Authors

Discussion

This paper offers a brief description of the editorial volume (and of its key arguments). Surveillance and the dossier: Recordkeeping, vulnerability, and reputational politics, edited by Cristina Plamadeala and Ozgun Topak, under contract with the University of Toronto Press. This book explores the concept of ‘dossiers’ within surveillance practices within various historical and geo-political contexts. It examines the link between violence and dossier production. In this paper, I present the book’s nine chapters that explore the usage of dossiers in surveillance in the following historical contexts: Nazi and Eastern Germany (Chapter 1), Soviet Russia (Chapter 9), communist Romania (Chapter 7), and Colonial Japan in Northeast China (Chapter 5). The same topic is explored in contemporary regimes, such as Zimbabwe (Chapter 3) and today’s Argentina, Brazil, and Chile (Chapter 6). By highlighting the book’s case studies, I offer a brief analysis of the potential for human rights violations and power abuse inherent in dossier production and the role of dossierveillance (Plamadeala 2019, 2020) in instilling fear in those under surveillance.