Promises Made to Be Broken: Performance and Performativity in Digital Vaccine and Immunity Certification

Digital vaccination certification involves making many promises, few of which can realistically be kept. In this paper, we demonstrate how phenomenon constitutes various forms theatre – immunity theatre, border behavioural and equality doing so by drawing on perspectives from technology regulation, migration studies critical geopolitics. Technological political often serve valid functions, but these are problematic for several reasons. First, they involve real-world infrastructures that, while unlikely to accomplish the task at hand, will nevertheless last a long time repurposed. They therefore constitute governance data infrastructure, diverting action control away elected legislators for-profit contractors. Second, vaccine effectively legitimises inequalities between countries people formalising ways distinguish vaccinated non-vaccinated exclude latter, thus reinforcing both mobility connectivity divides. It serves as way (further) close borders regulate, through code access public goods such employment space. Finally, project displaces more important action, namely addressing radical inequality in countries’ ability combat pandemic.