Space Quest: Surveillance, Governance, and the Panoptic Eye of the United Nations

Informed by Michel Foucault's notion of the panoptic society, two examples of surveillance -- Cardinal Nicholas de Cusa's Vision of God & the UN's contemporary approach to monitoring weapons of mass destruction -- are examined to assist current international relations scholars in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Alternatives: global, local, political local, political, 1999-07, Vol.24 (3), p.269-294
Main Author: Debrix, François
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Foucault, Michel
Globalization
Governance
Government
International agreements
International community
International cooperation
International Relations
Internationalism
National Security
Nuclear nonproliferation
Political theory
Rogue states
Social control
Social systems
Social theory
Space
Surveillance
Theology
United Nations
United Nations (UN)
War
Weapons
Weapons of mass destruction
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Summary:Informed by Michel Foucault's notion of the panoptic society, two examples of surveillance -- Cardinal Nicholas de Cusa's Vision of God & the UN's contemporary approach to monitoring weapons of mass destruction -- are examined to assist current international relations scholars in analyzing governance issues. After discussing de Cusa's theological text, an overview of the UN's strategy of weapons monitoring in North Korea & Iraq is presented. It is contended that the association of panoptic surveillance with creating & preserving communities demonstrates the significance of surveillance regimes in governance structures. It is concluded that global governance should be reinterpreted as the establishment of a global social body designed to normalize international life. J. W. Parker
ISSN:0304-3754
2163-3150
DOI:10.1177/030437549902400301