Academic Journal
Infrastructural opportunism's governmental desires: database interoperability's lessons from the German central register of foreigners.
| Title: | Infrastructural opportunism's governmental desires: database interoperability's lessons from the German central register of foreigners. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Pfeifer, Michelle1 (AUTHOR) michelle.pfeifer@posteo.de |
| Source: | Cultural Studies. Sep2026, Vol. 40 Issue 5, p790-808. 19p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Public administration, *System integration, *Counterterrorism, *Emigration & immigration, *Border security, *European integration, *Immigration enforcement |
| Geographic Terms: | Germany |
| Company/Entity: | European Union |
| Abstract: | This article provides a genealogy of 'smart' border policing before computational and digital technologies, such as Blockchain or Artificial Intelligence gained traction in public administration. First, I analyse the European Union's plans and desires for an interoperability framework in the areas of migration, border policing and security. I show that database interoperability is one of the largest concerns of European public administration in general, and border and migration policing in particular. Second, I focus on plans and implementations of database interoperability between public administration, border control, and policing, as they were articulated in the 1970s and 80s in Germany. Looking at archival documents about the reform of the Central Register of Foreigners, I analyse how public administration imagined and designed data interoperability between migration and policing institutions. I situate these plans as part of larger political concerns about anti-terrorism, labour migration, and European integration. I present three interrelated arguments. First, historically, I show how interoperability, as a technocratic administrative project, was and is continuously reproduced through the fabrication of political urgency and the governmental desire for seamless and unhindered information flow, a process I call infrastructural opportunism. Second, media-theoretically, I characterize interoperability as a theory of communication that is entangled with histories of modernity and empire. I argue that it is not only interoperability in itself that has efficacy in debates on reforming public administration, but that talking about interoperability produces its efficacy. Third, politically, I argue that we must strengthen abolitionist approaches in the study of databases and migration policing, as they provide fundamental structural critiques of border violence beyond reformist approaches to privacy and data protection. As such, this article contributes to the literature on digital migration and border policing, as well as the history of media technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Database: | Academic Search Index |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Infrastructural opportunism's governmental desires: database interoperability's lessons from the German central register of foreigners. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pfeifer%2C+Michelle%22">Pfeifer, Michelle</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> michelle.pfeifer@posteo.de</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Cultural+Studies%22">Cultural Studies</searchLink>. Sep2026, Vol. 40 Issue 5, p790-808. 19p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+administration%22">Public administration</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22System+integration%22">System integration</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Counterterrorism%22">Counterterrorism</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emigration+%26+immigration%22">Emigration & immigration</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Border+security%22">Border security</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22European+integration%22">European integration</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Immigration+enforcement%22">Immigration enforcement</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Germany%22">Germany</searchLink> – Name: SubjectCompany Label: Company/Entity Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22European+Union%22">European Union</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: This article provides a genealogy of 'smart' border policing before computational and digital technologies, such as Blockchain or Artificial Intelligence gained traction in public administration. First, I analyse the European Union's plans and desires for an interoperability framework in the areas of migration, border policing and security. I show that database interoperability is one of the largest concerns of European public administration in general, and border and migration policing in particular. Second, I focus on plans and implementations of database interoperability between public administration, border control, and policing, as they were articulated in the 1970s and 80s in Germany. Looking at archival documents about the reform of the Central Register of Foreigners, I analyse how public administration imagined and designed data interoperability between migration and policing institutions. I situate these plans as part of larger political concerns about anti-terrorism, labour migration, and European integration. I present three interrelated arguments. First, historically, I show how interoperability, as a technocratic administrative project, was and is continuously reproduced through the fabrication of political urgency and the governmental desire for seamless and unhindered information flow, a process I call infrastructural opportunism. Second, media-theoretically, I characterize interoperability as a theory of communication that is entangled with histories of modernity and empire. I argue that it is not only interoperability in itself that has efficacy in debates on reforming public administration, but that talking about interoperability produces its efficacy. Third, politically, I argue that we must strengthen abolitionist approaches in the study of databases and migration policing, as they provide fundamental structural critiques of border violence beyond reformist approaches to privacy and data protection. As such, this article contributes to the literature on digital migration and border policing, as well as the history of media technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/09502386.2026.2664546 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 19 StartPage: 790 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Germany Type: general – SubjectFull: European Union Type: general – SubjectFull: Public administration Type: general – SubjectFull: System integration Type: general – SubjectFull: Counterterrorism Type: general – SubjectFull: Emigration & immigration Type: general – SubjectFull: Border security Type: general – SubjectFull: European integration Type: general – SubjectFull: Immigration enforcement Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Infrastructural opportunism's governmental desires: database interoperability's lessons from the German central register of foreigners. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pfeifer, Michelle IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 09 Text: Sep2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 09502386 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 40 – Type: issue Value: 5 Titles: – TitleFull: Cultural Studies Type: main |
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