Anchoring and tracing during COVID: two modalities of mobility governance

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated two key governmental modalities. One is territorial, anchoring people to a place. The other is de-territorial, tracing people on the move. Lockdowns, border control and quarantines are part of the COVID pandemic’s everyday fabric. These measures exemplify how spatial anchoring becomes a key operational principle for governmental interventions. Territorialised governmental modalities are highly recognisable to most, given how it restricts our everyday mobilities. Yet, a large suite of COVID-19 responses has little to do with spatial control and territory. Contact tracing, face masks and social distancing present policy interventions that operate on different principles than territorial or spatial control. In fact, they are profoundly de-territorial forms of governance. Rather than ossifying subjects spatially, they are premised on enabling continuous circulation. Show more