This volume represents the efforts of anthropologists and others to explore to spaces of security. Today, security is one of the most prominent topics in anthropology. Spatial metaphors and images saturate research on security, yet anthropology has not developed a coherent approach to this important dimension of security. This volume draws together ethnographic research on spaces of security from different regions and scales, range from blast-proof bedrooms in Israel to biometric identification in India, and from border control in Argentina to counterterrorism in East Africa. Each contribution ... More

This volume represents the efforts of anthropologists and others to explore to spaces of security. Today, security is one of the most prominent topics in anthropology. Spatial metaphors and images saturate research on security, yet anthropology has not developed a coherent approach to this important dimension of security. This volume draws together ethnographic research on spaces of security from different regions and scales, range from blast-proof bedrooms in Israel to biometric identification in India, and from border control in Argentina to counterterrorism in East Africa. Each contribution focuses on specific spatio-temporal configurations, infrastructural interventions and shifts in discourse and practice. The different emphasis in each contribution shows the multiplicity of ways that one might grapple with the rascal concept of security, and demonstrate the power of a spatial lens to bring into focus the ways that security acquires its discursive content and concrete form.