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Everything under control? Security in urban areas
In the last years there is a massive revalorisation of the issue of security. With it one can do politics very successfully in times when more and more people are experiencing the capitalistic socialisation in a negative way – in the metropolis as well as in the periphery. Exclusion and control policies are complementing each other. If wage dependent people become unnecessary for the capitalistic valuation and live under precarious conditions, they become a problem for those who continuously hold their ground in this competition – a problem to be controlled as cost-effective as possible. This concerns homeless people in Berlin as well as organisations of unemployed in Argentina, whose militant protest is declared a security risk.
Policies of security are repressive answers to the consequences of social exclusion, but they do not stay beyond the subjects. They are also reflected in the increasing consensus for reactionary positions, like the intensified governmental control policies after 11th September 2001 or the internal engagement of the German Army during the Championship. In the “war on terror”, “smuggling gangs channelling in illegal migrants“ and the like the belonging to an “imagined nation community” is always confirmed in spite of the increasing conflict potential within the society.
A close-meshed net of governmental security instruments and strategies is developing containing an increasingly “preventive” character and simultaneously passing on the duty to care for security to the citizens (“self-organised” quarter patrols) or to private security services. The trade in security services, weapons and surveillance technologies is one of the biggest global growth markets. In the course of privatisation security becomes a purchasable good, the active production of insecurity and the participation of arms dealers in warlike conflicts are securing the market. In urban areas this dynamic appears et. al. in the privatisation and capitalisation of living quarters, shopping areas or public parks. One consequence is, that the guaranty of physical inviolability becomes a question of purchasing power: “Gated Communities” in Cape Town guarantee a well guarded private life while in the neighbouring quarter the way to the next shop can be perilous. Security policies, as well as the way how to deal with them, differ accordingly to the concretes social and regional situations. Besides defensive strategies criticising repression respectively defending the right to defence there are also examples of active opposition, e.g. neighbourhood groups in Mexico City which are producing social security in cooperation. In the workshops on security in urban areas we would like to analyse instruments, aims and mechanisms of security policies in order to sharpen our criticism and to lay the basis for emancipative resistance – also in view of the Championship 2006.
Forum on City/Control Preparation Group
Events in the Forum on City and Control
Thursday, 25.05.06

Crash Cours: Hegemony [15:00 - 16:30 h]
With: Markus-Michael Müller, Martina Blank
The „successful“ production of (in-)security needs a certain “consensus of the ruled”, a consensus for which again the struggle always goes on. In this workshop we would like to present and discuss some basics of hegemony theoretical argumentations concerning the topic of security.
Crash Cours: Regulatory theory/ Postfordism [15:00 - 18:00 h]
With: Susanne Heeg und Sybille Bauriedl
This crash course introduces into central concepts of this theory like ways of regulation, accumulation regime, fordism, and post-fordism, and analyses these on their usefulness to analyse the transformation of urban areas.
Crash Cours: Gouvernementality [16:30 - 18:00 h]
With: Henning Füller, Christian Schröder
This crash course will introduce into the concepts of power, knowledge and subject and will show starting from this relation the outline of the present art of government, the so called governmentality. Especially the younger concepts of city development and security policies are reflecting partly in direct continuation this changed strategy of power described by Foucault.
Crash Cours: Radical Geography [16:30 - 18:00 h]
With: Bernd Belina
Friday, 26.05.06, 10:30 - 11:30 h

Opening Panel: Outlines of the safety society – changing strategies of control
With: Tobias Singelnstein, Peer Stolle
Social control is changing fundamentally in its mechanisms, techniques and institutions against the background of the economical and societal transformation processes. The resulting new formation of social control will be shown in its fundamentals and illustrated with several examples.
Friday, 26.05.06, 11:45 - 13:30 h

Paramilitarisation of public areas and „democratic safety“ in Medellín
With: Kolumbienkampagne Berlin, Kolko e.V.
The “democratic safety” is an authoritarian policy aiming at the production of public order and state authority. This, the change in function of paramilitary structures and their crushing consequences for the societal counter-power will be shown using the example of the marginalized quarters of Medellín.
Localisation of trans-national migration regimes and migration movements in the „border towns“ Belgrade and Istanbul
Manuela Bojadzijev, Sabine Hess, Serhat Karakayali (Kanak Attak)
Urban Security and Control in the example of Belgrade and Istanbul
„The Dangerous Being“
With: Stefan Krauth
At the crossroads of psychiatry and criminal law a new type of technical mastering of social antagonisms is developing. The “locking up” of people classified as “dangerous beings” is receiving a neurobiological rectification through brain research. Simultaneously the criminal law is massively intensified. Normalisation and exclusion are the consequences.
Friday, 26.05.06, 15:00 - 16:45 h

Contradictory Possibility of Movement: Security, Gender and Feminism Movement
Corinna Genschel, Ariane Brenssell, u.a.
Development of control and monitoring unimportant for left toolistic doing and if, why and which means this? For this Workshop we invited tool NIST inside on different initiatives - to receive not around lectures and prefabricated answers to throw but over from different perspectives a view of the question about sex conditions in the discourses around Un/Sicherheit in order to bring up for discussion the uneasiness, which is discussed often only with the "beer thereafter" in small circles, publicly. Invited all, which have desire, are to be brought in openly and independently their perspectives and for interest have to concern an unclear way together.
Ordering space through politics of crime
Bernd Belina
In cities in the US and Germany, "fighting crime" and "security"-talk are used to legitimize the reordering of urban space through a variety of policing measures. These include video surveillance of public spaces, spatial restrictions of the movement of certain (groups of) persons and the spatial regulation of political protest. Departing from such practices, I want to discuss to what ends these spatial strategies are applied, wherein their specific power lies and which counterstrategies may make sense. Bernd Belina lives in Berlin and works at the university of Potsdam. His research interests include the production of space, politics of social control and EU largement. His Raum, Überwachung, Kontrolle is forthcoming at Westfälisches Dampfboot (Münster).
Of Walls and Favelas. Police Violence in Rio de Janeiro
With: Susanne Dzeik (Ak Kraak), Kirsten Wagenschein
Rio de Janeiro is a metropolis where safety is depending mainly on the societal position: The upper class is living sealed off in well guarded quarters, in the favelas economical distress and violence dominate. Often a deadly threat comes from the supreme power.
Safety through Social Control? Examples from the „city states“ Hong Kong and Singapore
With: Peter Franke & Rolf Jordan (Asienhaus Essen)
Social control and “social engineering” are important elements of state policy and rule in Singapore and Hong Kong. In both examples it can be very well shown, how state control and security policy complement and superimpose state social policies.
Safety World Championship 2006: World Championship as Trojan Horse of expanded surveillance
With: Johannes Stender (BAFF e.V.)
In the course of the Soccer World Championship the discourse on safety in Germany is again intensified. The demand of an internal engagement of the German Army is only one of many. Which security policy measures tend to be enforced now and what exactly will happen in the course of the Championship?
Beginning of participative planning in Caracas
Projektgruppe MovimentoR
Friday, 26.05.06, 17:15 - 19:00 h

Trojan-Security-Technology
Olaf Arndt, Iris Hunger
(In-)Security and Violence in Guatemala City
With: Stefanie Kron
This workshop deals with the (im)possibilities of political articulation for the civil society in a country which is called a “corporative mafia state” by amnesty international and where “urban public” means insecurity and generalised violence for socially marginalized groups.
Zones of Fear and Dangerous Locations as paradigms for the (Re-)Production of the Social Space
With: Thomas Bürk-Matsunami
This is a try to discuss ideas and needs of a secure (and good) life also from the perspective of other protagonists. Along socio-spatial articulations and specific productions of places we will discuss this using the example of social hegemony of neo-nazi groups in Brandenburg towns.
Security as Primary Citizens’ Duty: Quarter Management and „Dangerous Locations“
With: Volker Eick BUKO
Saturday, 26.05.06, 10:00 - 12:30 h

Security Policy as a Means of Securing Power of Competing Warlords. State Terror in the example of the Democratic Republic of Congo
With: Alfred Makombo (Förderverein Afrika-Initiative e.V. Berlin)
In the run-up to the first free election since 1965, planned for 2006, the control of central areas of influence is one of the most important ways for competing warlords to secure their power. Here the (in)security of the population is at the most of strategic importance as a means of intimidation and extortion.
Security in Separated Cities
With: Romin Khan
State/Hegemony/Security
With: Maria Markantonatou (Uni Freiburg), Wolf- Dieter Narr (FU Berlin, Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie)
Processes of political transformations are often connected with the sudden "appearance" of security problems and the formulation of policies aimed at their "solution". Taking into account the current transformations of statehood, this workshops wants to discuss the "hegemonial-work" involved in these developments within the field of security policies.
Reforms of Laws in the area of „Inner Security“
With: Elke Steven (Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie), Wolfgang Kalek (Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwältevereins RAV)
An overview on the numerous laws relevant to security following 11th September 2001 will elucidate the massive extension of police rights on intervention, control, and surveillance.
Saturday, 26.05.06, 14:00 - 17:00 h

The City has got Eyes – the look back in the example of the traveller and other absurdities
With: Sascha Büttner
There are webcams on different locations world wide which are accessible for everyone through the internet. “The traveller” decided to visit the plenty of webcam addresses. Since then he looks back and the old question remains: Who is watching whom, and for which purpose does the global collection of curios serve?
G8 – Repressions against summit mobilisations
With: Silke Studzinsky (RAV, European Legal Team und Generalsekretärin der European Democratic Lawyers), Suus (Maarten Support Group - Amsterdam), Blicero (Suporto Legale Genua), Matt (pigbrother.info - Schweiz), Dave (Indymedia UK Volunteer- London)
The aim of this workshop is to analyse the structures and dynamics of repression against summit protests. Using the examples of several mobilisations (Gothenburg, Genoa, Geneva, Gleneagles) we would like to work out typical patterns of police strategies, of public legitimisation and of legal persecution.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words [14:00 - 15:30 h]
With: Leipziger Kamera. Initiative gegen Überwachung, requested: LIGNA, c3: city.crime.control, urbane panik, Innen!Stadt!Aktion!
We would like to take a look from below on the city extradited to the compulsion of economy and to ask for possible practices of daily resistance. Activities against policies of displacement, control practices of security personnel, video surveillance, and security orders will be presented.
Networkmeeting of the Forum: City - Security [15:30 - 17:00 h]
Following the Workshop of "act ion Speak Louder Than Words" takes place a meeting, with which initiatives, groups and individuals can exchange themselves and interlace, those against monitoring, social control and Ausgrenzung in the urban area to protest and resisted to practice to want. Ideal way develops a connection, which could carry a country wide campaign.