Pathological (Im)mobilities: managing risk in a time of pandemics

Abstract

This paper interrogates the paradox of pathological treatments of certain transnational flows in a time of pandemics. Reflecting on COVID-19 developments in Singapore between January and October 2020, the paper traces the city-state’s struggles against risks posed by different (im)mobile bodies within and surrounding its territory. While initially vowing not to ‘isolate’ itself, Singapore was seen to move incrementally toward tightening domestic and international mobilities, culminating in broad-based ‘circuit breaker’ restrictions in April 2020. Through an analysis of policy manoeuvres and news reports, the paper examines1) the graduated (and gradual) stoppage of aeromobilities among (even) kinetic groups, and 2) the dispersal and quarantine of low-skilled migrant workers usually stationed at peripheral enclosed spaces, as the city-state confronted multiple, unanticipated dormitory outbreaks. In both cases, the management of pathological risks took a turn, as (im)mobilities once thought to be non-risky turned out precisely to be high-risk. Singapore’s response to COVID-19 not only highlights the unevenness of resource distribution and citizenship rights among different transnational groups, but also uncovers the dangers of bifurcating transnational flows in discriminatory ways in a post-pandemic world.