Title: Coloniality, frictions and epistemic injustice: Data-driven humanitarianism in north-eastern Nigeria and South Sudan

Professor Vicki Squire, University of Warwick

Abstract: It is now over a decade since the proclamation of the so-called humanitarian ‘data revolution’, with the rise of ‘innovation’ and the proliferation of ‘data solutions’ rendering data-driven humanitarianism an important area of further investigation. This talk reflects on the politics of humanitarianism and data-based governance, specifically by exploring the collection and use of data for the provision of assistance to people who are internally displaced across camp-like settings in north-eastern Nigeria and South Sudan. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews carried out with humanitarians specialising in data and information management from a range of international agencies and organisations, as well as with practitioners and camp residents located in each region. The talk explores the recurring colonial dynamics of paternalism, extractivism and dispossession that are perpetuated by the ‘data revolution’, while also considering how data-driven humanitarianism generates a series of tensions, disagreements and frictions. It is argued that datafication brings deep-rooted epistemic injustices into sharper focus within the humanitarian sector, while also bringing to bear the limits of a humanitarian ethics of ‘do no harm’.

Bio: Vicki Squire is Professor of International Politics at the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, UK. Her research explores the politics of migration, displacement, asylum and solidarity activism across various contexts. She has been Principal Investigator on a range of projects, including Crossing the Mediterranean Sea by Boat (2015-2019) and Data and Displacement (2020-2023). Vicki is author of six books, and over fifty journal articles and book chapters. Her publications include Reclaiming Migration (co-author, 2021), Europe’s Migration Crisis (2020), Post/Humanitarian Border Politics Between Mexico and the US (2015), The Contested Politics of Mobility (Editor, 2011) and The Exclusionary Politics of Asylum (2009).

The event will take place 4-5:30 pm and will be followed by a drinks reception.

The event is hybrid, please register to receive the joining link.