ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an analysis of the use of surveillance and categorization by colonial powers and the lingering effects on nation-building efforts. It explores the “not seeing” strategy in which colonial powers choose what to make visible and what to render invisible through laws and administrative procedures. Categories are created, individuals are sorted and counted, and often resources or regulations are allotted as a result. The colonial logic underlying these surveillance strategies plays an ongoing and central role in immigration policy and the policing of migrant communities. The state uses this strategy to create a certain type of nationalism – a set identity that benefits state power and racial hierarchies. State-created categories can be used to control populations and justify different treatment for different groups. However, individuals who live within the nation’s borders without nation-state authorization appear to undermine state surveillance strategies by evading surveillance – choosing not to be seen – or by performing in a manner that leads to their misclassification on the part of state actors. This phenomenon provides insight into acts of resistance and self-created identity formation in an increasingly surveilled society.
