Identifying Citizens by David Lyon

Identifying Citizens by David Lyon

New ID card systems are proliferating. These may use digitized fingerprints or photos, may be contactless, using a scanner, and above all, may rely on computerized registries of personal information. This book argues that such IDs represent a fresh phase in the long-term attempts of modern states to find stable ways of identifying citizens.

"Lyon's view is nuanced and he is conscious of the multiple expressions of citizenship beyond identificationHe carefully details the increasingly interoperable databases which sustain identification cards, reiterating throughout that the card itself is only the tip of the iceberg."
Canadian Journal of Sociology

"Lyon brilliantly mixes precise distinctions with experimental inferences to make legible the current status of technology-driven identification systems and their future potential for sorting citizens."
Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, and author of Territory, Authority, Rights

"ID cards are an issue of growing concern in many countries. David Lyon provides fresh perspectives and many new insights into the way these systems work and the consequences they have for individuals and society. The clear, compelling and informative writing makes the book attractive to both specialists and the general reader."
Charles Raab, University of Edinburgh

"With an admirably lucid and clear style David Lyon shows how new technologies of identification govern new divisions of citizens and their others (strangers, outsiders, aliens) by decoding (biometric) and sorting (categorical) bodies. It also brilliantly illustrates how struggles for citizenship must now be also fought through databases (increasingly owned and controlled by 'card cartels') that make such technologies possible."
Engin Isin, Open University

David Lyon, Professor of Sociology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780745641560
ISBN 10	0745641563
Title	Identifying Citizens
Author	David Lyon
Series	Themes For The 21st Century
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Year published	2009-07-24
Number of pages	192
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.