Introduction Exploring Spaces of Security Mark Maguire and Setha Low
This volume represents the efforts of anthropologists and others to explore spaces of security. Today, security is one of the most prominent topics in anthropology. A growing ethnographic literature explores its various dimensions, from studies of military action and everyday violence to research on specific infrastructures (e.g., Lutz 2002; Low 2003; Masco 2006). Some anthropologists are also exploring contemporary problematization of security by attending to new assemblages and sites of experimentation (e.g., Lakoff and Collier 2009; Maguire and Fussey 2016). Of course, the breadth of this ethnographic literature presents its own challenge. This volume arose from the simple observation that spatial metaphors and images saturate ethnographic research on security, and many of the theoretical devices used—assemblage, infrastructure, network, for example—are thoroughly spatial. 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 (see also Glück and Low 2017). The examples discussed 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. That said, our ethnographic research also demonstrates the power of a spatial lens to bring into focus the ways that security acquires its discursive content and concrete form. 1