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Surveillance in Niger: Gendarmes and the Problem of “Seeing Things”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2016

Mirco Göpfert
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Abstract:

Today, high-tech surveillance seems omnipresent in Niger, particularly because of the conflicts in neighboring Mali, Libya, and Nigeria and efforts by the U.S. and France to boost local security agencies. However, Niger is not a very efficient “registering machine,” and the gendarmes have very limited knowledge of the communities in which they work. The key to overcoming this problem of knowledge—to “see things,” as the gendarmes put it—is the nurturing of good relationships with potential informants. But as the gendarmes depend on the knowledge of locals, the power relationship between the surveillers and those observed proves far more ambiguous than generally assumed.

Résumé:

Aujourd’hui, au Niger, une surveillance de haute technologie semble omniprésente, en particulier à cause des conflits au Mali, en Libye et au Niger et des efforts soutenus des États-Unis et de la France pour renforcer les agences de sécurité locales. Cependant, le Niger n’est pas une “machine d’enregistrement,” très efficace et les gendarmes ont une connaissance très limitée des communautés dans lesquelles ils travaillent. La clé pour surmonter ce problème réside dans “la manière de voir les choses,” comme les gendarmes le disent, c’est-à-dire d’entretenir de bonnes relations avec les informateurs potentiels. Mais comme les gendarmes dépendent de la connaissance de la population locale, le rapport de force entre les surveillés et les surveillants prouve être beaucoup plus ambigu que généralement présumé.

Keywords

SurveillancepolicinggendarmerieknowledgeNiger
Type
ASR FORUM ON SURVEILLANCE IN AFRICA: POLITICS, HISTORIES, TECHNIQUES
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , September 2016 , pp. 39 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2016 

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