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Private Security in Nairobi, Kenya: Securitized Landscapes, Crosscurrents, and New Forms of Sociality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2018

Nathan Dobson
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Abstract:

This article documents some of the forms of sociality engendered by the massive and growing presence of private security guards around Nairobi, Kenya. A focus on violence and the logic of an ideal of the use of violence in critical security studies literature obfuscates these networks in a similar way to idealizations of public space and the public sphere in anthropological literature on private security and residential enclaves. By looking at the close ties guards maintain with their homes in rural areas of Nairobi and the associations they make with people such as hawkers, it becomes clear that their presence in the city is creating new sets of valuations and obligations all the time. These forms of sociality are not galvanized by the threat of violence that the guards evoke; rather, they are engendered alongside and at cross-currents to the idealized, securitized landscape.

Résumé:

Cet article documente quelques-unes des formes de socialité engendrées par la présence large et croissante d’agents de sécurité privés autour de Nairobi, Kenya. L’accent sur la violence et la logique d’un idéal de l’usage de la violence dans la littérature des études critiques de sécurité ainsi que dans la littérature anthropologique sur la sécurité privée et les enclaves résidentielles, décrit ces réseaux de façon similaire à des idéalisations de l’espace et sphère publique. En étudiant les étroites relations que les gardiens entretiennent avec leurs maisons dans les zones rurales de Nairobi et les associations qu’ils font avec des gens comme les colporteurs, il devient évident que leur présence dans la ville crée constamment de nouveaux ensemble d’évaluations et d’obligations. Ces formes de socialité ne sont pas galvanisées par la menace de la violence qu’évoquent des gardes ; au contraire, elles sont engendrées à côté et à contre-courant d’un paysage idéalisé et sécurisé.

Resumo:

Neste artigo, damos conta de algumas formas de sociabilidade geradas pela crescente e maciça presença de agentes de segurança privados na região de Nairobi, Quénia. Ao colocar a ênfase na violência e ao aplicar, nos estudos sobre insegurança, a lógica do uso ideal da força, a literatura obscurece estas redes, à semelhança do que acontece com as idealizações da esfera e do espaço públicos, que dominam a literatura antropológica sobre segurança privada e enclaves residenciais. Através da observação atenta dos laços estreitos que os guardas mantêm com os seus lares nas zonas rurais e das associações que estabelecem com os vendedores ambulantes, torna-se claro que a sua presença na cidade está constantemente a criar novos critérios de valorização e novas obrigações. Estas formas de sociabilidade não são galvanizadas pela ameaça de violência que os guardas evocam; em vez disso, elas desenvolvem-se em paralelo e em contracorrente com a paisagem securitária idealizada.

Keywords

securitypublicsocialityviolenceexchangeurbanmigration
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 62 , Issue 2 , June 2019 , pp. 30 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2018 

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