Border Heterotopias

This thesis seeks to understand how borders operate and what subjectivities, spaces, narratives, relations, connections, conflicts and transformations they perform. It aims to unsettle critical readings of contemporary state borders as simply exclusive and violent biopolitical places which enact bare lives. It opens up the border into alternative imaginations by conceptualising it as a heterotopia. Drawing on a Deleuzo-Guattarian ontology of becoming and Tim Ingold’s notion of lines, it defines heterotopia as a fluid meshwork space constituted by and constitutive of ever-shifting transformative movements of three lines: molar lines, molecular lines, and lines of flight. The central argument is that, understood as a heterotopia, the border does not have a static structure; it is not a natural or a fixed entity with a stable identity. On the border all these lines co-exist, working in a continuum, and in their entanglements they alter one another. These three types of lines constantly mutate depending on the discursive and corporeal practices constituting them. It is the ever-shifting, contradictory and uncertain movements of these lines that transform a border into a heterotopia. Heterotopia is in constant transformation. The colonising structures and dominant moral codes of molar lines may temporarily capture this space, while molecular lines may destabilise the operation of established power structures offering the first signals of positive transformations, and thus alternative political imaginations. In this sense, the border does not exhibit a final structure, it is always at the state of uncertainty; it is always on the threshold. Nothing is stable on this space. The border moves in every direction in response to and in anticipation of the different lines that enable its construction, preservation, disruption and transformation. As such, the border never settles, it re-begins each time with the ever-shifting entangled movement of its multiple lines. This is where the positive force of border heterotopias lies. Their constant movement is their potential to activate a new form of ethics that is cultivated by the politics of becoming-other

Protests as “Events”: The Symbolic Struggles in 2013 Demonstrations in Turkey and Brazil

ABSCTRACT Introduction: The concept of “event” offers a valuable lens to understand the discursive contestations in and around protests. Events create ruptures that disturb the logic of continuity and open up new way of thinking and talking about the past and the future. Drawing on this concept, this article analyzes the 2013 protests in Turkey and Brazil. It investigates how the causes of these protests were framed and debated in each country and how these frames shifted over time by opening up new interpretations of the past and the future. Materials and Methods: Data is generated from four Facebook pages capturing the messages posted during the first 30 days of protests in each country. In the Brazilian case, we collected the posts of: (1) Passe Livre São Paulo (301,787 likes), the group that started the wave of protests; and (2) O Gigante Acordou (155,690 likes), a collective that emerged during the protests, representing nationalist perspectives. In total, 626 posts were collected from both pages. In the Turkish case, we analyzed posts that appeared on the pages of : (1) Taksim Dayanismasi (82,479 likes), an association that played a significant role in organizing and mobilizing Gezi Park protests; and (2) Recep Tayyip Erdogan (6,957,408 likes), a pro-government and inherently anti-protest page. We coded each post inductively focusing particularly on the way they framed the causes of the protests. We then identified the number of times each frame was mentioned during the first 30 days of the protests and explored whether and how frames changed over time. Results: Our analysis reveals a significant shift in the way the causes of the protests were framed over time in both countries, yet with different implications. While in Brazil, we observe a frame transformation undermining the initial rationale of the protests, in Turkey we see a frame extension and the emergence of broader issues as the real causes of protests, such as the authoritarian nature of the regime and the restriction of democratic rights in this country. Discussion: The article offers a way of analysing protests based on a conceptual lens of event. It sheds light on the role of social media as a platform for symbolic struggles over the protests. Furthermore, the article opens up a debate about the developments of democracy in both countries. KEYWORDS: events; protests; Gezi Park; June Journeys; Facebook.  Protestos como “Acontecimentos”: as lutas simbólicas nas manifestações de 2013 no Brasil e na TurquiaRESUMO Introdução: O conceito de “acontecimento” oferece uma perspectiva interessante para a compreensão de disputas discursivas nos protestos e sobre eles. Por “acontecimento”, entendemos rupturas da continuidade da experiência que alimentam disputas políticas pela reinterpretação de passados e futuros. Partindo do conceito e de sua utilidade para a leitura de disputas simbólicas, este artigo busca analisar os protestos de 2013 no Brasil e na Turquia. Investigamos como as razões a alicerçar tais protestos foram enquadradas e como esses enquadramentos mudaram ao longo do tempo, abrindo novas interpretações de passado e provendo novas possibilidades de imaginação do futuro. Materiais e Métodos: Dados foram gerados a partir de quatro páginas do Facebook, coletando mensagens postadas ao longo dos primeiros 30 dias de protestos em cada um dos países. No caso brasileiro, coletamos os posts de: (1) Passe Livre São Paulo (301.787 likes), o grupo que iniciou a onda de protestos; e (2) O Gigante Acordou (155.690 likes), um coletivo que emergiu durante os protestos, representando perspectivas nacionalistas. Ao todo, foram coletados 626 posts em ambas as páginas. No caso turco, analisaram-se posts que apareceram em: (1) Taksim Dayanismasi (82.479 likes), uma associação que teve papel significativo na organização e mobilização dos protestos do Gezi Park; e (2) Recep Tayyip Erdogan (6.957.408 likes), uma página pró-governo e essencialmente anti-protestos. Codificamos cada post indutivamente, enfocando, particularmente, o modo como eles enquadraram as causas dos protestos. Identificamos, então, a frequência de cada enquadramento nos 30 dias iniciais dos protestos e exploramos se, e como, isso se transformou ao longo do tempo. Resultados: A análise revelou a existência de viradas significativas na forma como as causas dos protestos foram enquadradas em ambos os países, mas com implicações distintas. Enquanto no Brasil, a “transformação de quadro” observada minou o foco inicial dos manifestantes, na Turquia, observa-se uma situação de “expansão do quadro”, com a tematização de questões mais amplas como causas dos protestos, como a natureza autoritária do regime e as restrições a direitos democráticos no país. Discussão: O artigo oferece uma maneira de analisar protestos com base na lente conceitual do “acontecimento”, esclarecendo o papel das mídias sociais no contexto das lutas simbólicas em torno dos protestos. Além disso, ele abre debate sobre as disputas de enquadramento a atravessar desdobramentos contemporâneos da democracia em ambos os países.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: acontecimento; protestos; Gezi Park; Jornadas de Junho; Facebook

Operatives’ experiences of cultural diversity on Australian construction sites

Construction sites are among Australia’s most culturally diverse workplaces. A survey of 1155 construction operatives on Australian construction sites investigated, for the first time, the extent of this diversity and how it is experienced by workers. Results show that while cultural diversity presents organizational challenges by segregating the workforce, operatives’ cultural groups also perform positive functions such as maintaining positive bonds among group members and providing group support and safe havens. While there broadly appears to be equality of opportunity for all cultural groups, there is significant evidence of differential treatment for some groups, particularly in relation to accessing higher paying jobs, offensive graffiti and racist joke telling. Language barriers are one of the major challenges affecting work and social relations between different cultural groups and there is evidence that this has a detrimental impact upon safety.Diversity, culture, immigrants, safety, racism, discrimination,

The politics of sameness in the Australian construction industry: comparing operative and manager attitudes towards cultural diversity

Purpose – Australian construction sites are culturally diverse workplaces. This paper aims to compare operative and manager attitudes towards cultural diversity on Australian construction sites, and to examine the strategies that are used to manage it. Design/methodology/approach – A face-to-face questionnaire survey was undertaken of 1,155 construction operatives and 180 supervisors on Australian construction sites. Findings – The vast majority of operatives and managers are comfortable with cultural diversity. However, there is some anxiety about cultural diversity, especially around safety risks, and there is evidence of racism. Those concerns are more keenly perceived by operatives than by managers. Both operatives and managers see some of the negative issues (discrimination, racist joke telling) as inevitable daily outcomes of cultural diversity on sites. The normalisation of these negative forms of cross-cultural interaction reveals a pessimistic disposition towards cultural diversity. Cultural diversity policy, and programs, are not seen as a priority by managers, and some see such strategies (e.g. affirmative action plans) as discriminatory, and unfair, since they may favour some groups over others. Originality/value – No research has compared operative and management attitudes towards cultural diversity in the Australian construction sector. This paper provides a first glimpse into the value attributed to cultural diversity programs by managers within construction sites. These insights will be of value to managers and supervisors who have to manage multicultural workforces in the construction industry. Conceptually, the paper reveals how the “politics of sameness” are hegemonic within the construction industry, presenting as an a priori anxiety towards difference, the normalising of poor cross-cultural relations, the non-prioritising of policies to better manage cultural diversity or their ad hoc adoption

Forum: Thinking Theoretically in Unsettled Times: COVID-19 and Beyond

This collection of essays seeks to theorize the politics of the COVID-19 pandemic in international relations (IR). The contributions are driven by questions such as: How can theorizing help us understand these unsettled times? What kind of crisis is this? What shapes its politics? What remains the same and what has been unsettled or unsettling? In addressing such questions, each of the participants considers what we may already know about the pandemic as well as what might be ignored or missed. Collectively, the forum pushes at the interdisciplinary boundaries of IR theorizing itself and, in so doing, the participants hope to engender meaningful understandings of a world in crisis and encourage expansive ways of thinking about the times that lie beyond.</jats:p