Biometric State

The Global Politics of Identification and Surveillance in South Africa, 1850 to the Present

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Engineering, Science, History
Cover of the book Biometric State by Keith Breckenridge, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Keith Breckenridge ISBN: 9781316120675
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: October 2, 2014
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Keith Breckenridge
ISBN: 9781316120675
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: October 2, 2014
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Biometric identification and registration systems are being proposed by governments and businesses across the world. Surprisingly they are under most rapid, and systematic, development in countries in Africa and Asia. In this groundbreaking book, Keith Breckenridge traces how the origins of the systems being developed in places like India, Mexico, Nigeria and Ghana can be found in a century-long history of biometric government in South Africa, with the South African experience of centralized fingerprint identification unparalleled in its chronological depth and demographic scope. He shows how empire, and particularly the triangular relationship between India, the Witwatersrand and Britain, established the special South African obsession with biometric government, and shaped the international politics that developed around it for the length of the twentieth century. He also examines the political effects of biometric registration systems, revealing their consequences for the basic workings of the institutions of democracy and authoritarianism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Biometric identification and registration systems are being proposed by governments and businesses across the world. Surprisingly they are under most rapid, and systematic, development in countries in Africa and Asia. In this groundbreaking book, Keith Breckenridge traces how the origins of the systems being developed in places like India, Mexico, Nigeria and Ghana can be found in a century-long history of biometric government in South Africa, with the South African experience of centralized fingerprint identification unparalleled in its chronological depth and demographic scope. He shows how empire, and particularly the triangular relationship between India, the Witwatersrand and Britain, established the special South African obsession with biometric government, and shaped the international politics that developed around it for the length of the twentieth century. He also examines the political effects of biometric registration systems, revealing their consequences for the basic workings of the institutions of democracy and authoritarianism.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Latin America in Colonial Times by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book What Was History? by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Inside Lawyers' Ethics by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Constitution-Making and Transnational Legal Order by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Law and Economics of Possession by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Retreat and its Consequences by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book When Paul Met Jesus by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Religion, War, and Ethics by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book The Space between Us by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Sex Before the Sexual Revolution by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Roman Literature under Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Thomas Hardy and Animals by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Emily Dickinson and Philosophy by Keith Breckenridge
Cover of the book Heidegger in America by Keith Breckenridge
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy