The Biopolitics of Statistics and Census in Palestine

Abstract

This article addresses the importance of statistics for governing populations in the context of Palestine. On the basis of Michel Foucault's understanding of governmentality, I argue that social statistics represent crucial biopolitical technologies of governmentality. While statistical knowledge as a modern phenomenon originated in Western Europe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the case of Palestine clearly shows the importance of modern statistics beyond the OECD world. In a first step, I will elaborate on the emergence of social statistics as modern phenomena for governing populations. In this regard, the “discovery of the population” represents a fundamental prerequisite for the “birth of modern statistics” and the systematic utilization of statistical data for governing purposes. On this basis, I will argue social statistics are of crucial importance for governing the daily lives of the Palestinian population. Moreover, I will present the emergence of Palestinian statistics as a global phenomenon. It will become evident that social statistics and inferred demographic politics are essential for the sustainment of societal order in Palestine. This is particularly so regarding related inclusionary and exclusionary dynamics—namely Palestinian nation‐building on the one hand and the Palestinian–Israeli demographic contestation on the other.

Legacies of Legibility: Genealogical Story-Telling as an Echo of State Power

“…78 British census-takers were frustrated by the changing racial and ethnic identities they encountered in rural areas. 79 The Ottomans were limited in their ability to conduct censuses in Kurdistan, 80 and similar problems have emerged in Palestine 81 and Egypt. 82 Additionally, censuses have also facilitated bottom-up nation-building, as in Spain.…”

After decision-making: the operationalization of norms in International Relations

“…Löwenheim 2008;Busse 2015). However, a research gap remains: how do indicators relate to norms that are widely conceptualized as pre-existing normative standards of governing?…”

“…The literature on indicators and governmentality has provided for significant insights into the relation of power and knowledge in the field of ‘technical’ governance (e.g. Löwenheim 2008; Busse 2015). However, a research gap remains: how do indicators relate to norms that are widely conceptualized as pre-existing normative standards of governing?…”

Biopolitical bordering: Enacting populations as intelligible objects of government

“… 12. Differential undercount is often problematized if methodological choices affect the size of ethnic minorities, especially in situations of ethnic conflict (for Israel and Palestine: Busse, 2015; Leibler & Breslau, 2005; for the Western Balkans: Visoka & Gjevori, 2013). …”