IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/socinc/v2y2014i3p018-028.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Antwerp Belong to Everyone? Unveiling the Conditional Limits to Inclusive Urban Citizenship

Author

Listed:
  • Nicolas Van Puymbroeck

    (Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City, University of Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Paul Blondeel

    (Faculty of Design Sciences, University of Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Robin Vandevoordt

    (Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City, University of Antwerp, Belgium)

Abstract

Recent theoretical discussions have indicated that citizenship is not only a way of being, but also a way of behaving. This article aims to show how attempts to regulate the behaviour of the citizenry can introduce a new topography of inclusion and exclusion, thereby exercising a direct effect on particular ethnic minorities. We investigate the issue in Antwerp, the largest city of the Flemish Region in Belgium. With his slogan ‘Antwerp belongs to everyone’ former mayor Patrick Janssens gained significant international attention for Antwerp’s supposedly inclusive conception of urban citizenship. In this article, we argue that the universality of Antwerp’s city slogan has nevertheless veiled the introduction of new exclusionary prescriptions centred around citizens’ conduct. Drawing on a Foucauldian account of power, three different modes of policing are discussed that have rearticulated the boundaries of urban citizenship in Antwerp. The disciplinary, bio-political and etho-political techniques of power each show in a different way attempts by the state to steer and effectively regulate what counts as appropriate conduct. As a corollary of governmental power, particular ways of behaving have been labelled as deviant and abnormal, thus rendering full citizenship conditional on a set of substantial expectations on how to perform as a citizen. As these expectations are only apparently neutral with respect to ethnic identities, a tension arose between the city’s universal and inclusive rhetoric and its particular and exclusionary policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolas Van Puymbroeck & Paul Blondeel & Robin Vandevoordt, 2014. "Does Antwerp Belong to Everyone? Unveiling the Conditional Limits to Inclusive Urban Citizenship," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 2(3), pages 018-028.
  • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v2:y:2014:i:3:p:018-028
    DOI: 10.17645/si.v2i3.32
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/32
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/si.v2i3.32?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v2:y:2014:i:3:p:018-028. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.