u n ities b eco m es a new site fro m w hich the in te rn a tio n a l com ­
m unity can ju d g e th e C olo m b ian state a n d p u t pressure o n it regarding
th e way th e state ex e rc ise s pow er .9 In th is way, riv er co m m u n ities,
th o u g h still geographically isolated m arg in s o f the C olom bian state, are
no lo n g e r simply sites o f state surveillance an d violence fo r the reco n ­
stitu tio n o f state p o w er a n d sovereignty b u t are also new sites of state
legibility p re se n d n g possibilities fo r su b a lte rn tran sfo rm atio n of state
sovereignty an d citizenship.
Finally, th o u g h th e d isp laced o f C acarica w ere a b le to re tu rn to
th e ir h o m es, this re tu rn d id n o t m ark a n e n d to d isp lacem en t in th e
area, n o r d id it finalize state sovereignty o r citizenship. In S eptem ber
2000, ju s t two w eeks p rio r to th e C acarica re tu rn , p aram ilitaries
d isp laced 1,300 in d ig e n o u s peo p le in n earb y C arepa. T h e precarious
situ atio n o f the displaced a n d th e P eace C om m unities is fu rth e r d eteri­
o ra tin g w ith th e in c re a se d m ilita riz a tio n th a t P lan C olom bia has
b ro u g h t to th e co untryside. T hus, even th o u g h Peace C om m unities are
now p lay ers in th e ex e rc ise o f p o w er a t th e sta te ’s m arg in s, this c o n ­
tested sp ace is a carto g rap h y o f H a rd t a n d N egri’s m arg in s “w here the
b o rd ers a re flexible a n d id en tities are hybrid an d flu id ” (2000:39).

DISPLACEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP

F o r P eace C o m m u n ity m em bers, c u rre n t param ilitary attacks an d
d isp la c e m e n t o f n earb y co m m u n ities b e c o m e p a rt o f 4 co n tin u u m in
the present o f m em ories o f th e ir ow n d isp lacem en t in th e past. A lfonzo,
w ho fle d h is c o m m u n ity o f C am elias in 1997, recalled , “H elico p ters
w ere b o m b in g , an d p aram ilitaries w ere firin g m ach in e guns. To go to
the river to cu t b an an as was to risk o n e ’s life. T hey b u rn e d o ur village,
an d we lost all o u r rice. W h en th e arm y w ould co m e, they w ould say,
‘D o n ’t b e afraid o f us, have fear o f th o se w ho com e after,’ m eaning th e
p ara m ilita ries. T h ey h a d n o re sp e c t fo r o u r lives. W e h a d to leav e”
(a u th o r’s interview A u g u st 2001). T h o se in tern ally d isp laced fo u n d
th em selv es jo b less a n d hom eless, living in d isp la c e m e n t cam ps scat­
tered o n th e p e rip h e rie s o f A partado, T u rb o , an d San Jo se A partado.
T h e p o litico -m ilitary shift o f resp o n sib ility fro m th e arm y to th e
param ilitaries has h a d d ire consequences fo r th e political an d social well­
being o f C olom bian society. D isplacem ent is n o t a new p h en o m en o n in

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C o lo m b ia, but in th e 1980s it was ind iv id u als w ho w ere displaced by

ta rg eted threats. A long w ith the entry o f param ilitaries in to the field o f
gross hum an-rights violations via political killings, fo rc e d displacem ent
also increased drastically w hen the param ilitaries e n te re d th e politico-
m ilitary th eater in 1990. By 1995, th e re w ere 130,000 displaced; in
1996, an o th er 180,000 p eo p le were displaced; in 1997, a n o th e r 250,000
p e o p le w ere d isp laced ; in 1998, 300,000; in 1999, 280,000; in 2000,
m o re th an 300,000 p e o p le were d isplaced. In total, th a t is m ore th a n
360 p e o p le fleein g th e ir hom es ea c h day (CCJ 2 0 0 0 ). A ccording to
U N H C R functionaries in Colom bia, estim ates for d isp lacem en t in 2001
ex ceed th e 300,000 displaced the p re c e d in g year (p erso n al com m u n i­
c a tio n July 5, 2001). In 2003, h u m an -rig h ts groups re p o rt m ore th a n
1,000 people fleeing th e ir hom es each day (H agen 2003:66). T h o u g h
th e governm ent recognizes only 400,000 displaced p e o p le , h u m an itar­
ian aid organizations co u n ted 1.5 m illio n displaced p e o p le as early as
2000 (CCJ 2000).
H a n n a h A re n d t suggested th a t th e term displaced persons was
expressly invented fo r th e liquidation o f the category o f statelessness
([1951] 1973:279), w hich paved the way for the loss o f rights o f citizen­
sh ip , creatin g a categ o ry o f th e p e rse c u te d as rig h tless p eo p le.
Significantly, she sta te d , “T h e m o re th e n u m b er o f rightless p e o p le
in creased , the g re a te r becam e the tem p tatio n to p ay less atten tio n to
th e d eed s o f the p ersecu tin g governm ents than to th e status o f the p e r­
se c u te d ” (294). M oreover, she poin ted o u t that this sh ift from the d eed s
o f th e g o v ern m en t to th e needs o f th e displaced c o n stitu te d an in n o ­
cen ce, “in the sense o f com plete lack o f responsibility,” w hich “was th e
m a rk o f th eir righdessness as [m uch as] it was the seal o f th eir political
statu s” (295), because as rightless p eo p le, she w rote, “th e ir freedom o f
o p in io n is a fool’s freed o m , for n o th in g they think m a tte rs” (296).
M ateo, a P eace C om m unity leader, explained to m e last sum m er,
“W h e n o n e is d isp laced , o n e loses th e feeling o f b e in g C olom bian, a
citizen w ith rights a n d responsibilities. A fter m any co m m u n ity m e e t­
in g s o f th e d isp la c e d , we d ecid ed to re tu rn to g e th e r in 1999. W e
d e c id e d to live in th e m iddle of the co n flict because if we waited fo r it
to e n d , we w ould n e v e r re tu rn to o u r lands. We o p te d fo r p u re nonvio­
len ce. T hey should resp ect the decision o f the p eo p le. If they w ant to
fig h t with each o th e r, they can— b u t n o t on o u r land a n d we w on’t fig h t

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w ith them . As th e peace c o m m u n itie s, w e have a life o f p eace, n o t

violence. O u r goal is to s u p p o rt peace, n o t w ar” (Sanford 2001).
W hile staying in the P eace C om m unity o f C osta de O ro d u rin g ju ly
an d A ugust 2001 w ith Asale Angel-Ajani a n d K im berly T h e id o n , we wit­
nessed the tre m e n d o u s p ressu res on the com m unities. O n a h u m an i­
tarian m ission w ith a social service team fro m th e diocese o f A partado,
accom panying th e d isp lacem en t o f the co m m u n ities o f A ndalucia and
C am elias fro m a co m b at z o n e to C osta d e O ro , we w ere sto p p e d by
guerrillas sev eral tim es. U sually, th ere w e re two o r th re e irre g u la r
forces. T h a t is, they were n o t th e regular u n ifo rm e d co m b atan ts o f the
FARC but ra th e r local recru its. T hough a rm e d , they did n o t brandish
th e ir w eapons in a m en acin g way. We w ere also forcibly rem oved from
o u r boats a t g u n p o in t by several d o zen p a ra m ilita ries, w ho twice
detained o u r g ro u p — once fo r ab o u t an h o u r a n d once fo r a b o u t thirty
m inutes. T h e first tim e, w h e n th e p a ra m ilita ries c o m m a n d e d us to
beach o ur sm all boats on th e riverbank, they o rd e re d us in to a co rrid o r
they had c u t in to the ju n g le a n d shouted a t us to “run like cattle.” As we
ran into th e ju n g le , som e fifty-three param ilitaries with m a c h in e guns
an d m ortar la u n c h e rs said, “H e re are the cattle. W hat shall we do with
th em ?” H ow ever, w hen th e y saw o u r th re e in te rn a tio n a l faces, they
b eg an to say, “G o o d m o rn in g , d o n ’t w orry. W e w on’t d o an y th in g to
you.” This d id n o t stop th e m fro m attem p tin g to separate several young
m en from o u r g ro u p , how ever. F ather H o n e lio interv en ed , telling the
co m m an d er th a t if they w an ted to talk w ith o n e o f us, they w ould have
to talk to all o f us— effectively inform ing h im th a t if they w an ted to kill
o n e o f us, th ey w ould have to kill all of us. As H onelio ex p lain ed , “We
will n o t be se p a ra te d as a g ro u p .” At this, th e c o m m a n d e r o rd e re d a
dozen o r so param ilitaries to en g ag e the g u errillas on th e o th e r side o f
th e river in a n exchange o f m o rta r and m a c h in e gun fire. H a d th e guer­
rillas re sp o n d e d , th e p aram ilitaries w ould h av e h ad m o re choices o f
how to h a n d le us— because civilians often d ie in crossfire. Fortunately,
th e guerrillas d id n o t resp o n d .
T his is n o t to p a in t th e g u errillas as in n o c e n t acto rs. W e w ere
frequently to ld , “B oth sides kill. T h e paras kill everyone; th e guerrillas
a re m ore selectiv e.” In d e e d , w h en we w ere th e re , th e p a ra m ilita ries
w ere seeking to gain te rrito ria l d o m in io n by d isp lacin g th e Peace
C o m m u n ities, a n d th e g u e rrilla s w ere se e k in g to re g a in te rrito ria l

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Vic t o r ia San fo rd

d o m in io n by p ro h ib itin g villagers in th e w ar zone fro m displacing. T h e

state is n o t ab sen t fro m this area, a n d param ilitary actio n s are n o t w ith­
o u t an arm y p resep ce. A fter twice b e in g detained by th e sam e p aram il­
itary re g im e n t (all in shiny new u n ifo rm s), we h a d sp e n t nearly two
h o u rs w ith th e sam e p aram ilitaries. O n one o ccasio n , w h en we
re tu rn e d to A p artad o , we ran in to tw o p aram ilitaries at an ice cream
sto re. As the wave o f recognition passed over us, th ey began to sm irk,
a n d we m ade th e am biguous salu tatio n “Buenas tardes n an d k ep t w alk­
ing. O n a n o th e r occasion, at an arm y checkpoint o n th e river, the-com ­
m a n d in g so ld ier w as giving o u r p a p e rs th e usual review . T h o u g h we
h a d n o t previously seen him at a n arm y ch eck p o in t, Dr. A ngel-A jani
a n d I recognized h im — as one o f th e param ilitaries w ho had d e ta in e d
us. O n c e back o n th e river a fte r c le a rin g th e c h e c k p o in t, we c o m ­
m e n te d on how th e param ilitary u n ifo rm s and w eapons were so m u c h
n ew er th an those o f th e army. P art o f w hat m ade th e co m m an d in g offi­
cer stan d o u t was o u r m em ory o f h im in a new p aram ilitary u n ifo rm
w ith new w eaponry. A t th e c h e c k p o in t, his arm y u n ifo rm was shabby,
fad ed , an d frayed, a n d his belt a n d h o lste r were w o rn a n d cracked.
S h o rtly a fte r o u r d e p a rtu re in A ugust, th e p a ra m ilita ries seized
c o n tro l o f several key com m unities, e n te re d C osta d e O ro, a n d o ccu­
p ie d C u rv arad o — th e last town y o u pass as you h e a d u p riv er to th e
P eace C om m unities in the h eart o f th e war zone. P aram ilitaries killed
several C urvarado functionaries, in c lu d in g a m u n icip al secretary w ho
h a d p a rtic ip a te d in o n e o f th e a c c o m p a n im e n t m issions. In early
S ep tem b er, th e p a ra s seized P eace C om m unity la n d s a n d killed fo u r
resid en ts o f P u e rto Lleras, claim ing th e land w hile th reaten in g to kill
an y o n e w ho c h a lle n g e d them . A lso in Septem ber, th e guerrillas tig h t­
e n e d c o n tro l o n trib u ta rie s u n d e r th e ir c o m m a n d — in c lu d in g p ro ­
h ib itin g th e d io cese team s from e n te rin g som e co m m u n ities. In late
O cto b er, the p aras forcibly re c ru ite d two boys fro m C osta de O ro , an d
th e g u errillas a m b u s h e d a p la to o n o f p aram ilitaries, killing a t least
th irty o f them a n d reclaim ing th e territo ry an d p o p u la tio n s th a t th e
p aras h ad c o n q u e re d in S eptem ber. In C urvarado, th e guerrillas killed
a p easan t b ra n d e d as a param ilitary collaborator. In late O ctober, resi­
d e n ts o f Costa d e O ro were very w o rried because o n e o f th eir lead ers
was o n th e FARC’s list o f people to b e assassinated. O n N o v em b er^ 0,
F a th e r H o n e lio a n d a n o th e r p rie s t w ere p ro h ib ite d from e n te rin g
 C ontesting D isplacem ent in C olombia

C osta de O ro , th e n u n d e r definitive g u errilla control. A t th e tim e, one

observer ex p ressed fe a r th a t th e p aram ilitaries w ould re sp o n d to the
guerrillas w ith an even m o re severe attack o n th e com m unities. In d eed ,
on D ecem b er 5, 2001, thje guerrillas and th e param ilitaries h a d a m ajor
battle in th e tow n o f R io'S ucio. Several h u n d re d civilians w ere killed in
th e battle, w hich caused a n o th e r wave o f d isp lacem en t o f th o se fearing
even g re a te r retaliatory b atd es. O n C hristm as Day 2001, th e guerrillas
killed two y o u th leaders in C osta de O ro. A t th e tim e o f this w riting, in
A pril 2003, th e arm y has m o re ch eck p o in ts th a n ever alo n g th e A trato
River, a n d P eace C o m m u n ity m ov em en t a lo n g th e river a n d its tribu­
taries is re stric te d by th e arm y, p a ra m ilita rie s, a n d th e FA R C .10 T h e
FARC c o n tro ls all river trib u ta rie s an d access to Peace C o m m u n ities
an d tow ns e x c e p t C u rv arad o ^which re m a in s a co n tested sp ace) and
Rio Sucio (w hich co n tin u es as a d o m in io n o f th e p aram ilitaries). T he
diocese co n tin u es to acco m p an y Peace C o m m u n ity residents, although
th e FARC so m etim es im p e d e s th e ir m o v e m e n t on trib u ta rie s o r p ro ­
hibits en try in to som e P eace C om m unities.
I w ant to close by suggesting that d esp ite th e surveillance, control,
an d ex trem e violence e x p e rie n c ed by th e co m m u n ities at th e h an d s of
the army, param ilitaries, an d guerrillas, th e fifty-nine Peace C om m unities
co n tin u e becau se those w h o w ere re n d e re d rightless by d isp lacem en t
m ade a decision to reassert th e ir citizenship a n d their h u m a n rights by
reclaim ing th e ir lands a n d reco n stitu tin g therhselves as C o lo m b ian cit­
izens in P eace C o m m u n ities, th ereb y re c o n stitu tin g state sovereignty
from below. W hile the arm y, param ilitaries, a n d guerrillas c o n tin u e to
fig h t fo r h eg em o n y th ro u g h territo rial d o m in io n , and c o n tro l o f the
p o p u la tio n th ro u g h d isp la c e m e n t o r in frin g e m e n t o f fre e d o m of
m ovem ent, th e Peace C o m m u n ities create new dom ains fo r peace that
can only be revealed in p ractice as a n eg atio n o f war. By draw ing adm in­
istrative agencies an d ju rid ic a l representatives in to th eir practices, the
Peace C o m m u n ities ex p o se th e c o n tra d ic tio n s o f th e sta te a n d espe­
cially th e violence o f its arm y an d proxy forces. B orrow ing fro m G iorgio
A gam ben, tru th is revealed as “a taking-place o f th e false, as an expo­
su re o f its in n e rm o s t im p ro p rie ty ” (1993:1-3). A nd th is is possible
because tru th is an entity o f th e w orld th a t F oucault n o te d “is p ro d u ced
only by v irtu e o f m u ltip le fo rm s o f c o n s tra in t” an d th a t “has reg u lar
effects o f p o w er” (1980:131).

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I am not su g g estin g th at life in th e Peace C o m m u n ities is som e

kind o f rom aptic p o stm o d ern ex p erien ce in w hich peace is achieved by
virtue o f being so u g h t o r th at th e C olom bian state is m agically tran s­
form ed. However, my research a n d co n tin u ed co n ta c t with the Peace
C om m unities suggest th at these effects o f pow er are exp erien ced in the
everyday life o f the com m unity d esp ite its c u rre n t cycle o f o ccupation
by arm ed actors (w ho filter in and o u t o f Peace C om m unities w ith flu­
idity) and that the reconstitution o f citizenship has explicit effects on
state sovereignty. M oreover, by establishing a new d o m ain for th e co m ­
m unity practice o f peace and h u m a n rights, the effects o f this co m m u ­
nity pow er challenge n o t only the param ilitaries a n d guerrillas b u t also
the spectral presence o f the state, th e state’s p ro d u c tio n o f a tru th th at
defines the war as a d ru g war, and a state that m akes and rem akes sov­
ereig n ty with legible an d often illeg ib le su rv eillan ce an d v io len ce.
R em em ber M ateo’s words: “We d e cid ed to live in th e conflict.” H e also
told m e that “n e ith e r side is going to win, because they have lost th e
p e o p le ” (a u th o r’s interview A ugust 2001). F a th e r L eo n id es said, “It
sh o u ld n ’t be th at those who m ake w ar define p e a c e ” (team interview
July 5, 2001). T he Peace C om m unities challenge m ilitary definitions o f
p eace by co n stitu tin g th e rights o f citizen sh ip d u rin g th e everyday
experiences of those w hom the state w ould red u ce to “bare life” in th e
m id st o f conflict (A gam ben 1998). M oreover, w hile surveillance a n d
violence rem ain cen tral state practices, by forcing th e state to assert its
pow er at the m arg in s th ro u g h ad m in istrativ e acts o f law an d service
provision, these rights o f citizenship reconstitute th e state and the role
o f the citizen-subject on the very terrain upon w hich state sovereignty is
realized.

E P IL O G U E
In August 2002, Alvaro U ribe Velez was in au g u rated as p resid en t o f
C olom bia. U ribe ran his election cam paign as a re fe re n d u m ag ain st
terrorism . Yet, his first actions after taking office only served to fu rth e r
institutionalize th e m ilitarization o f th e C olom bian state. A m ong his
key strategies fo r “dem ocratic security,” U ribe has (1) invoked e m e r­
gency powers an d declared a “state o f internal u n re st” that allows him
to ru le by decree in areas o f ex trem e conflict th a t h e has d esig n ated
“R eh ab ilitatio n a n d C o n so lid atio n Z ones,” severely lim iting o u tsid e
co n tact to Chilian populations in these areas; (2) b eg u n training p a rt­

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tim e soldiers to form a “p ea sa n t arm y”; an d (3) form ed a n atio n al n et­

work o f civilian inform ants, w ith the in te n tio n o f involving o n e m illion
C olom bian citizens in spying o n th eir n eig h b o rs. Each o f these projects
fu rth e r b lu rs th e distin ctio n betw een p aram ilitaries, m ilitias, an d the
state army.
A lthough th e election o f U ribe has in creased the im p u n ity o f para­
m ilitaries, th e Peace C o m m u n ities c o n tin u e to create new m o d es o f
everyday life g ro u n d e d in th e e n actm en t o f a collective m o ral im agina­
tion o f co m m u n ities co m m itted to peace. In O cto b er 2002, m o re than
2,000 rep resen tativ es o f fifty-six peace co m m u n ities a n d several h u n ­
d re d n a tio n a l a n d in te rn a tio n a l o b serv ers p a rtic ip a te d in th e fifth
anniversary celeb ratio n o f th e fo u n d in g o f Peace C o m m u n ities. This
gathering, h e ld in the river tow n o f C urvarado, reaffirm ed the success
an d c o m m itm e n t o f th e 12,000 d isp la c e d C o lo m b ian s w ho have
re tu rn e d to th e ir lands in th e co m b at z o n e to co n stru ct new lives as
Peace C o m m u n ities. A m ass was held to celeb rate life a n d rem e m b e r
those w ho gave th eir lives fo r peace. A m bassadors from S pain, H olland,
an d S w eden p a rtic ip a te d in th e event, as d id several d e le g a tio n s o f
in tern atio n al observers an d representatives from n atio n al a n d in tern a­
tional N G O s. A t the close o f th e four-day celeb ratio n , in te rn a tio n a ls
atten d in g th e g ath erin g acco m p an ied p articip an ts back to th e ir com ­
m unities, passing army, param ilitary, an d g u errilla ch eck p o in ts along
the way. In C osta de O ro, co m m u n ity m e m b e r D on Rafael said, “We are
still here. P eace is n o t an alternative. Peace is o u r only o p tio n .”
W h en I re tu rn e d to C o sta de O ro in F eb ru ary 2003, resid en ts
re p o rted th e co n tin u ed p resen ce o f th e FARC an d param ilitaries in the
ju n g le a n d rivers outlying th e ir co m m unity. T hey also re p o rte d th at
there h a d b e e n no violence against C osta d e O ro residents since July of
the p re c e d in g year. R esid en t D on A lvino explained, “T h ey know that
people a re w atching o u t fo r us an d th at w h at h ap p en s h e re d o e sn ’t end
here. A nd we d o n ’t travel a lo n e on the river anym ore. W e d o n ’t send
o u r young m e n o u t to th e cro p s alone. We always travel in groups. They
will n ev er a g a in have th e o p p o rtu n ity to g ra b two o r th re e o f o u r
youths o r kill a le a d e r trav elin g alo n e. M aybe they now know , finally
u n d erstan d , th a t we are n o t g o in g to leave o u r lands. W e live fo r peace.
We live fo r o u r lands. T h ese a re the lan d s o f o u r ch ild ren . T h e peace
com m unities are w hat o u r ch ild ren will in h e rit, the exam ple o f living in
peace. My G od, I h o p e m y c h ild re n see p e a c e .”

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Vi c t o r i a S a n fo r d

N otes
T his c h a p te r draws o n research in the U raba-C hoco region o f Colom bia in
O ctober 2000 an d fieldwork co n d u c ted on the E cuadorian-C olom bian border
with A sale A ngel-Ajani and N o tre D am e stu d en ts M ariela R odriguez, Jessica
Scanlan, K risti G reen, and K aren Callan in May a n d Ju n e 2001. D u rin g July and
August 2001, Dr. Angel-Ajani, K im berly T h eid o n , an d I co n d u c ted field research
and acco m p an ied the Peace C om m unities o f U raba-C hoco. I am grateful to the
Institute fo r Scholarship in th e L iberal Arts, U n d erg rad u ate R esearch
O p p o rtu n ity Program , G rad u ate S tudent Proposal W riting Fellow ship, and Strake
Fellow ship at th e University o f N o tre Dam e, as well as the In stitu te for H um an
Rights Policy an d Practice, fo r su p p o rtin g collaborative work w ith m y students
and colleagu es o n this project. I especially th a n k V eena Das a n d D eb o rah Poole
for in c lu d in g m e in the SAR advanced sem inar “T h e State at Its M argins,” which
helped m e b e tte r problem atize th e m argins o f th e state. M ichael Bosia carefully
analyzed several drafts of this c h a p te r with a political scientist’s eye to u n derstan d ­
ing the state. Asale Angel-Ajani, L eon A rred o n d o, Shannon S p eed , an d Scott
Appleby o ffere d extrem ely th o u g h tfu l com m entary on this w ork-in-progress. I
especially th a n k L eon A rred o n d o fo r his very close read of this c h a p te r and
insightful co m m en ts about th e historical conceptualization o f th ese frontiers
within th e C olom bian im aginary. Scott Appleby a n d H al C u lb ertson gave me a
welcom e o p p o rtu n ity to p re se n t a draft o f this c h a p te r to my colleagu es at the
Kroc In stitu te. R oberta C u lb ertso n gave me a q u iet, supportive sp ace in which to
write a n d invited m e to p re se n t this work at an intern atio nal sym posium on vio­
lence a t th e V irginia F o u n d atio n fo r the H um anities. This research project would
n o t have b e e n possible w ith o u t th e kind collaboration of Leyla L im a an d Maria
Paz B erm ejo o f th e U nited N atio n s H igh C om m issioner for R efugees, who m ade
possible my participation in th e accom panim ent. Finally, I b e n e fite d from su pp o rt
o f the d io cese o f Apartado,—th e accom p an im en t team s, and th e P eace C om m unity
m em bers them selves. Unless otherw ise specified, all interviews w ere conducted
u n d er th e co n d itio n that J re sp e c t the in fo rm an t’s anonymity. A ny erro rs are, of
course, m y own. 1

1. T h e FARC is the larg est an d oldest g u errilla organization in Colom bia,

with som e 18,000 arm ed co m b atan ts. For m o re o n the history o f guerrillas in
U raba-C hoco, see Com ision A n d in a d eju ristas C olom bianas (1994) an d Beltran
(1996).

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 C o n testin g D isplacement in C olombia

2. OFP b a rrio projects inclu d e daily, low-cost m idday m eals for p o o r an d

w orking people, free m eals for ch ild ren , tutorials for ch ild ren , m icro en terp rise
projects for w o m en , recreational activities for ch ild ren , an d com m unity su p p o rt
groups.
3. This sam e taxi driver sh ared fears o f b eing assassinated, nam ing n in e
drivers who h a d recently lost th e ir lives to violence. Like o th ers 1 interview ed in
B arrancaberm eja, th e taxi driver req u ested anonym ity.
4. In a u th o r interviews, c u rre n t a n d form er param ilitaries in E cu ad o r
an d Colom bia rep eated ly confirm ed co m m u n icatio n a n d planning betw een
param ilitaries a n d C olom bian arm y officials. For m o re o n Colom bian
param ilitaries, see H u m an Rights W atch (1996a, 1996b, 2000).
5. T he P e rm a n e n t C onsultation o n In tern al D isplacem ent in th e A m ericas
considers plans fo r th e construction o f a new canal to be central to the conflict in
th e Choco reg io n in general an d th e A trato River a re a in particular. See
Inter-A m erican C om m ission o n H u m an Rights (1999).
6. T he so ld ier agreed to a tap ed interview o n c o n d itio n o f anonym ity. At a
sp rin g 2001 K ellogg Institute fo ru m , C u rt K am m en, fo rm e r US am bassador to
Colom bia, also sp ok e of hum an-rights efforts as a h in d ra n c e to US policy in
Colom bia.
7. For m o re o n cam p co n d itio n s in T urbo, see H u m an Rights W atch
(1998a).
8. Field research in C olom bia ind icated th at \his is th e case in m arginalized
barrios o f A p artad o , Bogota, an d B arrancaberm eja. T estim onies from C olom bian
refugees in E cu ad o r confirm these practices in M edellin, Cali, B arranquilla,
N arino, an d Putum ayo, am ong o th e r places.
9. I use th e term international community to m ean th e intern atio nal N G O s,
U N agencies, a n d ch urches w orking fo r peace w ithin C olom bia, as well as those in
o th e r countries.
10. T h ese restrictions rem ain co n stan t but w ith variation— som etim es
reflecting m ilitary m aneuvers an d co n fro n tatio n s betw een the arm ed acto rs and
som etim es reflectin g the whim o f th e co m m ander at th e checkpoint. O n any
given day, an accom p an im en t b o at from the diocese m ay be allowed to e n te r a
Peace C om m unity, b e den ied entry, o r have entry delayed.

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 11
Where Are the Margins o f the State?

Talal Asad

In th e ir th o u g h tfu l in tro d u c tio n to this ric h collection o f essays,

V eena D as an d D eb o rah Poole q u e stio n the d e fin itio n of th e state in
term s o f cen tralized control over a d eterm in ate territory, and they p ro­
pose th a t we e x p lo re the sta te ’s “m arg in s”— th a t is, th e places w h ere
state law an d o rd e r co n tin u ally have to be re e sta b lish e d . F o r state
pow er, they insist, is always u n sta b le , so m eth in g b est seen w h en o ne
m oves away fro m th e “center.” T h ey proceed to identify th ree ways in
w hich th e state’s m arg in s may be im agined: first, as p erip h eries o r ter­
rito ries in w hich th e state has y e t to p e n e tra te ; seco n d , as “spaces,
form s, an d practices through w hich th e state is continually b o th ex p eri­
e n c e d a n d u n d o n e th ro u g h th e illegibility o f its ow n practices, d o c u ­
m ents, an d w ords”; an d , finally, as th e “space b etw een bodies, law, and
d iscip lin e.” E ach o f th e sp len d id essays b ro u g h t to g e th e r h e re traces
one o f these ways o f im agining th e sta te ’s m argins.
T h e overall a rg u m e n t that seem s to em erge fro m the in tro d u c tio n
is th a t th e state’s m argins can b e view ed d ifferen tly precisely because
“the sta te ” itse lf is n o t a fixed o b je c t. T his a rg u m e n t is en o rm o u sly
suggestive, an d I w ant to think a little along th ese lines.

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T a l a l A s ad

T h e te rm state is, o f course, used in a n u m b e r o f d iffe re n t dis­

courses. T h ese include (bu t are n o t ex h au sted by) th e discourse o f sov­
ereign states (w hether princedom s o r rep u b lics) facing o n e an o th er in
w ar an d peace; the discourse o f state gov ern an ce (in th e regulation o f
behavior, th e acquisition and distribution o f resources, th e care o f pop­
ulations, th e m axim ization o f security); a n d th e discourse o f state poli­
tics (th e struggle to establish a nation-state; co m p etitio n over policy).
Such discourses invoke languages o f law, o f ju stice, o f raison d ’etat, o f
benefit— languages th at define and re d e fin e the fo u n d atio n s o f sover­
eignty a n d th e obligations o f obedience, th e criteria o f citizenship and
nationality, th e rights o f self-defense a n d p u n ish m en t. T h e boundaries
o f “the sta te ” vary accordingly, as does its in tern al m orphology: the dif­
fe ren t ways o f d eterm in in g m em bership a n d inclusion, inside and out­
side, th e law and th e exception.
T h e m o d e rn idea o f th e “state” has a com plicated W estern history,
an d a c o n te ste d o n e at th at.1 In the late M iddle Ages, th e L atin w ord
status a n d th e v ern acu lar equivalents estate stato, state h a d a variety o f
political m eanings, b u t m ainly these w ords referred to th e standing o f
ru lers. A cco rd in g to m edieval legal th e o rie s, th e ru le r possessed o r
even e m b o d ie d th e g o v ern m en t. In R en aissan ce Italy, h isto ries an d
advice b ooks fo r m agistrates (as well as th e m irror-for-princes literature
to w hich th ese eventually gave rise) in itia te d a tra d itio n o f practical
political reaso n in g in the context o f new city republics th a t gave a novel
sense to th e term s status and stato.
T h e w riters in this tradition were c o n c e rn e d above all w ith the con­
ditions fo r th e successful m ain ten an ce o f th ese rep u b lics— especially
after th e ir w idespread usu rp atio n by h e re d ita ry princes. B ecause they
co n sid ered th e ability to secure a p a rtic u la r kind o f g o v ern m en t (over
and above th e person o f the ruler) to be essential, these w riters tended
to use th e term s status an d stato to re fe r to it. A m ong th e conditions
n ecessary fo r successful m a in te n a n c e o f th e g o v e rn m e n t was th e
d efen se o f territo ry over w hich th e ru le r h a d a u th o rity — a n d so the
land itself cam e to be d en o ted by the sam e words. But p e rh a p s the m ost
significant extension o f the term sta te s as its referen ce to th e structures
o f ad m in istratio n an d force by w hich th e p rin ce co n tro lle d his dom ain
(regnum o r civitas).
It seem s to have b een th e h u m an ist rep u b lican s w ho originated the
idea o f a sovereign authority th at w ould reg u late the public affairs o f an

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 W h e r e A re the M argins of the State?

in d e p e n d e n t com m unity. A nd it was they w ho first used the w ord status

o r stato to refer to th e apparatus o f g o v ern m en t th a t rulers w ere obliged
to m aintain. B ut they attained to only h alf the doubly abstract n o tio n o f
th e state as it is w idely u n d ersto o d today. F or acco rd in g to th e m o d e rn
co n cep t, th e state is an entity w ith a life o f its ow n, distinct fro m b o th
g o v ern o rs a n d g o v ern ed . A n d becau se o f this a b stra c tio n , it can
d e m a n d allegiance from b o th sides. F or the h u m a n ist rep u b lican s, in
contrast, the state (o r “co m m o n w ealth ” an d “political society,” as they
p re fe rre d to call it), being an expression o f th e pow ers o f th e p eo p le,
co u ld n o t be q u ite d etach ed fro m th e e n tire com m unity. O f co u rse,
th ey d istin g u ish e d betw een th e a p p a ra tu s o f g o v e rn m e n t a n d th o se
tem porarily in charge, b u t they always reg ard ed th e pow ers established
by th e com m unity in such ap p aratu ses as essentially the pow ers o f the
com m unity as a w hole. H o w ev er/th e fully abstract id ea o f the state was
developed by those w ho arg u ed against this tra d itio n o f p o p u la r sover­
eignty, m ost fam ously H obbes ([1651] 1968).
In this c o n c e p tio n , the state d o m in ates a n d d efen d s th e co m m u ­
nity, orders an d n u rtu re s its civil life. T he state, in d e p e n d e n tly o f the
e n tire p o p u la tio n , em bodies sovereignty. F ar fro m b ein g a m yth, the
sta te ’s abstract ch aracter is precisely w hat en ab les it to define a n d sus­
tain the m argin as a m argin th ro u g h a range o f adm inistrative practices.
(In the rep u b lican tradition, by contrast, th e sovereignty o f the state is
d e leg ated by ra th e r than a lie n a te d from its subjects. This, in a sense,
m akes the g o verning state a m arg in o f the citizen-body it represents.)
In som e critical literature o n th e state (especially in an th ro p o lo g y ),
o n e finds the w ord fetish used to suggest th at because the state has an
ab stract character, it is m erely a n ideological co n stru ctio n an d its claim
to solidity a n d p o w er is th e re fo re em pty. T h is allusion—to M a rx ’s
([1867] 1961) fam ous acco u n t o f th e co m m o d ity as< a fetish seem s to
m e un h elp fu l. F o r M arx, it will be recalled, th e fetishism o f co m m o d i­
ties refers to th e fact th at “a d e fin ite social re la tio n b etw een m e n ...
assum es, in th e ir eyes, the fantastic form o f a relatio n betw een th in g s.”
T his points us, h e argued, tow ard th e im aginary w orld o f religion. “In
th a t w orld th e p ro d u ctio n s o f th e h u m an b rain a p p e a r as in d e p e n d e n t
b ein g s e n d o w ed w ith life, a n d e n te rin g in to re la tio n b o th w ith o n e
a n o th e r a n d th e h u m a n race. So it is in th e w o rld o f c o m m o d ities
w ith th e p ro d u c ts o f m e n ’s h a n d s. T his I call th e fetishism w hich
attaches itself to th e products o f labour, so soon as they are p ro d u c e d in
 T alal A sad

com m odities, an d which is th e re fo re in sep arab le from th e p ro d u ctio n

_ o f co m m o d ities” ([1867] 1961:72). H ow ever, the reification o f social
relations o f p ro d u c tio n th a t characterizes th e com m odity is q u ite dif­
feren t from th e abstract c h a ra c te r o f the m o d e rn state. T h e com m odity
form hides th e productive p o w er o f the laborer. It is m erely in e rt m ater­
ial falsely tak en to be alive. T h e abstract stru c tu re of th e state, on the
o th e r hand, is th e essential co n d itio n for th e exercise o f specific kinds
o f legal pow er— w hether they are claim ed by governm ent o r by citizens.
A lthough officials and p o litic ia n s may lie a n d deceive, th e sta te ’s
abstract c h a ra c te r hides n o th in g . It is not an illusion.
This m ay seem all very theoretical, b u t p a rt o f the p o in t I w ant to
m ake is that abstraction is a necessary featu re o f both the state an d the
citizen p recisely because th e y are co n cep ts in m o d e rn p o litical dis­
course. A bstractions are inevitably used in everyday discourse, an d they
inform everyday practices. W h en we abstract a term from o n e context
a n d em ploy it in an o th er, w e tre a t so m e th in g in the two co n tex ts as
equivalent. H isto rian o f statistics Alain D esrosieres puts it thus: “T he
only way o f u n d e rsta n d in g th e recu rren t o p p o sitio n in politics, in his­
tory and in science betw een o n th e one h a n d contingency, singularity
a n d circum stance an d on th e o th e r hand generality, law, regularity and
constancy is to ask: ‘for w hat p u rp o se?’ T h e question is n o t: ‘A re these
objects really equivalent?’ b u t: ‘W ho decides to treat them as equivalent
an d to what e n d ? ’” (1990:200—201). T he id ea o f abstraction is necessary
to th e n o tio n o f eq u iv alen ce, an d bo th a re in teg ral to th e m o d e rn
liberal state.
Thus, political theorists o ften claim th a t th e liberal state is req u ired
to treat all citizen s with e q u a l concern a n d respect. F or ex am p le, Ira
K atznelson arg u es th at “w hat is distinctive to liberalism , as co m p ared to
o th e r political theories, is th e type of eq u ality it values: ‘th e req u ire­
m e n t th at th e g o v e rn m e n t tre a t all th o se in its c h a rg e as equals’
(Dworkin 1978:125), that is, w ith equal c o n c e rn and respect. T h e issue
o f w ho gets in c lu d e d ‘in its c h a rg e ’ may be co n tested b u t n o t th e stand­
in g o f liberal citizens” (K atznelson 1994:622). B ut the p rin cip le o f legal
equality d o e s n ’t d e p e n d o n attitu d es o f “c o n c e rn an d re sp e c t.” Nor,
conversely, d o es th e expression o f concern a n d respect p resu p p o se the
principle o f legal equality. O n th e contrary, th e strict ap p licatio n o f the
principle re q u ire s th at citizens be treated w ith absolute indifference. For

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 W h e r e A re the M argins of t h e State?

o n ly in d iffe re n c e en ab les citizens to be c o u n te d as equivalents. Yet,

w hen individuals are treated as really equivalent, a b u reau crat m ay ju d g e
th em as he pleases. Ip o th e r w ords, w hen faced w ith substitutables from
a m o n g w hom h e has to choose, his choice is by defin itio n com pletely
fre e an d th e re fo re u n certain . H e m ay ten d to ch o o se a w hite o ver a
black in the U n ited States, a M uslim over a C opt in Egypt, a je w over an
A rab in Israel— so lo n g as, in each case and on every occasion, th e p air
are rep resen tab le as “equal” .in th e sense of b e in g the same. O nly a tally
o f th e choices reveals th e stru ctu re o f bias in th e statistical sense against
a political category th a t is taken by critics to be different. (For exam ple,
o f im m igrants applying for F ren ch citizenship in 1997, 35 to 50 p e rc e n t
o f A fricans did n o t qualify, co m p a re d w ith 20 p e rc e n t o f N orth A fricans
a n d 8 p e rc e n t o f so u th e rn E u ro p e a n s.)2 T he u n certain ty o f ch o ice is
ex p ressib le in p ro b ab ilities, b u t ev en th e statistical stru c tu re o f bias
does n o t prove th a t a biased decisio n was m ade in a p articu lar case. To
d e te rm in e that probability, a p ro file o f decisions m u st be co n stru cted
fo r each b u reau crat.
If it is the case th a t people in society are n ev er h o m o g en eo u s, th at
th ey are always c o n stitu te d by d iffe re n t m em o ries, fears, an d h o p es,
th a t they have d ifferen t histories a n d live in d iffe re n t social-econom ic
c o n d itio n s, th e n th e official w ho chooses o r ju d g e s m ay b e h e ld
acco u n tab le fo r w ho, how, an d why h e categorizes. B ut the act o f cate­
g o rizin g always involves ab stractio n from one c o n te x t an d its ap p lica­
tio n to a n o th e r co n tex t— an d it is always, in a sense, uncertain.
Equality, generality, and ab stractio n thus rest o n uncertainty. T hey
d efin e the m argins o f th e state, w h ere im m igrants abstract them selves
fro m o n e “n a tio n a l body” an d seek to e n te r a n o th e r, w here th ey are
aliens an d w here they c o n fro n t officials who apply th e law.
L et us take F rance, with its in ten se political d em an d s to reject ele­
m e n ts o f “fo re ig n n e ss” from th e n a tio n a l body. T h e suspicion th ese
d em an d s en co u rag e am ong officials an d the pow ers given to th e m to
p u rs u e th e ir su sp icio n w h en ev er it is a ro u sed m ak e fo r u n c e rta in ty
a b o u t w ho can be a national. H ere is a case re p o rte d in a recen t article:
Jacques R was annoyed back in 1995 when he left his identity
card in a ja c k e t th at he h ad sen t to the cleaners, but he
wasn’t w orried; h e thought th at he could pick u p a duplicate

283
T alal A s ad

card from police headquarters. To his surprise, the clerks

asked him to prove that he was F rench, so the next day he
retu rn ed with a pile o f papers, and was even m ore surprised
w hen they were im m ediately confiscated. H e lost his tem per,
asked w hether they thought he was a forger and told them
again that he needed his ID card urgently. They assured him
he would get it soon. T hree m onths later, on Christmas Eve,
he got a sum m ons from the state prosecutor, w hich
explained that in 1953 his father h ad been awarded F rench
citizenship by m istake (Jacques had b een born in 1954). As
his father now counted as a foreigner an d asjacques h ad not
applied for French nationality before the age of 18, he was
n o t French either, and proceedings w ere u n d er way to con­
firm this. T he court later radfied th e prosecutor’s decision.
Jacques was not French. He could n o t understand. H e had
always lived in France; he had studied there, had d o n e his
m ilitary service, m arried a Frenchw om an, and ran a shop.
H e h ad never b een in trouble w ith the police, an d had
already renew ed his ID successfully. Fortunately he was able
to prove that he h ad lived in France fo r m ore than 10 years,
an d th at the au th o rities had always considered him to be
F ren ch , so he was en titled to rig h t o f abode at least. Two
years later, the court accepted his plea and, at the age o f 43,
he at last becam e French. But his children, with their “for­
eign” father, lost th eir French nationality, and the family had
to initiate legal proceedings to establish that the ch ild ren
too were entitled to right of abode. (M aschino 2002)
N o o n e, th e w riter goes o n , can now be su re o f avoiding this treatm ent.
T h e n a tio n a lity law in France is n o t co m p licated . A p e rso n is
F rench if a t least o ne p a re n t is French. C h ild re n b o m in F ran ce o f for­
eign p a re n ts can o p t to b e French at th e age o f eighteen. P eo p le may
also b eco m e F rench by naturalization. H ow ever, because on ly official
d o cu m en ts can confirm th e required facts n eed ed to a c q u ire F rench
n atio n ality , th e possibility always exists th a t they are fo rg e d . So in
re c e n t years, officials h av e b een told to follow th e ru les carefully to
lessen th e lik elih o o d th a t im m igrants will be able to c irc u m v e n t the

284
 W h e r e A re the Margins of t h e State?

law. U n d e r these ru le s, th e ap p lican t m ust p ro d u ce his o r h er ow n b irth

certificate and o n e fo r each p a re n t an d g ra n d p a re n t. H e or sh e m ust
also su b m it a liirret defam ille (an official d o cu m en t reco rd in g b irth s and
d e a th s in each fam ily), as well as Hirrets o f p aren ts, in-laws, an d g ra n d ­
p a re n ts, an d m arriage certificates fo r everyone. Finally, applicants m ust
p ro d u c e personal m ilitary service reco rd s an d w o rk testim onials. All
th ese docum ents a re essential b efo re a certificate o f nationality can be
issu ed . T h e p rin te d in stru ctio n s th a t e n u m e ra te th ese re q u ire m e n ts
w arn applicants th a t this is “a provisional list, to w hich o th er item s m ay
b e a d d e d following a n initial review o f the ap p licatio n .”
N ow th ere is n o th in g arbitrary a b o u t any o f this. T h e ru le s (an
ab stractio n ) are b e in g strictly follow ed. Officials use th e nationality law
to d e fe n d the idea o f “being F re n c h .” At stake a re th e co n d itio n s nec­
essary fo r th e ap p licatio n o f the law. T h e m ost im p o rta n t of these is the
e lim in a tio n of any suspicio n of a m aterial irreg u larity in an a p p lic a n t’s
case. T h is calls fo r c a re fu l p ro b in g , th e asking o f p erso n al q u e stio n s
th a t m an y people fin d offensive (W h at kind o f fo o d d o you n o rm ally
e a t [o r language d o you n o rm ally speak] a t h o m e ? W ho a re y o u r
frien d s? W hy do you w ear that h ead scarf?).3 P a rtic u la r officials use p ar­
tic u la r w ords in p a rtic u la r places in o bedience to th e rules a n d to th e
s ta te ’s law (an ab stractio n ).
Suspicion (like d o u b t) occupies th e space b etw een the law a n d its
ap p licatio n . In th at sense, all ju d ic ia l an d policing systems o f th e m o d ­
e rn sta te p re su p p o se o rg an ized su sp icio n , in c o rp o ra te m a rg in s o f
u n certain ty . Suspicion is like an an im al, “aro u sed ” in the subject, it cov­
ers a n o b ject (a re p re s e n ta tio n o r p erso n ) th a t com es “u n d e r ” it.
S u sp icio n seeks to p e n e tra te a m ask to the u n p le a sa n t reality b e h in d it:
th e u n a u th o riz e d c re a tio n o f a n a u th o riz in g d o c u m e n t, a h id d e n
m o tiv e to com m it a crim e, a la te n t disease, a te rro ris t in d isg u ise.
S u sp icio n initiates a n d is an in te g ra l p a rt o f an investigation, a n d th e
investigation ends w h e n suspicion is p u t to rest— w h en a “re a so n a b le ”
p e rso n com es to a co nclusion, o n e way o r the o th e r, on p ro b ab le evi­
d e n c e . Suspicion o p p o ses and u n d e rm in e s trust (K han 2002).
It is w orth re m e m b e rin g th a t th e origins o f th e m o d ern (secular)
sta te a re connected to th e co n cern fo r ag reem en t am o n g “reaso n ab le”
m e n a n d thus to th e c reatio n o f a m arg in to w h ic h “re lig io n ” (an d
o th e r form s of u n c e rta in belief) p ro p erly b elo n g ed .

285
T a l a l A sad

T h e tru th s o f religion an d m orality, so it w as a rg u e d in th e six­

te e n th and sev en teen th centuries, co u ld n o t be know n for certain . T his
position was n o t confined to religious skeptics. Even religious believers
like Locke co u ld p o in t to an im p o rtan t fact: th a t political conflicts over
religious d o ctrin es appeared to b e incapable o f final solution by ratio ­
n al m eans, w h e re a s everyone c o u ld ag ree th a t su ch things as social
u n re st and political persecution w ere sources o f h a rm to life, lim b, and
p ro p erty in this w orld. In delim iting the realm o f legitim ate politics—
so Locke an d o th e rs reasoned— let us th erefo re a tte n d to the h arm s o f
this w orld a b o u t w hich we can all be certain, ra th e r th an the h arm s o f
th e n ex t w orld, o n which we shall never ag ree.4 T h e plausibility o f this
a rg u m e n t was im p o rta n t in facilitatin g th e su b o rd in a tio n o f the
relig io u s d o m a in to the practical a n d id eo lo g ical pow er o f th e early
m o d e rn state.
By the tw en tieth century, how ever, it becam e increasingly evident
th a t the truths n o t m erely of the h ereafter b u t also o f this w orld are n o t
know able w ith certainty. Society, in p articu lar, is in creasin g ly c o n ­
stru cted , a p p re h e n d e d , and re p re se n te d by statistical probability. Yet,
this has n o t resu lted in argum ents for excluding social and psychologi­
cal facts from th e realm of legitim ate politics o r th e adm inistrative activ­
ity o f the state. O n th e contrary, w hat we find is increasingly w idespread
arg u m en t over how knowledge o f a com m only sh a re d social w orld is to
b e politically in terp reted , and th erefo re how aspects o f th at w orld are
to b e d efen d ed o r changed. T h e fact th at th ese arg u m en ts—ju s t like
sev en teen th -cen tu ry theological arg u m en ts— seem to be in cap ab le o f
b ein g rationally concluded is r o lo n g er reg ard ed as a good reaso n for
d eclarin g th e m "outside politics.” In m o d ern lib eral societies, public
arg u m en ts over th e economy, racial d iscrim in atio n , m ulticulturalism ,
m edical ethics, pornography, g e n d e r identity, religious ed u catio n , and
a h o st o f o th e r questions are n o t only endless, they are each c a rrie d o u t
th ro u g h statistical discourses in w hich figures a n d th eir m ean in g s are
p re se n te d a n d co n tested and po licies fo rm ed . C ertainty gives way to
co n testab le estim ates of probability. D oes th e m arg in th e re fo re now
pervade the e n u re state?
This w o n d erfu l collection o f articles sensitizes us to such questions.
By analyzing in different ways th e m argins o f th e m o d ern state w here
u n certain ty o b tain s, they m ake us aw are th at "th e m o d ern sta te ” does

286
 W h e r e A re the M argins of the State?

not always possess the firm ness th at m any co m m en tato rs assum e to be

essential to it. V eena Das, in h e r brilliant co n trib u tio n , alerts us to the
u n certain ty o f legal rules: D oes a w ritten ru le apply in a p articu lar case,
an d if so, how should it b e ap p lied to practice? Does th e ru le conflict
with o th e r rules, and if so, how can they be reconciled? W h ere does th e
au th o rity o f laws lie? T h e answ ers to such questions, to th e doubts g en­
erated by th em , m ust be given authoritatively— th at is to say, from beyond
the written rules. It is this alien authority an d n o t the w ritten rule itself
th at co n stitu tes the law o f th e state. T h e au th o rity o f th e law seeks to
m ake th in g s definite vnihin th e continuous flow o f u n certain ty by im pos­
ing itself fro m outside, as F reu d w ould say. In liberal dem ocracies, the
theory is th a t citizens m ake th e law their ow n by collectively willing it.
B ut authority is always p rio r to acts o f sub m issio n , w h e th e r they are
co erced o r co n sen ted to. T h e force o f the law th erefo re derives from
beyond th e general will o f citizens.
D as’s sensitive discussion o f the illegibility o f legal ru les seem s to
get to th e h e a rt o f the q u e sd o n o f how we can best conceive o f the m ar­
gins o f th e state. H er answ er, in effect, is this: In o rd e r to identify the
m argins o f the state, we m u st tu rn to the pervasive u n certain ty o f the
law everywhere an d to th e a rb itra rin ess o f th e a u th o rity th a t seeks to
m ake law certain.
T h is b rin g s m e to m y Final co m m en t. As a m o d e o f ad d ressin g
social u n c e rta in tie s, statistical arg u m en ts are now w idely used in
ad m in istratio n , legislation, a n d the judiciary. T h e language o f statistics
has b e c o m e integral to th e m o d e rn m ode o f g o v ern m en t, w hich has
learn ed to thrive on p ro b ab ilities and risks— th at is to say, on m arginal
spaces. T h a t is why— as D as has argued— th e entirety o f th e state is a
m argin. O r rath er, th e so v ereig n force o f th e law is ex p ressed in th e
state’s c o n tin u a l attem pts to overcom e the m argin.

N otes
1. T h e com m ents th at follow rely on Q uentin Skinner (1978).
2. See M aschino (2002). T h e m inistry subsequently stopped m entioning the
country o f origin o f unsuccessful applicants.
3. “It is n o t unusual for clerks to ask personal questions d esigned to detect
‘fo reig n ness.’ A barrister o f N o rth African origin was asked how m any tim es she
ate couscous, w hether she o ften visited M orocco, w hat nationality h e r friends

287
T a l al A s ad

were and w hich new spapers she read. A Tunisian was asked why h e h ad twice
m ade the pilgrim age to Mecca. A Serbian academ ic, w hose children w ere
preparing fo r the entrance exam for F rance’s top teach er training college, was
asked w hich language she spoke at hom e. Clerks even query levels o f education.
Small details influ en ce the decision and an ap p licatio n may be a d jo u rn e d because
the p erson is too openly foreign (that headscarf), has family ties o u tsid e France,
o r seem s ‘fu n d am en talist’” (M aschino 2002).
4. I draw this interpretation o f Locke's views o n toleration fro m A shcraft
(1992), D u n n (1984), M endus (1989), and M cC lure (1990).

288
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3 20
Index
A bstraction, and concept of state, 29—30,
281-83
Africa: and “econom ic of legitimacy
crises,” 208; and political theory of
the state, 81—83, 193; privatization
and state sovereignty in, 92—93;
refugees and passage across borders,
109-10; state consolidation and
reconfigurations o f power in, 221;
and use of term witchcraft, 162n6.
See also Cam eroon; Chad; Sierra
Leone; South Africa
Agamben, Giorgio, 11-13, 15, 25, 30, 178,
190n3, 256, 257, 273
AIDS: and hijra identification in India,
190n4; and w itchcraft in post­
apartheid South Africa, 141-61
Algeria, and regional networks of wealth
and power, 221
Alvarado, Velasco, 44, 51
American University of Cairo (AUC), 96,
107, 108
ANC (African N ational Congress), 144,
145, 146-47, 158
ancestors, and belief systems in South
Africa, 155-56
Angel-Ajani, Asale, 271, 272
Angola, and inform al economy of border
regions, 223n2
anthropology: history of concept o f state,
4-5, 8, 31 n3; and recent literature on
law, m argins, and exception, 11 —19;
rethinking o f state from perspective
of m argins, 4—11, 19-30; and violence
as object, 69-70. See also ethnogra­
phy; m argins; state
apartheid, in South Africa, 145—46
Arendt, H annah, 190n3, 270
Asad, Talal, 29-30'
Ashforth, A dam , 21-22, 24-25, 27, 123,
130, 245
Austin, Jo hn L., 244—45
authority: an d judicial system in m argins
of Peruvian state, 43, 63n4; and state
power in C had Basin, 194-222; state
and figures of local, 14—15. See also
power; sovereignty
autonomy: and indigenous peoples in
Guatemala, 136; and local judges in
Perm ian legal s)*stem, 42
321
I ndex
al-Azhar University (Egypt), 95, 101,
115n4
B aldw in, Peter, 26
Balibar, Etienne, 78, 79, 80n6, 189n2
Banco M etropolitano (Guatemala), 134
Basadre, Jorge, 61
Bataille, Georges, 31 n3
Bayart, Jean-Fran^ois, 224nl4
Benjam in, Walter, 11, 12. 2-25, 244, 256,
257
Bentham , Jeremy, 62nl
Bhabha, Homi, 122
Bhengu, Ruth, 162n5
bioavailability, and organ transplantation
in India, 168—72, 179
biopolitics: and bioavailabilitv at margins
of state in India, 172; concept of in
anthropological discussions ofjState
and margins, 10; and ethnographic
literature on state and margins,
25—30; and m anagem ent of popula­
tions and territory in Sierra Leone.
81-114
Biya, Paul, 203,J224nl3
body: concept of m argins and production
of biopolitical, 10; and legal concept
of habeas corpus, 12; and m anage­
m ent of life as object of politics,
28—29; and politics in postwar
Guatemala, 137—38
borders: and biopolitical m anagem ent of
populations in Sierra Leone, 81-114;
exclusion and docum entary practices
of state, 17-18; an d relationship of
checkpoints to state in Sri Lanka, 75
British Nationality Act (1948), 103—106,
112
C am ero n , Edwin, I62n5
Cam eroon: and carnival as m etaphor for
postcolonial state, 188; and reconsti­
tution of state pow er in Chad Basin,
191-222
Canada, and Peace Com m unities in
Colombia, 268
carnivals: in Guatemala, 122, 124—25, 138;
and postcolonial state in Cam eroon,
188. See also sideshow
Carrel, Alexis, 168
Castario,' Carlos, 262
322
Catholic Church, and displaced com m u­
nities in Colombia, 258, 262
Cavell, Stanley, 32-33n8
Central African Republic, and inform al
economy of Chad Basin, 213, 218—19
Centro de Conciliacion (APENAC),
55-56
Chad: informal economy and reconstitu­
tion of state power on margins of,
20-21, 191-222; refugees and border
crossing between Sudan and, 102
checkpoints: and border crossings in
Africa, 110; and boundaries of state
in Sri Lanka, 67—79; and military vio­
lence in Colombia, 254—55, 257—58,
261-63, 272, 277nl0
China, and im m igrants to U.S., 249—50
citizenship: and A gam ben’s theory of sov­
ereignty', 12—13; displacem ent and
state sovereignty at margins in
Colombia, 253—76; and informal
economy of Chad Basin, 204—205,
206: and margins of state in Sierra
Leone, 81 —114. See also exclusion/
inclusion; populations
class, and citizenship in Sierra Leone, 108
Clastres, Pierre, 5, 31 n3
Clinton, Bill, 183
Cohen, Lawrence, 18, 24, 27, 28-29
Cojti Cuxil, Dem etrio, 120
Colombia: citizenship and state sovereign­
ty at (margins of, 14, 18, 21, 27,
253-76; and regional networks of
wealth and power, 221
colonialism: and arbitrariness of law in
Sierra Leone, 83—86; and form ation
of Peruvian state, 39—40, 63n5—6; his­
torical legacy of in African politics,
81; and im m igration policy in U.K.,
105; and rethinking of concept of
state in anthropology, 6. See also post­
colonialism
Comaroff, Jo h n L., 86
Commonwealth Im migrants Act (U.K.),
104-105
com m unication: rum or as subaltern form
of, 24—2,5; writing and theory of,
226-27
community: and concepts of equality and
sovereignty, 78; and illegibility of state
in India, 230—31; and judicial system

in Peru, 57—59, 64nl 1; role of women
in Peruvian, 64nl2; and social impact
of AIDS in South Africa, 153, 157,
158-60, 161
Conciliation Centers (P eru), 53
constitution, of Peru, 40-41
COP-MAGUA (Guatem ala), 132-33
Coronil, Fernando, 226
corruption: and privatization of power in
Peru, 62nl; and rethinking of politi­
cal theory of state in Africa, 81
Costa Rica, and Mayan rights movement,
132
Cover, Robert, 50
creativity, margins as spaces of, 19-25,
33 nl0
culture: and cultural defense arguments
in U.S. courts, 249-50, 252n9; and
cultural-rights m ovem ent of Maya in
G uatem ala, 125, 133—34
D as, Veena, 14-15, 23, 24, 27, 126, 279,
287
De Alwis, Malathi, 80n3
death, and social impact of AIDS in
South Africa, 152—56. See also mor­
tality rates
de Bocck, Filip, 223n2
Deleuze, Giles, 31n3, 82, 89, 100, 113,
115n2
democracy: and AIDS epidem ic in South
Africa, 157—61; regulatory authority
of state and economy o f Chad Basin,
200. See also politics
Derrida, Jacques, 226-27, 257
Desrosieres, Alain, 282
developm ent, and m odernization in
India, 166
Devi, Asha, 187
Dhareshwar, Vivek, 80n5
discourses, and use of term state, 280
divorce agreem ents, in India, 227—28,
229-30
Doctors without Borders, 262
docum entary practices: and illegibility of
state in India, 245; an d immigration
policy in U.K., 103-106, 112; and
im m igration policy in U.S., 100-102,
115n5; and international traffic in
visas and passports, 99, 109, 115nfi;
and justice on margins of Peruvian
I ndex
state, 35-36, 38, 59-62, 62-63n2,
63-64n8; national identity and theo­
ries of sovereignty, 15—19, 32—33n8,
284—85; and state control of popula­
tions and territories, 111; and tax
receipts in Sierra Leone, 94. See also
citizenship; exclusion/inclusion;
immigration; national identity
dom estic violence, and judicial system in
Peru, 55, 64nl0
drift, and image of Peruvian state, 42, 48,
60, 62-63n2
Dumezil, Georges, 32n6
duplicity and duping, and state in post­
war Guatemala, 117—39
E conom ics and econom y: and indige­
nous peoples in G uatem ala, 127-28:
margins and conceptual boundaries
of, 20—21; and organ transplant scan­
dal in India, 181—82; and Peace
Communities in Colombia, 260; and
social impact of AIDS in South .Africa.
153-154; state pow er in Chad Basin
and informal, 192—93, 195-211; and
structural adjustm ent in Sierra
Leone, 93-94. See also labor; privati­
zation; taxation
Ecuador, and param ilitaries, 277n4
Egypt, and refugees or migrants from
Sierra Leone, 95—96, 101, 103,
106-107, 112, 114, 115n4
encomienda» and colonialism in Peru,
39-40
engano, and the state in Guatemala, 117,
118, 129-31
England. See United Kingdom
epidem ics, literature o n state formation
and, 26-27. See also AIDS; public
health
equality: of citizens in liberal theory, 30,
282-83; and concepts of citizenship
and sovereignty, 78
essentialism, and social/cultural identity
in Sri Lanka, 77
ethics, bioavailability an d organ trans­
plantation in India, 176
ethnography: and im ages of duplicity in
postwar Guatemala, 121; impact of
war and violence on conduct of work
in, 11; and problem of origin of law,
323
 I ndex
of state and margins, 8; and illegibili­
ty of state in India, 231-39; lived
experience on margins and co ncept
of, 22-23; and recent anthropological
work on m argins and exception,
11-19, 3 3 n ll; and spatial language of
sovereignty in Peru, 41-42; an d tradi­
tional forms o f punishm ent in Peru,
63n3; and w itchcraft in South Africa,
159-60. See also justice
legibility/illegibility: checkpoints and
identity cards in Sri Lanka, 75; and
concept of m argins and the state,
9-10, 279, 287; displaced com m uni­
ties and Colom bian state, 265—69;
and docum entary practices o f state,
16—19, 24; an d frontier justice, 65nl4;
and geographic borders of Sierra
Leone, 87—88; and violence o n m ar­
gins of state in India, 225—51
legitimacy, and illegibility of state in
India, 244-45
liberal theory an d liberalism: equality' and
substitutability' of citizens in, 30,
282-83; and point of origin o f state,
50; transcendent character of state
and m onopoly over violence, 32n6.
See also neoliberalism
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE),
67
Liberia: and civil war, 81-82, 89, 1 15n2;
and refugees on territorial borders,
91
life expectancy, an d AIDS epidem ic in
South Africa, 144
Lock, Margaret, 168
Locke, John, 8, 286, 288n4
Lomnitz, Claudio, 62nl
M agic, and illegibility' of state in India,
226. See also witchcraft
M aine, Henry Sum m er, 5
Malkki, Liisa, 91
M aindani, M ahm ood, 114
maps of anticipation, and checkpoints in
Sri Lanka, 17, 68, 72, 79
margins: abstraction and concept o f state
in contem porary thought, 29—30,
281-83; and recent anthropological
work on law and exception, 11—19;
and recent anthropological work on
326
reconfiguration of state, 19-25;
recent ethnographic literature on
biopolitics of state and, 25-29; School
of Am erican Research advanced
sem inar on state and, 3—11; social
uncertainties of and view of state,
279—87. See also anthropology; Chad;
Colom bia; ethnography; exclusion/
inclusion; Guatemala; India; per­
iphery'; Peru; Sierra Leone; South
Africa; Sri Lanka
Marriott, McKim, 179
Martin, Emily, 118, 139
Marx, Karl, 80n5, 137, 281-82
Mausi, Shabnam , 187, 189
Mayans, an d image of duplicity' in postwar
G uatem alan state, 117—39
Mbeki, T habo, 145, 161n4
Mbembe, Achille, 85-86, 92, 97, 113, 188,
220
mediation: and judicial reform s in Peru,
56; an d witchcraft accusations in
South .Africa, 159
medicine: and AIDS epidemic in South
Africa, 150-52; and organ transplan­
tation in India, 165-89. See also epi­
demics; public health; traditional
healers
Mejia, Anastasia, 132-33
Messick, Brinkley, 227
Mexico, an d migration process in
G uatem ala, 134—35
military: an d regulator)' authority in Chad
Basin, 196, 212-13, 214, 216—17; and
states o f emergency in m argins of
Peru, 56—57; violence and displaced
com m unities in Colombia, 255—76
Misra, Kavita, 246
Mitchell, Timothy, 82, 85, 113
mobility: an d border-making practices of
state, 17—18; and duplicity in postwar
G uatem ala, 136—37, 139. See also
im m igration; refugees
modernity and m odernization: biopolitics
and m anagem ent of populations, 27;
and checkpoints in Sri Lanka, 74; and
judicial reform s in Peru, 52—55;
planned developm ent and popula­
tion control in India, 166
Monga, Celestine, 31nl
M ontesquieu, Charles-Louis, 5

M oreno, Leonides, 258, 274
m ortality rates, and AJElS epidemic in
South Africa, 143—44. See also death
Mouvement pour le Developpement (C had),
212
M ukheijee, Sutapa, 187
Musa, Solomon, 99—100, 109, 115n6
Mutwa, Credo, 163n9
N A FTA (North .American Free Trade
A greem ent), 136
N aidu, N. Chandrababu, 183, 188—89
N ational AIDS Co-O rdinating Committee
of South Africa (NACOSA), 144
N ational Coordination of Opposition
Parties and Associations, 197-98
N ational Emergency (India, 1975),
238-44
national identity: and checkpoints in Sri
i,
Lanka, 67-79; an d docum entary prac­
tices of state, 24, 32—33n8; and eth­
nicity in Guatemala, 127; indigenous
peoples and inclusion of marginal
populations in, 9; an d politics in
France, 283-85, 288n3; and refugees
from Sierra Leone, 89-90; and theo­
ries of sovereignty, 15—19
nature, and concepts o f state and mar­
gins, 8
N dungane, N jongonkulu, 146
Negri, Antonio, 256, 269
Nelson, Diane M., 22, 23—24
neoliberalism , and judicial reforms in
Peru, 52, 54
NEPAD (New Partnership for African
Developm ent), 93
N etherlands, and Peace Communities in
Colombia, 275
nexus, and social theory in India, 179-80,
181
NGOs (non-governm ental organizations):
an d civil war in Sierra Leone, 92, 96;
and displaced com m unities in
Colombia, 254, 258, 259, 265, 268, 275
Nigeria: and reconstitution of state power
in Chad Basin, 191—222; and refugees
from Sierra Leone, 106
Nucleos Rurales de Administracion de
Jnsticia (NURAJ), 57-59, 64nl2
O glesby, Liz, 134
I ndex
operability, and organ transplantation in
India, 168—72, 176—77
Operacion Lim pieza (O peration Social
Cleansing), 263-64
O peration Villes Mortes campaign
(C am eroon), 197-98, 203
order, and rethinking of state in ethnog­
raphy from perspective of m argins,
5-8
organ transplantation, and m argins of
state in India, 165—84, 189
ORPA (Revolutionary Organization of
the People in Arms), 132
Oxfam, 262
Pan-Africanist Congress, 146
paramilitary. See FARC; military; Shining
Path
passenger registries. See docum entary
practices
passports. See docum entary practices
PCP-SL (PCP-Sendero Lum inoso), 39, 57,
63n3, 64nl 1
Peace Accord on Indigenous Identity'
(1996), 133
Peace Brigades International, 259, 268
Peace Com m unities (Colombia), 257—76
Peoples. Dong H u Chen (U.S.), 249—50
periphery: idea o f margins as, 9; imagina­
tion of sovereignty and relative posi­
tions of center and, 29-30. See also
margins
Peru: local and state authority in adminis­
tration o f justice, 14, 18, 22, 35—62;
and regional networks of wealth and
power, 221
Pideu, K., 217
pluralization, and regulatory authority in
Chad Basin, 211—22
politics: and AIDS as witchcraft in South
Africa, 143; checkpoints and identity
cards in Sri Lanka, 76, 79; and hijra
operation in India, 184—89; and
hum an-rights violations in Colombia,
264—65, 270; m anagem ent of life as
object of, 28-29; and m argins as
space of creativity, 21; Mayan move­
ment in Guatem ala and transnational
indigenous-rights activism, 126; and
national identity in France, 283—85,
288n3; and organ transplantation in
3 27
I ndex
India, 178. See also biopolitics;
democracy
Poole, D eborah, 16-17, 18, 22, 24, 123,
126, 137, 245, 259, 279
Popular Feminine O rganization (OFP),
2 5 4 ,277n2
populations: biopolitical m anagem ent of
in Sierra Leone, 81 —114; and surgical
operations in India, 165—89. See also
citizenship; family planning; life
expectancy; mortality rates
postcolonialism: and rethinking of concept religion, and political conflicts over truth,
of state in-anthropology, 6; and state in
Cameroon, 207; and state in Sierra
Leone, 86, 89. See also colonialism
power: borders and biopolitical regimes,
89; and colonialism in Sierra Leone,
85—86; and concepts of state and m ar­ rivers, control of in Colombia, 260—61,
gins in ethnography, 9; and
Foucault’s theory of biopower, 26, 27; Roitman, Janet, 14, 20-21, 259
judicial system of Peru and personal­
ized forms of local, 43-46, 50-51,
6 2 n l, 63n6; and postcolonial state in
Sierra Leone, 86; of traditional heal­
ers in South Africa, 150-51; and
witchcraft paradigm in South Africa,
161. See also authority; sovereignty
PPPs (public-private partnerships), 93.
See also privatization
prim itive, and history of concept of state
in anthropology, 4—5
privatization:and inform al economy of
C had Basin, 196; and power of state
in Peru, 62nl; and state sovereignty
in Africa, 92-93
public health: and AIDS epidem ic in
South Africa, 142, 143—47; and con­
cept of panic in India, 245—47. See
also epidemics; m edicine
R a c e , and immigration policy in U.K.,
104,112
RadclifFe-Richards, Janet, 175
Ralushai Commission (South Africa), 160 Shining Path (P eru), 39, 57, 63n3, 6 4 n ll
Ram, Kalpana, 171
R am achandran, M. G., 183
rationality, and illegibility of state in
India, 245-49, 251
Red Cross, 101, 262
Red de Solidaridad Social (Social
Solidarity Network), 259, 268
328
Reddy, Sita, 252n9
.reform s, of judicial system in Peru, 51—55,
63-64n8-10
refugees: and citizenship in Colom bia,
253—76; an d citizenship in Sierra
Leone, 94—114; civil war and violence
in Sierra Leone, 91-92, 93; and terri­
torial borders in contem porary politi­
cal debates, 90-91
Registration of Persons Act (Sri Lanka),
73-74
286. See also Catholic Church
Reno, William, 81—82, 102
Rigoberta M enchu Foundation, 132
Rios Montt, Efrafn, 129, 131
Rithambara, Sadhvi, 184
265, 269
Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 8
rumor: and public health policy in India,
246-47; as subaltern form -of com m u­
nication, 24—25
Russia, and regional networks of wealth
and power, 221
Sanford, Victoria, 18, 21, 27
Sarafina JJ (anti-AIDS musical), 144,
161n2—3
Saudi Arabia, an d migrants from Sierra
Leone, 95, 107
Scheper-Hughes, Nancy, 167, 169, 189nl
Schmitt, Carl, 11, 12, 87—88, 112
School of A m erican Research, and semi­
nar on state and margins, 3—11
Scott, David, 80n4
Scott, James, 20, 126
Sekhar, Saye, 180—81, 182
Shabalala, T hom as, 147
shadow states, o f Africa, 81-82, 86. See
also state effect
Sharma, Rakesh, 186
sideshow, as m etaphor for state in
Guatemala, 118, 123-25, 135, 138.
See also carnivals
Sierra Leone, citizenship and m argins of
state, 16, 81-114
signature, and illegibility of state in India,
226-27, 244-45, 250-51

slavery, and British colonialism in Sierra
Leone, 84
Sm ith, Carol, 127
social cleansing, and hum an-rights viola­
tions in Colombia, 263—65
South Africa, AIDS epidem ic and suspi­
cions of witchcraft in post-apartheid,
21-22, 24-25, 27, 141-61
sovereignty: displaced populations and
m argins of state in Colombia, 253—76;
and equality of citizens, 78; figure of
Homo sacer in A gam ben’s theory of,
111—13; and Foucault’s theory of
biopower, 26; im agination of and rel­
ative position of center and periph­
ery, 29-30; and judicial system in
Peru, 41; language of popular in
Peruvian constitution, 40—41; nation­
al identity and theories of, 15—19; and
relationship between Peruvian state
and margins, 51; and suspension of
law, 87-88. See also power; state
space and spatial models: biopolitical
body and concept of margins, 10; and
concepts of state and margins, 33nI0;
language and concept of territorial
m argin, 37-38, 41
Spain: and colonial history of Peru,
39—40; and Peace Com m unities in
Colombia, 275
Srikrishna Commission (India), 247—48
Sri Lanka, checkpoints and political iden­
tity in, 17, 67—79
state: abstraction and concept of in con­
tem porary thought, 29—30, 281—83;
and recent anthropological work on
law, margins, and exception, 11—19;
recent anthropological literature on
reconfiguration of at margins, 19-25;
an d recent ethnographical literature
on biopolitics and margins, 25—30;
School of American Research
advanced seminar on margins and,
3—11; and social uncertainties of mar­
gins, 279-87. See also anthropology;
Chad; Colombia; democracy; ethnog­
raphy; Guatemala; India; legibility/
illegibility; politics; Peru; shadow
states; Sierra Leone; South Africa;
sovereignty; Sri Lanka; state effect
state effect: and citizenship in Sierra
I ndex
Leone, 82, 86, 110, 111-14; and
indigenous peoples of Guatemala,
123-24, 125-26. See also state
stereotypes, of indigenous peoples in
Guatemala, 122, 124, 127-
sterilization, and population control in
India, 167. See also family planning
stigma, of AJDS in South Africa, 155,
156-57
Strathern, Marilyn, 14
Structural A djustm ent Programs (SAPs),
93-94
subaltern theory: and Peace Com m unities
in Colombia, 266—67, 269; and
rethinking of concept of state in
anthropology, 6; and rum or as form
of com m unication, 24-25
subjection and subjectivity: and citizen­
ship in Sierra Leone, 114; and check­
points in Sri Lanka, 75, 78—79
Sudan, and m igrant labor, 102-103
Sweden, and Peace Communities in
Colombia, 275
T anzania, and refugees, 91
Tarlo, Emma, 239-41, 251
Taussig, Michael, 32n6, 227
taxation: and concept of price, 223n6;
and docum entary practices in Sierra
Leone, 94, I15n3; and informal econ­
omy of C had Basin, 202—11
tem porary protected status (TPS), 98—99,
100, 111, 115n5
Thackeray, Bal, 184, 187
thanatopolitics, and biopolitics, 25
T heidon, Kimberly, 271
Tiruchelvam, N eelan, 68
Tiwari, M adhu, 186—87
Toledo, Alejandro, 52
traditional healers, and AIDS in South
Africa, 149-52, 153, 154, 157, 158,
162n9
Transplantation of H um an Organs Act of
1994 (India), 173, 178
truth: Colombian state and production
of, 273—74; political conflicts and con­
cept of certainty, 286
Tsing, Anna, 32n5, 33nl0
tuberculosis, and AIDS epidemic in South
Africa, 149-50
329
I ndex
U n ite d Kingdom: and colonial adminis­
tration of Sierra Leone, 84—86; and
colonialism in India, 171—72; immi­
gration policy and m igrants from
Sierra Leone, 103—106, 112
United Nations: and civil war in Sierra
Leone, 92; Commission for Historical
Clarification in Guatemala, 125; High
Com m issioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and displaced com m uni­
ties in Colombia, 253, 258, 259, 265,
270; and Joint Program m e on
HIV/AIDS in South Africa, 144
United States: and airports as check­
points, 74, 75; and cultural-defense
argum ents in courts, 249—50, 252n9;
and im m igrants from Sierra Leone,
97, 98-99, 100-102, 111, 114, 115n5;
and m igrant labor from Guatemala,
134
Urbie Velez, AJvaro, 274—75
URNG (Guatem alan National
Revolutionary Unity),117
USAID (U nited States Agency for
International D evelopm ent), 52, 120
Vajpayee, Atal Behari, 187, 189
Van H ollen, Cecilia, 171
violence: checkpoints and political identi­
ty in Sri Lanka, 67-79: and civil war
in Guatem ala, 117, 119; and civil war
in Sierra Leone, 92; and illegibility of
state in India, 231—41, 247; and mas­
33°
culinity as feature of power in Peru,
43—44; and military in Colombia,
254—76; and panic behavior in indige­
nous regions of Guatemala, 130-31;
and regulatory authority in Chad
Basin, 200-201, 212-13, 216-17; and
rethinking of concept of state from
perspective of margins, 6-8; and
states of exception, 11; transcendent
character of state and monopoly over,
32n6. 5 ^ fl/so hum an rights
visas. See docum entary practices
Volpp, Led, 249-50
W eb er, Max, 7, 8, 22, 32n7
witchcraft: and AIDS in South Africa,
141—61; use of term in Africa, 162n6.
See also magic
women. See gender
W orld Bank, 52, 92, 126
writing, and theory of comm unication,
226-27
Y am ba, Bawa, 102—103
Z aire, and informal econom y of Angolan
border, 223n2
Zambia, and representations of rural and
urban life, 223n3
Zizek, Slavoj, 138
zones d ’attente (France), 98, 110
Zook, Darren, 171
Photo by Katrina Lasko

P articipants in the S chool o f A m erican R esearch advanced

sem inar “A nth ro p o lo g y in th e M argins o f th e S tate,” S anta Fe,
New M exico, April 22-26, 2001. From left standing:
A dam A sh fo rth , V eena D as, P ra d e e p je g a n a th a n , M ariane F erm e,
D iane N elso n , J a n e t R o itm an , Talal A sad. F rom left seated:
L aw rence C o h en , D eb o rah P oole, V ictoria S anford.
 Contributors
Talal Asad
D epartm ent o f A nthropology, City U niversity o f N ew York G raduate C enter
Adam Ashforth
Institute o f A dvanced Study, Princeton U niversity
Lawrence Cohen
D epartm ent o f A nthropology, U niversity o f C alifornia „B erkeley
Veena Das
D epartm ent o f A nthropology, Johns H opkins U niversity
M anane C. Ferme
D epartm ent o f A nthropology, U niversity o f California, B erkeley
Pradeep Jeganathan
International Centre fo r Ethnic Studies. Sri Lanka
Diane M. Nelson
D epartm ent o f A nthropology, Duke U niversity
Deborah Poole
D eparm ent o f A nthropology, Johns H opkins University
Janet Roitman
Centre N ationale des R echerches Scientifigues, France
Victoria Sanford
Institute on Violence and Survival, Virginia Foundation
fo r the H um anities and P ublic Policy