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Institutional violence and care in Belgian immigration detention centres

par Crosby, Andrew
Référence ECPR General Conference (22-26 August 2022: Innsbruck)
Publication Non publié, 2022-08-25

Communication à un colloque

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Résumé :

Contributing to the literature on humanitarian border governmentality, this article analyses under which conditions care and control become complementary in border control practices. Whereas most authors have focused on how care has been integrated in police operations, this articles look at how the care-work of “social staff” has been transformed by the elements of control in Belgian immigration detention centres. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and combining prison sociology with organisational theory, I argue that one must look at the specific configurations of power that structure 1) the division of labour, 2) the relations between staff and detainees, and 3) the illusio that makes it possible for these care-workers to believe they are making a difference in the benefit of detainees, if we are to understand how they act as risk-managers and reproduce institutional violence that affects detainees and reduces their agency to act politically. As such, this article contributes to the literature by providing empirical knowledge on immigration detention centres. Lastly, this configurational approach offers heuristic perspectives that make it possible to compare the implementation of border policies in different settings.