1st Prize of the Year 2023
Dr. Sarah Klosterkamp
Affectual intensities: toward a politics of listening in court ethnography
University of Bonn, Institute of Geography
In her research, Dr Sarah Klosterkamp has accompanied more than 26 trials against members and supporters of so-called "terrorist" groups in the context of the Syrian war. Her political-geographical analysis explores how spatial affiliations and gender-specific attributions play a role in explaining "Islamist terrorism". Her research shows that while these factors cannot explain terrorism, they play a significant role in court. This was shown in relation to national and international networks, members and procurement practices of the organisations as well as in the court proceedings themselves.
The comparative analysis of all the proceedings studied and their underlying police and custody procedures highlights two conclusions. First, migrant male-read bodies tend to be charged and convicted more frequently as "terrorist legal subjects" compared to females. Secondly, foreign nationals, especially Syrian nationals, are disproportionately more often and permanently detained than German nationals who have returned from Syria.
Dr Klosterkamp's submitted paper reflects and extends the methodology and method developed during her dissertation to include a "politics of listening". Instead of focusing exclusively on the legal subjects and narratives of "Islamist terrorism" produced by the court proceedings, this approach allows for an account of what the state protectors:in ultimately bring about with every judgement and every display of delinquent bodies, what they initially thought they would find. As a geographer, Dr Klosterkamp shows how this can be understood on a daily basis in the courtroom itself and in its side-shows such as the waiting areas, canteens, toilet rooms and parking areas.
The ABC/J Research Award was presented to Dr Sarah Klosterkamp for her exceptional and significant research in this highly sensitive area. Her findings shed new light on the role of gender, ethnicity and spatial affiliation in court proceedings in the context of "Islamist terrorism" and provide valuable insights for the administration of justice, policing and society in general.
