Identify and Sort: How Digital Power Changed World Politics - Rilegato

Ansorge, Josef Teboho

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1849044066 ISBN 13: 9781849044066

Casa editrice: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2016

Riassunto

The advent of information technology ushered in new forms of political power. Machines play crucial roles in how states see, understand and act, and scrutiny of these processes lies at the heart of Identify and Sort. It frames debates about 'IT' in world politics, explaining how industrial sorting systems employed by political actors are renegotiating the social contract between individuals and the state. Ansorge takes the reader on a global expedition that tracks the historical antecedents of digital power, from Aztec and Inca rituals, to medieval filing systems, to a grandiose 1930s design for a German registry, to the databases used in US presidential campaigns and how IT is deployed in war and post-conflict reconstruction. Databases are also deployed virtually to record and act upon people who have no publicly visible identification or group consciousness; modern wars and election campaigns are fought on this individualised terrain. The uneven distribution of these technical capacities engenders inequality of access, while rights discourses and legal frameworks - forged in an era of mass group discrimination, subjugation, and public resistance - lag behind these micro-targeting practices. Rich in examples and ideas, Identify and Sort develops an analytical model and vocabulary to explain the functions and limits of digital power in world politics.

Su questo libro

Recensione

'While his examples of the ritual and archival modes are fascinating, his depiction of the digital age is quite scary. Analysing widely disparate phenomena, from Obama s 2008 election campaign to the US army s use of gaming as a recruitment and training tool, Ansorge raises many pertinent questions about the relation between digital technology and democracy.' --Jordan Times

'[Ansorge's] intrepid survey of theoretical and historical contexts in which to grasp the practices and tools of the contemporary sovereign is brilliant and thought-provoking.' --Samuel Moyn, Professor of Law and History, Harvard University

'From ancient rituals to modern databases, this is a fascinating account of the techniques of sovereign power in our time ... Full of insights, Identify and Sort is a book that should be read by everyone concerned to understand modern power.' --Talal Asad, Distinguished Professor, Graduate Center, The City University of New York

L'autore

Josef Teboho Ansorge is a JD candidate at Yale Law School. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge. This is his first book.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• Data di pubblicazione: 2016
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1849044066
• ISBN 13: 9781849044066
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 256
• Contatto del produttore: Easy Access System Europe Oü, 16879218; gpsr.requests@easproject.com; ; Mustamäe tee 50, 10621, Tallinn, Estonia; Tallinn; 10621; Estonia