New Authorities: Relating State and Non-State Security Auspices in South African Improvement Districts

In: Kyed, H. & Albrecht, P. Eds. Policing and the Politics of Order-Making. Oxon: Routledge, 91- 107.

21 Pages Posted: 2 Apr 2016

See all articles by Julie Berg

Julie Berg

University of Cape Town (UCT)

Clifford Shearing

University of Cape Town; University of Montreal, School of Criminology; University of New South Wales; University of Toronto

Date Written: April 1, 2015

Abstract

Disciplines engaged in governance studies have increasingly recognised the pluralistic nature of governance practices, involving both the state and non-state operating as auspices and providers in local and global settings. Security governance developments, in particular, have resulted in security provision being undertaken outside of state processes by the non-state in new power formations. Drawing on the work of the Ostroms and adopting a nodal analysis, this paper locates, within this context, the widespread emergence of ‘Improvement Districts’ as a new authority in hybrid, polycentric security governance arrangements. The paper seeks to highlight the process by which Improvement Districts are created and organised; how they assert authority on public spaces and how they impact on security networks. The main argument is that Improvement Districts constitute a site in which there are multiple, shifting sites of authority and that this has implications for security provision in terms of effectiveness, regulation and power.

Keywords: security; South Africa

Suggested Citation

Berg, Julie and Shearing, Clifford D, New Authorities: Relating State and Non-State Security Auspices in South African Improvement Districts (April 1, 2015). In: Kyed, H. & Albrecht, P. Eds. Policing and the Politics of Order-Making. Oxon: Routledge, 91- 107. , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2757627 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2757627

Julie Berg

University of Cape Town (UCT) ( email )

Private Bag X3
Rondebosch, Western Cape 7701
South Africa

Clifford D Shearing (Contact Author)

University of Cape Town ( email )

Private Bag X3
Rondebosch, Western Cape 7701
South Africa

HOME PAGE: http://www.publiclaw.uct.ac.za/pbl/staff/cshearing

University of Montreal, School of Criminology ( email )

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Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7
Canada

University of New South Wales ( email )

Sydney
Australia

University of Toronto ( email )

Robarts Library
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Toronto, ON M5S 1A5
Canada
416-978-3720 Ext. 234 (Phone)
416-978-4195 (Fax)

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