Abstract

This article explores the racialized ways in which the language of surveillance is selectively translated and how it reproduces the racialization of suspects and the criminalization of migrants. Following recent writings on racialized surveillance, and the racialized politics of security more broadly, the article argues that the selective use of a particular language in the promotion of surveillance reproduces an urban and “ethnic” border. It continues to divide different groups in society in a nationalistic manner. It draws from two cases, both of which are located in non-English-speaking countries, namely Japan and Finland, where English is incorporated into the language of surveillance but not fully encompassing it. Despite geographical differences, the article suggests that the two cases show how the growing culture of vigilance today is entangled with the racialized politics of translation.