Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T17:20:49.944Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2016

Mirco Göpfert
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amuwo, ’Kunle. 1986. “Military-Inspired Anti-Bureaucratic Corruption Campaigns: An Appraisal of Niger’s Experience.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 24 (2): 285–301.Google Scholar
Baker, Bruce. 2007. “Conflict and African Police Culture: The Cases of Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.” In Police Occupational Culture: New Debates and Directions, edited by O’Neill, Megan, Marks, Monique, and Singh, Anne-Marie, 321–47. Amsterdam: Elsevier JAI.Google Scholar
Bako-Arifari, Nassirou. 2006. “‘We Don’t Eat the Papers’: Corruption in Transport, Customs and the Civil Forces.” In Everyday Corruption and the State: Citizens and Public Officials in Africa, edited by Blundo, Giorgio and Olivier de Sardan, Jean-Pierre, 177–224. Cape Town: Philip.Google Scholar
Bako-Arifari, Nassirou. 2001. “La Corruption au Port de Cotonou: Douaniers et Intermédiaires.” Politique Africaine 83: 38–58.Google Scholar
Bat, Jean-Pierre, and Courtin, Nicolas, eds. 2012. Maintenir l’Ordre Colonial: Afrique et Madagascar, XIXe–XXe Siècles. Rennes: PU Rennes.Google Scholar
Beek, Jan. 2012. “‘There Should Be No Open Doors in the Police’: Criminal Investigations in Northern Ghana as Boundary Work.” Journal of Modern African Studies 50 (4): 551–72.Google Scholar
Bittner, Egon. 1967. “The Police on Skid-Row: A Study of Peace Keeping.” American Sociological Review 32 (5): 699–715.Google Scholar
Blanchard, Emmanuel, and Glasman, Joël. 2012. “Introduction Générale: Le Maintien de l’Ordre dans l’Empire Français: Une Historiographie Emergente.” In Maintenir l’Ordre Colonial: Afrique et Madagascar, XIXe–XXe Siècles, edited by Bat, Jean-Pierre and Courtin, Nicolas, 11–41. Rennes: PU Rennes.Google Scholar
Blundo, Giorgio. 2006. “Dealing with the Local State: The Informal Privatization of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Senegal.” Development and Change 37 (4): 799–819.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blundo, Giorgio. 2001. “Négocier l’État au Quotidien: Agents d’Affaires, Courtiers et Rabatteurs dans les Interstices de l’Administration Sénégalaise.” Autrepart 20: 75–90.Google Scholar
Bozzini, David M. 2011. “Low-Tech Surveillance and the Despotic State in Eritrea.” Surveillance & Society 9 (1–2): 93–113.Google Scholar
Brodeur, Jean-Paul, and Ouellet, Genevière. 2005. “L’Enquête Cirminelle.” Criminologie 38 (2): 39–64.Google Scholar
Brunet-la Ruche, Bénédicte. 2012. “Discipliner les Villes Coloniales: La Police et l’Ordre Urbain au Dahomey Pendant l’Entre-deux-guerres.” Criminocorpus, revue hypermédia. www.criminocorpus.revues.org.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cabry, Gérard. 2009. La Gendarmerie Outre-Mer. Paris: Éd. SPE-Barthélémy.Google Scholar
Certeau, Michel de. 1984 (1980). The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Davis, John. 2007. “Introduction: Africa’s Road to the War on Terror.” In Africa and the War on Terrorism, edited by Davis, John, 1–14. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Donovan, Kevin P., and Martin, Aaron K.. 2014. “The Rise of African SIM Registration: The Emerging Dynamics of Regulatory Change.” First Monday 19 (2). www.firstmonday.dk.Google Scholar
Dramé, Patrick-Papa. 2007. L’Impérialisme Colonial Francais en Afrique: Enjeux et Impacts de la Défense de l’AOF, 1918–1940. Paris: L’Harmattan.Google Scholar
Ellis, Stephen. 2004. “Briefing: The Pan-Sahel Initiative.” African Affairs 103 (412): 459–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ericson, Richard V. 1994. “The Division of Expert Knowledge in Policing and Security.” The British Journal of Sociology 45 (2): 149–75.Google Scholar
Foucault, Michel. 1975. Surveiller et Punir: Naissance de la Prison. Paris: Éditions Gallimard.Google Scholar
Foucault, Michel. 2004. Sécurité, Territoire, Population: Cours au Collège de France, 1977–1978. Paris: Seuil.Google Scholar
Fourchard, Laurent. 2003a. “Le Contrôle de la Rue en Afrique Occidentale Française et au Nigeria, Fin 19ème Siègle–1960.” In Sécurité, Crime et Ségrégation dans les Villes d’Afrique de l’Ouest du XIXe Siècle à Nos Jours, edited by Fourchard, Laurent and Albert, Isaac O., 101–17. Paris: Éditions Karthala.Google Scholar
Fourchard, Laurent. 2003b. “Sécurité, Crime et Ségrégation: Une Perspective Historique.” In Sécurité, Crime et Ségrégation dans les Villes d’Afrique de l’Ouest du XIXe Siècle à Nos Jours, edited by Fourchard, Laurent and Albert, Isaac O., 1–23. Paris: Éditions Karthala.Google Scholar
Fuglestad, Finn. 1983. A History of Niger 1850–1960. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Glasman, Joël. 2010. “Penser les Intermédiaires Coloniaux: Note sur les Dossiers de Carrière de la Police du Togo.” History in Africa 37: 51–81.Google Scholar
Goody, Jack. 1986. The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Göpfert, Mirco. 2012. “Security in Niamey: An Anthropological Perspective on Policing and an Act of Terrorism in Niger.” Journal of Modern African Studies 50 (1): 53–74.Google Scholar
Göpfert, Mirco. 2013. “Bureaucratic Aesthetics: Report Writing in the Nigérien Gendarmerie.” American Ethnologist 40 (2): 324–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higgot, Richard, and Fuglestad, Finn. 1975. “The 1974 Coup d’État in Niger: Towards an Explanation.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 13 (3): 383–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Idrissa, Kimba. 2008. “Les Régimes Militaires entre 1974 et 1999 au Niger.” In Armée et politique au Niger, edited by Idrissa, Kimba, 165–206. Dakar: CODESRIA.Google Scholar
Issa, Mahaman M. 2008. “Le Régime Militaire de Seyni Kountché (1974–1987).” In Armée et politique au Niger, edited by Idrissa, Kimba, 125–61. Dakar: CODESRIA.Google Scholar
Journal Officiel de l’Afrique Occidentale Française (JO AOF). 1920. “Arrêté général relatif aux pensions de retraite et gratifications de réforme des gardes de cercle.” JO AOF no. 822, August 28.Google Scholar
Journal Officiel de l’Afrique Occidentale Française (JO AOF). 1950. “Arrêté 6366.” JO AOF no. 2508, November 23.Google Scholar
Journal Officiel du Togo (JO Togo). 1945. “Décret N° 45–1343.” September 16.Google Scholar
Keenan, Jeremy. 2006. “Security and Insecurity in North Africa.” Review of African Political Economy 33 (108): 269–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keenan, Jeremy. 2008. “US Militarization in Africa: What Anthropologists Should Know about AFRICOM.” Anthropology Today 24 (5): 16–20.Google Scholar
Keenan, Jeremy. 2009a. “Al-Qaeda Terrorism in the Sahara? Edwin Dyer’s Murder and the Role of Intelligence Agencies.” Anthropology Today 25 (4): 14–18.Google Scholar
Keenan, Jeremy. 2009b. The Dark Sahara: America’s War on Terror in Africa. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Laurent, Samuel. 2013. Sahelistan: De la Libye au Mali au Cœur du Nouveau Jihad. Paris: Seuil.Google Scholar
Lund, Christian. 2001. “Precarious Democratization and Local Dynamics in Niger: Micro-politics in Zinder.” Development and Change 32: 845–69.Google Scholar
Lyon, David. 2006. “The Search for Surveillance Theories.” In Theorizing Surveillance: The Panopticon and Beyond, edited by Lyon, David, 3–20. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Manning, Peter K. 2001. “Technology’s Ways: Information Technology, Crime Analysis and the Rationalizing of Policing.” Criminology and Criminal Justice 1 (1): 83–103.Google Scholar
McGregor, JoAnn. 2013. “Surveillance and the City: Patronage, Power-Sharing and the Politics of Urban Control in Zimbabwe.” Journal of Southern African Studies 39 (4): 783–805.Google Scholar
Merry, Sally E. 2006. “Transnational Human Rights and Local Activism: Mapping the Middle.” American Anthropologist 108 (1): 38–51.Google Scholar
Mignon, Jean-Marie. 1989. “Les mouvements de jeunesse dans l’Afrique de l’Ouest francophone, de 1958 aux années 1970–1975.” In Le mouvement associatif des jeunes en Afrique noire francophone au XXe siècle, edited by Almeida-Topor, Hélène and Georg, Odile, 107–28. Paris: L’Harmattan.Google Scholar
Miles, William F. S. 1987. “Partitioned Royalty: The Evolution of Hausa Chiefs in Nigeria and Niger.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 25 (2): 233–58.Google Scholar
Miles, William F. S. 1993. “Colonial Hausa Idioms: Toward a West African Ethno-Ethnohistory.” African Studies Review 36 (2): 11–30.Google Scholar
Olivier de Sardan, Jean-Pierre. 2001. “La Sage-femme et le Douanier: Cultures Professionnelles Locales et Culture Bureaucratique Privatisée en Afrique de l’Ouest.” Autrepart 20: 61–73.Google Scholar
Paperman, Patricia. 2003. “Surveillance Underground: The Uniform as Interaction Device.” Ethnography 4 (3): 397–419.Google Scholar
Pratten, David. 2008. “Introduction—The Politics of Protection: Perspectives on Vigilantism in Nigeria.” Africa 78 (1): 1–15.Google Scholar
Purdeková, Andrea. 2011. “‘Even If I Am Not Here, There Are So Many Eyes’: Surveillance and State Reach in Rwanda.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 49 (3): 475–97.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2014. “Niger Buys ‘Spy Plane’ to Combat Sahel Militants.” www.reuters.com.Google Scholar
Ruteere, Mutuma, and Pommerolle, Marie-Emmanuelle. 2003. “Democratizing Security or Decentralizing Repression? The Ambiguities of Community Policing in Kenya.” African Affairs 102: 587–604.Google Scholar
Scott, James C. 1998. Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Szreter, Simon, and Breckenridge, Keith. 2012. “Editors’ Introduction—Recognition and Registration: The Infrastructure of Personhood in World History.” In Registration and Recognition: Documenting the Person in World History, edited by Breckenridge, Keith and Szreter, Simon, 1–36. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Temps du Niger . 1961. “Cérémonies du transfert des forces armées nigériennes à Birni-N’Konni.” Temps du Niger no. 368, August 14.Google Scholar
Tidjani Alou, Mahamane. 2001. “La dynamique de l’état post colonial au Niger.” In Le Niger: État et Démocratie, edited by Idrissa, Kimba, 85–126. Paris: L’Harmattan.Google Scholar
Weber, Max. 1980 (1921). Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft: Grundriss der verstehenden Soziologie. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck.Google Scholar
Whitlok, Craig 2013. “Drone Base in Niger Gives U.S. a Strategic Foothold in West Africa.” www.washingtonpost.com.Google Scholar
Zangaou, Moussa. 2008. “Femmes en uniforme dans les secteurs militaire et para-militaire au Niger.” In Armée et politique au Niger, edited by Idrissa, Kimba, 255–88. Dakar: CODESRIA.Google Scholar