Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy

Abstract: Anthropological accounts of the state are often voiced from the perspective of the public, demonstrating the potential for danger or illegibility in encounters with the state. Less has been said, however, about how functionaries of the state perceive their interactions with the public. Thi...

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Main Author:	Hoag, Colin Brewster
Format:	Others
Language:	en
Published:	2009
Subjects:	state-making magic of the state every day practice bureaucracy migration studies South Africa
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10539/7470

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spelling	ndltd-netd.ac.za-oai-union.ndltd.org-wits-oai-wiredspace.wits.ac.za-10539-74702019-05-11T03:40:12Z Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy Hoag, Colin Brewster state-making magic of the state every day practice bureaucracy migration studies South Africa Abstract: Anthropological accounts of the state are often voiced from the perspective of the public, demonstrating the potential for danger or illegibility in encounters with the state. Less has been said, however, about how functionaries of the state perceive their interactions with the public. This perspectival bias needs to be overcome through ethnographies of the state, which can help scholars to look critically at our understanding of the state in everyday practice. This article examines one such “illegible” state bureaucracy, the Immigration Services Branch of the South African Department of Home Affairs, documenting some of the factors which inform the actions of street-level bureaucrats. It illustrates how officials develop systems of meaning to help them navigate the challenges posed by a mysterious populace and an unpredictable management hierarchy, and to effectively stabilize these two unstable entities. These systems of meaning also enable officials to act in ways which might run counter to official discourse, while simultaneously upholding its legitimacy. Their efforts at stabilization therefore incite a destabilization of the state, leading it to appear as “magical” or “illegible” to the public. 2009-12-21T10:11:58Z 2009-12-21T10:11:58Z 2009-12-21T10:11:58Z Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10539/7470 en application/pdf
collection	NDLTD
language	en
format	Others
sources	NDLTD
topic	state-making magic of the state every day practice bureaucracy migration studies South Africa
spellingShingle	state-making magic of the state every day practice bureaucracy migration studies South Africa Hoag, Colin Brewster Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy
description	Abstract: Anthropological accounts of the state are often voiced from the perspective of the public, demonstrating the potential for danger or illegibility in encounters with the state. Less has been said, however, about how functionaries of the state perceive their interactions with the public. This perspectival bias needs to be overcome through ethnographies of the state, which can help scholars to look critically at our understanding of the state in everyday practice. This article examines one such “illegible” state bureaucracy, the Immigration Services Branch of the South African Department of Home Affairs, documenting some of the factors which inform the actions of street-level bureaucrats. It illustrates how officials develop systems of meaning to help them navigate the challenges posed by a mysterious populace and an unpredictable management hierarchy, and to effectively stabilize these two unstable entities. These systems of meaning also enable officials to act in ways which might run counter to official discourse, while simultaneously upholding its legitimacy. Their efforts at stabilization therefore incite a destabilization of the state, leading it to appear as “magical” or “illegible” to the public.
author	Hoag, Colin Brewster
author_facet	Hoag, Colin Brewster
author_sort	Hoag, Colin Brewster
title	Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy
title_short	Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy
title_full	Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy
title_fullStr	Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy
title_full_unstemmed	Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy
title_sort	seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the south african immigration bureaucracy
publishDate	2009
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10539/7470
work_keys_str_mv	AT hoagcolinbrewster seeingitlikeamagicalstatediscretiondestabilisationandthedevelopmentofstreetlevelsystemsofmeaningatthesouthafricanimmigrationbureaucracy
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Seeing it like a magical state: discretion, (de)stabilisation, and the development of street-level systems of meaning at the South African Immigration bureaucracy

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