The politics of mediation: subjectivity, value and power in the digital grid of Aadhaar
The politics of mediation: subjectivity, value and power in the digital grid of Aadhaar
Digital data infrastructures act as mediating technologies that shape and manipulate flows and visibilities. Focusing on the case of the Indian digital ID Aadhaar, this article proposes a theory of mediation as a conceptual framework for understanding the role of digital technology in projects for datafication of state governance and national economy. In 2016, the Indian biometric ID Aadhaar was instrumentalised in a nation-wide move towards digital monetary transfers, a campaign launched under the banner of ‘demonetisation’. The digital state ID was integrated into Know Your Customer (KYC) systems of financial identification complicating government practices of recording and subjectivation. This process, during which government discourse explicitly drew parallels between political subjectivation and financial control, indicates the growing significance of the digital medium in shaping the relationship between …
544-558
Hristova, Tsvetelina
4f1d1367-3e4b-499e-b358-e2c45de43d88
Hristova, Tsvetelina
4f1d1367-3e4b-499e-b358-e2c45de43d88
Hristova, Tsvetelina
(2023)
The politics of mediation: subjectivity, value and power in the digital grid of Aadhaar.
Journal of Cultural Economy, 16 (4), .
(doi:10.1080/17530350.2023.2216220).
Abstract
Digital data infrastructures act as mediating technologies that shape and manipulate flows and visibilities. Focusing on the case of the Indian digital ID Aadhaar, this article proposes a theory of mediation as a conceptual framework for understanding the role of digital technology in projects for datafication of state governance and national economy. In 2016, the Indian biometric ID Aadhaar was instrumentalised in a nation-wide move towards digital monetary transfers, a campaign launched under the banner of ‘demonetisation’. The digital state ID was integrated into Know Your Customer (KYC) systems of financial identification complicating government practices of recording and subjectivation. This process, during which government discourse explicitly drew parallels between political subjectivation and financial control, indicates the growing significance of the digital medium in shaping the relationship between …
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The politics of mediation subjectivity value and power in the digital grid of Aadhaar
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Accepted/In Press date: 14 April 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 3 July 2023
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Local EPrints ID: 492928
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/492928
ISSN: 1753-0350
PURE UUID: c53814c4-ee5b-4afc-8e55-75bacbe78216
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Date deposited: 20 Aug 2024 16:53
Last modified: 20 Aug 2024 16:53
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Tsvetelina Hristova
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