Neoliberal Yönetimsellik ve Konsolosluk Hizmetleri Dış Alımı: Vize İşlemleri Uygulamaları Üzerine bir Analiz

2000’li yıllardan bu yana, konsolosluk hizmetleri sadece hükümetlerin sorumluluk alanında olmaktançıkmıştır. Bu çalışma, devletin vize hizmetlerini milyonlarca vize başvurusu alan özel firmalaranasıl bıraktığını incelemektedir. Teorik yaklaşım olarak “yönetimsellik” kavramını benimseyen buçalışma konsolosluk hizmetlerinin dış alımı sürecindeki söylemleri şekillendiren anlamları, süreçlerive güç konfigürasyonlarını incelemektedir. İçerik analizine dayanan çalışma hükümetlerin küreselvize politikalarına yönelik politik rasyonelliğinin söylemlerine göreceli olarak nasıl yansıdığını vebu söylemlerin devlet ve teknik dokümanlarda nasıl vücut bulduğunu analiz etmektedir. Çalışma,ihale dokümanları, hizmet anlaşmaları ve hizmet sağlayıcıların feragat beyannamelerine dayanarak,hükümetlerin ve hizmet sağlayıcıların rollerini, düşünce süreçlerini, mekanizmalarını, pratiklerinive aynı zamanda operasyonel süreçlerini araştırmaktadır. Çalışma üç sonucu ortaya koymaktadır.Birincisi, vize politikalarına yönelik değişen politik rasyonellik (vize kısıtlamasından serbestleşmeyeyönelik) bir söylem değişikliğini işaret etse de bu söylem değişikliği ancak yeni aktörlerin, pratiklerinve süreçlerin ortaya çıkmasına yol açmaktan öteye gidememiştir. İkincisi, konsolosluk hizmetleri dışkaynak kullanımı hükümetler, servis sağlayıcıları ve bireyler arasında ve dahilinde sorumluluk ve hesapverilebilirlik alanlarında boşlukları ortaya çıkarmıştır. Üçüncüsü, bu boşluklar neoliberal bir biçimdedepolitizasyon, bireyselleştirme, güvensizleştirme yaratmakta ve sorumluluk ile hesap verilebilirlikanlamında endişelere işaret etmektedir. Bu içerik analizi ışığında, neoliberal yönetimsellik ile birlikteyeni bir siyaset alanı ortaya çıkmış ve bireyi yasal-siyasal alandan koparmış ve vize süreçlerindeki hertür riskin sorumluluğunu üstlenecek girişimci bireyler üretmiştir. Bu süreç, devlet ve bireyin, piyasatemeline dayandırılmış, politik-rasyonalitesini inşa eden bir siyaset alanını işaret emektedir. Böylelikle,depolitizasyon, vize işlemleri sürecinde neoliberal yönetimselliğin bir stratejisi olarak, bireysel politikrasyonaliteninmerkezi oluşturucu aracı haline gelmiştir.

Neoliberal Governmentality and Consular Outsourcing: An Analysis on Visa Processing Arrangements

Since the 2000s, consular services have not been the only arena that fits into the government’sresponsibility. This paper examines how the state transfers visa services to private companies thatmanage millions of visa applications each year. A theoretical focus on “governmentality” was undertakenby examining the discourses that shape the meaning, processes, and power configuration of consularoutsourcing. Employing a content analysis, this study examines how political rationalities of governmentsare reflected in their discourses in terms of global visa policies, as well as how these discourses areembodied in public documents as technical devices. Based on analysis of tender documents, servicelevel agreements, and the service providers’ disclaimer statements, this study examines the role ofgovernments and service providers, their thought processes, mechanisms, practices, and processesin the operationalization of consular outsourcing. This paper reveals three main outcomes. First, thechange of political rationalities in visa policies pointed to a change in discourse (from visa restriction tovisa liberalization), yet the visa processes have not liberalized or facilitated, and this discourse changeonly resulted in the inclusion of new actors, practices, and processes. Second, consular outsourcingcreated gaps in/between responsibility and accountability of governments and service providers toindividuals. Third, these gaps entail depoliticization, individualization, and insecuritization in aneoliberal form and create concerns regarding responsibility and accountability. In light of this contentanalysis provided with this paper, a new area of politics that emerges with neoliberal governmentalismdetaches individuals from the legal-political sphere and produces enterprise individuals who willbecome responsible for any risks associated with visa applications. This process signifies a policy thatconstructs the political rationalities of the state and individual based on the market principles. As such,depoliticization as a strategy of neoliberal governmentality becomes the central device of individualpolitical rationality that is established visa processing arrangements.

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