Organiser: Danish Institute for International Studies
Janaina Maldonado Guerrada Cunha (Speaker)
Latin American cities are known for their plural governance - by the state, criminal groups and religious groups. This plural governance has been extensively studied in terms of legitimacy, violence and reciprocity. But what can we learn from observing the materiality - street banners, security cameras, barricades or real-time maps - produced by these actors and their respective regimes of power? Based on ethnography in São Paulo since 2019, this presentation aims to discuss the work of materiality (objects, devices and infrastructures) in the governance of urban territories. Among the consequences of using objects to understand these orders is the emergence of a new actor: private security. Taking the public problem of mobile-phone theft in São Paulo as a starting point, I explore the objects that both private security and criminal actors put in place to respond to the 'outcomes' of the conflict.
