Abstract
How are ethics articulated in the organization of migrants’ detention in France? While state agents enjoy discretionary power, it is the third sector that claims legal knowledge and good practice, exposing an unresisting and reverent attitude towards the ‘rule of law’. This legalistic gaze on the state attests to the impasse in questioning (the moral grounds of) laws and flaunting intense emotions on a daily basis, an expression of their moral dilemma. In doing so, police officers, legal practitioners and other service providers display contrasting ideological disapproval but practical compliance, creating an environment infused with melancholy. Melancholy enables them to be humble operators of state rules and regulations and, at the same time, to suffer endless (moral and emotional) pain. This article analyses inter-organizational and inter-personal affective experiences in order to demonstrate how melancholy reflects the morale that is manifest in the organization of migrants’ detention.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 123-139 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Identities |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 18 Dec 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Funding
This research was supported by the European Research Council, Starting Grant [336319]; and by the WIRL COFUND Grant [713548]. My gratitude goes to Anne McNevin and colleagues at The New School for Social Research, as well as to Ida Sabelis and my colleagues at Vrije University Amsterdam, for fantastic comments and insightful feedback on previous versions of the article. Special thanks to Bridget Anderson for her close reading and to the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful commentaries.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| WIRL | 713548 |
| European Research Council | 336319 |
Keywords
- Affect
- deportation
- detention
- France
- legalistic gaze
- melancholia
