Government surveillance: Racism and civic virtue in the United States

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the rise in exclusionary practices, racism, and xenophobia in twenty-first century United States (US) surveillance. In particular, this chapter seeks to understand how surveillance technologies, especially drone surveillance within US boundaries, seek to control communities of colour manifest in society and are sanctioned or commissioned by the US government as part of an evolving regime of white supremacy within a structurally racist government apparatus. Typically, drone surveillance enables federal agencies such as the CIA to monitor suspected terrorist activities in targeted countries such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Now, drone surveillance is breaking new ground. Local law enforcement entities use the same technology on US soil to detect and monitor citizen-led protests. The chapter explores how surveillance and race advance the theories of violence and subjugation in American life.