‘It felt like you were at war’: State of exception and wounded life in the shanghai expo-induced domicide

Abstract

This chapter offers a counter-narrative from people who were displaced by the Shanghai World Expo to debunk the myth that displacement and eviction is a good thing. Through the conceptual lens of state of exception, I unravel the production of legal abandonment during the Expo-induced displacement, which denies the residents rights to constitutional protection and human decency, and subjects them to multiple forms of violence in the name of necessity. The eviction crew were identified as crucial agents of exception whose arbitrary decisions obstructed displacees’ access to full citizenship. The targets of legal abandonment could be anyone, whereas the ‘insubordinate’ displacees who failed to prove submission in time were most vulnerable. The arbitrary exercise of sovereign power caused the displacees significant anxiety, fear and pain, of various intensity and duration, which, in turn, shaped their domicide experiences and coping strategies.