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Economic man and diffused sovereignty: a critique of Australia’s asylum regime

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Abstract

Governing asylum, especially in Western migration zones, is correctly understood as an expression of centralized state power, or sovereignty. Still, there is much to learn about asylum regimes by turning critical attention to how sovereignty is de-centralized. This critique focuses on Australia where sovereign power is diffused into privatized detention, outsourced decision-making, and offshore processing. The reliance on diffused sovereignty, the article contends, is a maneuver by the state as it attempts to evade legal obligations enshrined in refugee law and human rights. As discussed throughout, economic mentalities figure prominently in the Australian asylum system. In particular, the notion of economic man continues to shape the government’s perception of asylum seekers as being highly rational and responsible, thus manageable by way of deterrence and prolonged detention. Special attention is given to recent disputes between the High Court and the then Gillard government with respect to the processing of refugees.

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Notes

  1. Also in 2013, then Foreign Minister Bob Carr asserted that “up to 100 % of asylum seekers arriving on some boats were economic migrants seeking a better life rather than fleeing persecution. In recent times . . . and I'm not prejudging individual claims . . . the profile of the current arrivals - Iranians, Sri Lankans and Vietnamese - has shifted'' ([64]: 5). When questioned repeatedly how he knew that to be true when more than 20,000 claims had not been assessed, he said he stood by his previous statements ([64]: 5).

  2. I am grateful to Andrew Dilts who introduced to me this body of Foucault’s work at “Le Carcéral, Sécurité, and Beyond: Rethinking Michel [36]–1979 Collège de France Lectures,” a bilingual and interdisciplinary colloquium at the University of Chicago, Paris Center (organized by Professor Bernard E. Harcourt and Andrew Dilts), 6 June, 2008 (see [29]).

  3. With respect to internal and external governance, the phenomenon of border control does not fit neatly into either realm. Border control is not aimed internally at its own citizens. Rather its trajectory is outward, directing its authority at foreigners but also within a wider context of international and refugee law. Hence, especially with respect to privatized detention, outsourced decision-making, and offshore processing, the Australian asylum regime resides somewhere in between internal and external governance. For an insightful critique of border control, see Weber [127, 128].

  4. Kevin Rudd served as Prime Minister from 2007 until (June) 2010 when in a controversial move, the Australian Labor Party replaced Rudd with Julia Gillard. She served as Prime Minister until (June) 2013 when the Labor Party switched back to Rudd as Prime Minister until September 2013 when the Coalition led by Tony Abbott and his Liberal Party prevailed in the federal elections [109].

  5. As a global corporation, Serco holds contracts with other national detention systems; hence, there lies implications to diffused sovereignty. Reinicke purports “by altering the spatial relationship between the private and public sector, global corporate networks challenge the internal sovereignty of states. Specifically, since the organizational logic of globalization induces corporations to seek fusion of multiple, formerly segmented national markets into a single whole, it generates an economic geography that subsumes multiple political geographies. As a result, a government no longer has a monopoly of legitimate power over the territory within which corporations organize themselves” ([102]: 65).

  6. Foucault goes on to trace that aspect of power to an ancient tradition (patria potestas) that permitted the father of the Roman family the right to dispose of the life of his children and his slaves: “just as he had given them life, so he could take it away” (p. 135). Over time, that form of sovereign power became less absolute and could only be invoked when the sovereign’s very existence was in jeopardy. Most notably in the face of external enemies, the sovereign would (legitimately) exercise the power to wage war and require his subjects to defend the state (see [38]). By having them put their lives on the line, the sovereign was not directly proposing their death; nonetheless, he had the capacity to indirectly determine their fate.

  7. By doing so, the government imposed greater restrictions on asylum claims since only those reaching the Australian mainland would be eligible to petition the federal courts. Adding even greater obstacles in 2001, refugees arriving by boats (rather than aircraft) were denied the right to apply for protection. In 2010, the High Court struck down that two-stage system on the grounds of procedural fairness and protection under the rule of law: Plaintiff M61/2010E v Commonwealth of Australia; Plaintiff M69 of 2010 v Commonwealth of Australia [2010] HCA 41(11 November 2010).

  8. With respect to outsourcing to global corporations, Reinicke similarly concludes: “given the close linkage between internal sovereignty and democracy, globalization not only undermines the effectiveness and efficiency of governments but weakens the legitimacy of democratic institutions and the democratic process itself” ([102]: 70).

  9. The Greens party platform pledged to end offshore processing of asylum seekers, abolish mandatory detention, increase the quota for humanitarian migration, and increase resources to assist resettlement. The Greens leader, Christine Milne, announced: “A rich country like Australia paying off a poor country to take our desperate refugees is passing the buck and an abrogation of our responsibilities to people and the international community. It’s not a regional solution, but a radical, rightwing, hardline response. Manus Island will be Australia’s gulag in PNG. This is Australia’s day of shame when it comes to the treatment of refugees” ([118]: 3).

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Cases

  • Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 (2004)

  • Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2011] HCA 32 (31 August 2011)

  • Plaintiff M61/2010E v Commonwealth of Australia; Plaintiff M69 of 2010 v Commonwealth of Australia [2010] HCA 41(11 November 2010)

  • Plaintiff M70/2011 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship; Plaintiff M106 of 2011 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2011] HCA 32 41

  • Plaintiff M70/2011 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship; Plaintiff M106 of 2011 v

  • Rasul v. Bush and United States, 542 U.S. 466 (2004)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA

    Michael Welch

  2. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Michael Welch

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  1. Michael Welch
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Correspondence to Michael Welch.

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This project was developed while serving as a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney in 2010. Remarks and materials from Pat O’Malley, Mary Crock, Mike Grewcock, and Leanne Weber were especially useful. Support from Dean Gillian Triggs was greatly appreciated. The final version benefits from subsequent workshops, including “Governing European Asylum Policy – Towards A Single Asylum Procedure?” organized by Maarten Vink and Claudia Engelmann at Maastricht University (the Netherlands) in [25], and the 2013 Colloquium Series in the Department of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (City University of New York) coordinated by Dave Brotherton. Special thanks are extended to Nikos Passas and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

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Welch, M. Economic man and diffused sovereignty: a critique of Australia’s asylum regime. Crime Law Soc Change 61, 81–107 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-013-9488-0

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