| Summary/Abstract |
West African states like Senegal are increasingly turning to biometric technologies for border security. In this article I argue that this trend results from the construction and circulation of knowledge about biometrics by a transnational field of security professionals, assembled through official publications as much as through professional practices such as workshops. I argue that this biometric ideal rests on the promise to states in the global south that these technologies enable “smarter” and more efficient borders, enhance prestige, and facilitate states’ integration into global security arrangements. I go on to argue that, although the biometric ideal is often shared by security professionals in the North and South alike, the implementation of biometrics themselves is riddled with failure. These failures are revelatory and stem as much from the technical limitations of biometrics’ border security applications as they do from relations of competition and disaggregation between local security professionals. Drawing on fieldwork in Senegal, I use the country’s entry-exit system and biometric documents to give a view of the everyday practices behind the deployment of security technologies in the country. In doing so, I contribute to research on biometrics in West Africa by adding a focus on these technologies’ security implications.
|