Subjects of the Sovereignty Impulse

Abstract: This thesis explores the state of refugeehood in the political order of the nation-state system through a case study study of the Tamil refugee population in Tamil Nadu, India. How, and in what ways, does refugeehood affect peoples’ lives as political subjects? And what is the role of the refugee figure in the political order of the nation-state system? The research questions are explored through a theoretical framework based on the concepts of: Citizenship (or the lack thereof); the Sovereignty impulse; State-thinking; the State/Space of Exception, Bare Life; Political Action; the Space of Appearance. Through an abductive reading of the material, the theoretical framework will be used to analyze the empirical material. Simultaneously the empirical material will be used to analyze the theoretical framework. I will argue that the refugee is subject to sovereignty impulses. Through these sovereignty impulses the refugee figure is constructed as lacking citizenship. Furthermore refugeehood manifest itself differently depending on spatial conditions. Refugees in the camps are subject to control and surveillance, but can come together in a community as political actors. Non-camp refugees avoid control and surveillance, but have no access to a community in which to act politically.