The political economy of surveillance in the (Wannabe) global city

Abstract

Many authors have highlighted the need to look at the political economy of surveillance in order to provide a comprehensive picture of our increasingly surveilled societies. However, an analysis that stressed only the material interaction between public and private actors, or the formal relationships between markets, technologies, policy and politics would leave out a broader understanding of the motives and expectations that are taking shape alongside the increase of surveillance mechanisms. The fact that Barcelona (Spain) has so far only installed CCTV systems in the city center, in areas used intensively by tourists, reveals a picture that takes the political economy of surveillance beyond the corporation-meets-public-official discourse, which highlights private profit and the role of lobbies and lobbyists as a key reason behind the ascendance of surveillance technologies in public spaces, and addresses a more complex setting where the electoral expectations of local politicians meet the economic interest of the private shop owner meet the political aspirations of local media moguls meet the pressure to sell safe cities in the context of a global drive to see security technology and surveillance as the solution to all urban evils (and fast track to winning elections). By looking at the actual articulation of the actors and interests involved in promoting security policies based on surveillance and monitoring of behavior in Barcelona’s public spaces, this piece presents less-explored understandings of the political economy of surveillance, making a case that highlights how global pressures, processes and imaginaries are received and negotiated at the local level.