The Security Archipelago: Human-Security States, Sexuality Politics, and the End of Neoliberalism

326 Pages·2013·14.48 MB·English

by  Paul Amar

THE
SECURITY ARCHIPELAGO
Human-Security States, Sexuality Politics,
and the End ofNeoliberalism
Paul Amar
DukeUniversity Press Durham and London 2013
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
[vfi]
INTRODUCTION
The Archipelago ofNew Security—State Uprisings
[ll
CHAPTERONE
Mooring aNew GlobalOrderbetweenCairo and RiodeIaneiro
World SummitsandHuman—SecurityLaboratories
[39]
CHAPTERTWO
PolicingthePerversions ofGlobalization
in Riode Janeiro and Cairo
Emerging Parastatal SecurityRegimes Confront QueerGlobalisms
[65]
CHAPTERTHREE
MuhammadAtta’s Urbanism
Rescuing Islam, Saving Humanity,andSecuring
Gender’s ProperPlace inCairo
[99]
CHAPTER FOUR
SavingtheCradle ofSamba in Riode Ianeiro
Shadow—StateUprisings, UrbanInfranationalisms,and the
RacialPolitics ofHumanSecurity
[139]
CHAPTER FIVE
OperationPrincess in Rio deIaneiro
Rescuing SexSlaves,Challengingthe Labor-Evangelical
Alliance, andDefiningthe SexualityPolitics
ofanEmerging Human-SecuritySuperpower
[172]
CHAPTERSIX
Feminist Insurrectionsand the Egyptian Revolution
HarassingPolice,Recognizing Classphobias, and Everting the Logics
oftheHuman-SecurityStateinTahrirSquare
[200]
CONCLUSION
The EndofNeoliberalism?
[235]
NOTES [253]
REFERENCES [261]
INDEX [297]
Acknowledgments
Thetripfrom myhometown—Middletown, Kentucky—to here hasbeen
an adventure. Since this is myfirst solobook, I willtake this opportunity
to lookbackand traceabroadertimelineofinfluences and moments, and
to-recognize thedebts I owe to a numberofindividuals who shapedthis
book's researchquestionsand methods—andmy professional develop-
ment—alongtheway.
My intellectual journeybegan at Duke University, where I encoun-
teredboldnewwaysofknowing.There, I soakedupthelecturesofFredric
Jameson, Ariel Dorfman, and Eve Sedgwick, and wasgenerously advised
in my first research projects by Ian Radway. I am forever indebtedto
miriamcooke for thoseyears of 8:00 AM Arabic lessons, which illumi—
natednewworlds ofliteratureandgendertheory, andthattransformative
summerstudy tripto Morocco. My undergraduateeducationalso led me
to Paris,whereI pursued mytrainingin anthropology at L'Université de
ParisVII (Iussieu) and internationalrelations and comparative politics at
I'Institutd'Etudes Politiques, undertheguidance ofthelate RémyLeveau.
I am sograteful to this masterteacher.
After immersingmyself in the Arab activist and artist communityin
Paris, I decided to use my savings to go offto Egypt to study actingand
filmdirectingattheGizaHigh InstituteofCinema. I adored Egypt'srevo-
lutionary socialist cinemaof the 19605, and its musicals of the 19405. I
moved into an apartmentinal-Batniyya—— thepoorest(and funkiest)mar-
gin of the popularquarters ofCairo. Many thanksto Umm Hamoksha,
the late Sheikh Mohammad‘Ersa, and especially Hussein Sayyidforwel-
coming me to adDarb alAhmar and integratingme into the community.
After taking a few film classes and working on set with Amr Diab in the
musical-comedy classic IceCreamfi Gleem, I began working as afreelance
journalist for the Cairo Times. The teamat theTimes helped me hone my
investigative researchskills.
I am so grateful to Khaled Fahmy,Gasser Abdel-Razek, Dina El Kha-
waga, and SandrineGamblin, whom I met early in this periodin Egypt

and whose conviction, political savvy, and vision inspired me to goon to
graduateschool. I began studying Arabic literatureat theAmerican Uni-
versity in Cairo (Auc), and am profoundly grateful to theCenterforAra-
bic Studies Abroad program thatenabled me to acquire fluency in Arabic
and Egyptian colloquial.ThosetwelvemonthsatAUCwere atimeto meet
wonderful friends—]illianSchwedler, Agniezska Paczynska, CarrieJohn-
son, Adrea Akel, Kouros Esmaili, Iulia Elyachar, and the forever-young
Anthony Shadid, who died at the heightofhis phenomenaljournalistic
career. During thoseyears, I took aseminarclasswithNawalAl-Saadawi,
whose energy animated my initial research adventures. Khaled Fahmy
passed me a copy ofTimothy Mitchell's Colonizing Egypt on the beach at
BasataintheSinai.Afterdevouring thebook, I said,“Ifthis ispolitical sci—
ence, thensign me up!”I set aside myfantasy ofacting inArabic musical
cinema andturnedmysightstoNewYork City, whereMitchell had joined
the facultyofNewYork University (NYU).
When I returned, lateron, to Cairo for two years of dissertation re-
search andwriting, I wassupportedbytheFulbright Commission in Egypt
andtheCentred’EtudesetdeDocumentationEconomiques, Iuridiqueset
Sociales. I would like to thanktheCairo University faculty of Economics
and PoliticalScience, and Professor MustaphaKamelElSayyidattheCen-
ter for Developing CountryStudies, whereI was affiliated duringmy re-
search, for their hospitality and guidance. I am deeply grateful to Naz
Modirzadeh, Amr Shalakani, Mona Abaza, Diane Singer-man,AsefBayat,
and my inspiring friends Mozn Hassan and Amr Abdelrahmanfor their
ideas as I entered the last phase of Egypt researchfor this book. And I
wantto convey a special degree ofgratitudeto Neil Hewison, at Ameri-
can University inCairo Press,forbeing such anamazing friend, host,and
confidantduring mylatter-stage researchvisits.
Between these trips to Cairo and later ones to Brazil, the essential
framework forthis bookemerged duringmytimeinNewYorkCity, where
I earneda doctoratein politics and tookclasses across avariety ofother
disciplines at NYU. For much ofthis time I held a day job as an interna-
tionalprojects specialist at theUnited Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), firstin the Central America division, then in the Programme of
Assistance to the Palestinian People. I amgrateful to UNDP,wheremany
of my views aboutpolitical-economic order, internationalrelations, and
the rise ofthe Global South were formedwhile working for El Salvador
peace building and reconciliationprojectsthere, and on the implemen-
tation of the Palestine-Israel Oslo Accords. I learned so muchworking
|viii| Acknowledgments
underthe boldleadership ofUN Secretary-General Boutros-Boutros Ghali
and underthedirectsupervisionofthegenerousand courageous Enrique
Neuhauser, who was a formercabinet memberof PresidentAllende of
Chile. I alsohad theprivilege ofworking withRickHooper, whowaslater
killed in thebombing ofthe UN headquartersin Iraq.
In my role as aproper(or notsoproper)graduatestudent,I stretched
the New York inter-universityconsortium agreementsto the limit as I
took classes all over town. Through this exciting transcampusand trans-
disciplinary education,I shaped the project that eventually evolved into
this book. I am deeply grateful to thelate Charles Tilly at Columbia Uni—
versity,who included meforthreeyears inhisContentiousPoliticsSemi-
nar, whereI presented early versions of several ofthis book’schapters.
Professor Tilly read and made detailed comments on these drafts and
shaped my notionofcontendingsecuritizationlogicsand myconceptof
parastatal orderings. Mypolitical theoryframework was also influenced
byChantal Mouffe,withwhomIwasableto studyattheNewSchool,and
byPasquale Pasquino and ParthaChatterjee,visiting professors in NYU’s
DepartmentofPolitics.Janet Abu-Lughod attheNew School and Sharon
Zukin from Brooklyn College gave me an intensive educationin global-
cities studies and urbansociological and political-economic analysis.And
whenI taughtas afull-time lecturerin the Political Science Department
of HunterCollege ofthe City University of New York, I was grateful for
the mentoringand friendshipofthebrilliantBrazilianist Michael Turner,
and the guidance, fellowship, and inspirationof Rosalind Petchesky. I
feelprofound gratitudefor myadvisors and teachersat NYU at thattime,
especially George Yudice, Andrew Ross, Christine Harrington, Samira
Haj, Michael Gilsenan, and Wahneema Lubiano, and for Mark Ungar at
BrooklynCollege. My researchwaspropelled bytheenergy, insights, bril-
liance, political vision, theoryinnovations, and overall fierceness of Lisa
Duggan. And I cannot thank enoughmy principaldissertationadvisor,
Timothy Mitchell, who revolutionized theway political science grapples
with power,the state, colonialism, and modernity. Iamforever inhisdebt
for his kind mentoring,good humor, and gentle critiques—andfor all
those lettersofrecommendation.Theworld thatmaterializes inthis book
would havebeen invisible to mewithouttheepistemological lenses that
Mitchell developed.
As I expanded this projectto encompass a transregionalcomparative
studyofsecurity regimes inboththeMiddle Eastand LatinAmerica, and
to assess emergentglobal formations ofgovernance, myresearchturned
Acknowledgments I ix ]
Reynolds, Nancy Gallagher, and Richard Falk, who have raised the bar
for qualities ofgenerosityand wisdom. Howard Winant, France Wind—
dance Twine,and Mireille Miller-Younghavebeensuch goodfriends, soul
mates, and intellectualcompanions at UCSB, and have sharedcountless
goodtimes and fantastic conversations, aswehaveworked togethertoad-
vancethecritical studyofrace, politics, globalization, and sexuality.Their
friendships are more thandear. Eve Darian-Smith hasbeensuch apower—
fullypositive, insightful, and tirelessly supportive colleague and profes-
sional rolemodel.AndLisaHajjar hasgivenme such constantencourage-
ment, joy, ideas, and friendship; she is a miraculously committedbuilder
ofcommunityamong progressive scholars ofthe Middle East, and is the
socialand political soulofSanta Barbara. These colleagues made this long
process fun and never let me mope orgetdiscouraged. I am alsograteful
to mycolleagues GilesGunn, RichAppelbaum, Mark Iuergensmeyer, Ian
Nederveen Pieterse, Alison Brysk, Esther Lezra, Nadege Clitandre, Mar-
guerite Bouraad-Nash, Raymond Clémencon, Phil McCarty, and Aashish
Mehta fortheirsupportand suggestions.
Draft chaptersor papersrepresentingkey ideas and case studies for
this book have been presented in five languages in a numberof helpful
contexts, and I amgrateful fortheintelligence, perceptiveness, and hard
work colleagues haveinvested in reading and commentingon mywork in
all thesefora.These includeworkshops attheAmerican UniversityofBei-
rut, theAmerican University in Cairo, the Free University of Berlin, the
BritishAcademy,KentLaw School,Oxford University,GeorgeMason Uni—
versity,Cornell University,University of$50Paulo,Cairo University,Uni-
versité ParisDiderot—Paris7, the Federal UniversityofRio de Ianeiro, the
Fluminense FederalUniversity,Candido Mendes University,theBrazilian
National AssemblyofSocial Sciences (ANPOCS), theUniversities ofCali-
fornia at Berkeley, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Davis,the University of
SouthernCalifornia, the InternationalPolitical Science Association, the
American Political Science Association, the InternationalStudies Asso-
ciation, the Cultural Studies Association, theAmerican Studies Associa-
tion, the Law and Society Association, the Brazilian Studies Association,
the Middle EastStudies Association, theSocialScience Research Council,
the Ethnic Studies Association, and theEuropean University Instituteand
MediterraneanResearch Council Montecatiniworkshop.
Very special thanksto Jillian Schwedler and Laleh Khalilifor theirex-
tremely helpful readings, friendship, and insights, and to SadiaAbbasand
Omnia El Shakry for their hardwork reading and elevating mychapters
Acknowledgments [xi]
and ideas. Ourcollaborations and adventuresare just beginning, sisters!
In addition to manyofthose mentionedabove, others who have provided
detailedcommentsonpapersthatbecamechaptersinclude SoniaC6rrea,
Judith Halberstam,Lisa Duggan, Ella Shohat, MacarenaGomez-Barns,
Gil Hochberg, LisaWedeen, Hind Mahmoud,Michael McCann, Mark
Ungar, Nayan Shah, RosPetchesky, Saba Mahmood, Vijay Prashad, Paola
Bacchetta, Cynthia Enloe,Charles Hirschkind, Iuliet Williams, JohnChal-
craft, Mozn Hassan, AmrAbdelrahman, David Lloyd, CarenKaplan, and
Sudipta Sen.
A much earlierversion ofchapter4 appearedinthevolume Contested
Histories inPublic Space:Memory, Race, andNation(DukeUniversity Press,
2009), editedby Daniel ]. Walkowitz and Lisa Maya Knauer. An earlier
version ofchapter5appearedinthejournal SecurityDialogue 4o, nos.4—5
(August—October 2009). And an earlier version of chapter 6 appeared
in theInternational FeministJournalofPolitics 13, no. 3 (September2011).
These essays have been significantly revised. I am greatly indebted to
theseeditors and to anonymous peerreviewers fortheirsuggestions, cri-
tiques, and guidance, which so enhancedthequality ofthis work.
I am full of thankfulnessfor the University of Bristol in the United
Kingdom,which hostedme forasabbatical inthe DepartmentofPolitics
and at the Global InsecuritiesCentre.There, colleagues such as Martin
Gainsborough, Mark Duffield, IuttaWeldes, Paul Higate, Marsha Henry,
Wendy Larner, and a dozen graduatestudents helped with every single
chapterofthis book inworkshops withme, and encouraged myembrace
ofcutting-edgeapproachesto security studies, constructivistgeopolitics,
theoriesofthestateand transnationalgovernance, conflict and militariza—
tion studies, andfeministpolitical theory. Andhowcan Iadequately thank
Terrell Carver, who, at Bristol and forever after, offered mentoring,edit-
ing,networking, and advising—and an endless supplyofbrilliance, good
humor, and friendship.
During this longprocess ofmulticontinentalinvestigation, I havebene-
fitedfromthediligentresearchtalents ofscholarswhoseeffortswere truly
remarkable. These includeKate Lyra, Mozn Hassan, Tess Popper, Katha-
rina Lenner, Alaa al-Din Haddad, Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand, and Silvia
Ferreira. Without theirhardwork, this kind ofin-depthandcross-regional
analysis would have beenimpossible to complete. And as foreditingand
formatting, I mustgivespecial thanksto Anitra Grisales, who worked so
hardto make this volume’sprose legible and itsconcepts intelligible. Iade
BrooksatDukeUniversity Presshasbeenextraordinarilyhelpful andgen—
[xiiJ Acknowledgments
erous with me. And Duke University Press’s editorial director, KenWis-
soker,provided enthusiasm,patience, and supportthatkept me sane as I
finalized this manuscript.Hisadvice on framing the book and the intro—
duction were invaluable. I alsoowe agreatdebtofgratitudeto EllaSho-
hat, RandyMartin, and othersat theSocial Textcollective for supporting
thisproject fortheirbookseries fromtheearlystages,andforencouraging
meto keep moving onward and upward duringthis process.
Finally, I wantto thank myuniqueand lovingfamily.Thanks to Aunt
Guriprana(née Suzanne Amar), who becamea Hindu Vedanta nun in
Calcuttaand wrote me those mind—melting and soul-elevating lettersas
I was growing up, and to Aunt Rose,who duringheradventuresaround
Africaand theSouth Pacificsentmeequally inspiring (ifsignificantly less
pious) letters—andthe occasional stuffed crocodile that she shotdead.
Andthanks toUncle Bud forhishumor, stories, andass-kicking.Thanks to
mygreat—grandmothersGigi,Lulie,and Mama Frix,whoeach livedabout
acenturyand conveyed oralworld historyto me throughtheir stories of
myancestors on the prairies, in the Appalachians, in Pacific ports, down
in speakeasies, and upon thehigh seas.Thanks to theunwavering, kind,
warm supportofmyfather, whose lovehas enabled me to journeyso far
without ever feeling alone. And thanksto my kind, hilarious, talented,
and rock-steady brother,Jeremy,forbeing mygood friend and confidant;
my sister-in—law,Traci, a visionary designerand buddy; and Dakota, my
six-year—oldsinging, dancing, chess-winning, karate-chopping, YouTube-
dominatingnephew, for his energy and love. Most ofall, I send thanks
and loveto mydeceased mother, Janice Faye. Shewasabeautiful, coura-
geous,loving,creative, Irish-Cherokee girlborn inBirmingham, Alabama,
and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Shewas awoman ofdrive, heart,
dreams, andwill.Shelovedtolaughoutloud withtruejoyinquietrooms,
and to give standingovations at concertswhen everyone else remained
seated. Shewas mybest friend. This book is foryou, Mom, “totheend of
thenumbers.“
Acknowledgments I xiii|