The Evolution of Panoptic Surveillance and Its Impact on Political Discrimination

Year 2021, Issue: 28, 202 - 216, 30.10.2021

Ahmet Ateş

Abstract

This article aims to explore how the expansion of social media and information technologies changed the nature of surveillance and expanded the political discrimination against women and people of color by utilizing the concept of the Panopticon. First, it surveys and documents the evolution of the Panopticon from an architecture plan to participatory omniopticon. More precisely, starting from Jeremy Bentham's blueprints of the Panopticon, this article analyzes how the expansion of CCTVs and social media led to the evolution of the Panopticon and surveillance. Then, this article discusses how increasing political discrimination against women and people of color can be analyzed by Feminist International Relations Theory and post-colonialism. Last, it offers a road map to counter political discrimination due to the expansion of surveillance. This article argues that there is a two-step road map to encounter increasing political discrimination against women and people of color. The first step is raising awareness. To understand and then encounter these challenges, feminist and postcolonial scholars should actively engage race and gender issues by problematizing and deconstructing the virtual world's nature and the effects of the omniopticon that promotes these challenges. After raising the awareness, the second step is resisting. Unlike in the previous versions of the Panopticon, now a regular citizen can stand for fighting the challenges of the women and the people of color and can monitor masculinity or racism and can actively promote equality by using social media platforms.

Keywords

Panopticon, Surveillance, Discrimination, Social Media

Panoptik Gözetlemenin Evrimi ve Siyasi Ayrımcılık Üzerindeki Etkisi

Abstract

Bu makale, panoptikon kavramını kullanarak, sosyal medyanın ve bilgi teknolojilerinin yaygınlaşmasının, gözetimin doğasını nasıl değiştirdiğini ve kadınlara ve beyaz olmayan insanlara yönelik siyasi ayrımcılığı nasıl genişlettiğini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Makalede ilk olarak, panoptikon kavramının mimari bir plan olarak başlayıp katılımcı omnioptikon kavramına kadar olan evrimi araştırılmış ve belgelenmiştir. Daha açık olmak gerekirse, Jeremy Bentham’ın panoptikon çizimlerinden başlayarak kapalı devre kamera sistemleri ve sosyal medyanın yaygınlaşmasının panoptikon kavramı ve gözetlemenin evrimine nasıl etki ettiği analiz edilmektedir. Ardından, bu ayrımcılığın Feminist Uluslararası İlişkiler Teorisi ve post-kolonyalizm tarafından nasıl analiz edilebileceğini tartışılmaktadır. Son olarak, gözetimin genişlemesi nedeniyle artan siyasi ayrımcılığa karşı bir yol haritası önerilmektedir. Bu makale, kadınlara ve beyaz olmayanlara yönelik artan siyasi ayrımcılıkla yüzleşmek için iki aşamalı bir yol haritası olduğunu savunmaktadır. Bu adımların ilki farkındalık yaratmaktır. Bu bağlamda, Feminist ve postkolonyal araştırmacılar sanal ortamların siyasi ayrımcılığı teşvik eden doğasını sorunsallaştırarak ve yapıbozumuna uğratarak tekrar yorumlamalıdırlar. Farkındalığı artırdıktan sonra ikinci adım ise direniş göstermektir. Panoptikon'un önceki versiyonlarından farklı olarak, artık sıradan bir vatandaş, kadınların ve beyaz olmayan insanların zorluklarıyla mücadele edebilmekte, sanal ortamdaki siyasi ayrımcılığı etkin bir şekilde denetleyebilmekte ve sosyal medya platformlarını kullanarak eşitliği teşvik edebilmektedir.

Keywords

Panoptikon, Gözetleme, Ayrımcılık, Sosyal Medya

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