Enclaves as Process: Space, Security and Violence in Karachi

Presenting a case study of enclavisation in Karachi (Pakistan), this thesis addresses conceptual, theoretical and empirical gaps in literature on enclaved urbanism so as to present an analysis of enclavisation and violence as inter-relational processes. By taking into account the politics of navigating enclaved urbanism in Karachi, this project contributes to the agenda of developing a critical understanding of urbanism, urban space, and conflict in enclaved cities of the global south. The project is presented in two parts. In the first part, I highlight weaknesses in current descriptions of enclaves and in existing theorisations of enclaved urbanism so as to demonstrate how present conceptualisation of enclaved spaces inhibit linking enclavisation as a cause of insecurity and urban violence in conflict prone cities of the global south. Engaging with relational theories of space, assemblage theory, and the theory of performativity, I retheorise enclaves as processual socio-material and socio-political assemblages best characterised through arrangements of governing space, security and circulation. In the second part, I provide empirical detail to my earlier defined arguments through an analysis of qualitative data collected from three enclaved spaces in Karachi. Evidence suggests that processes of enclavisation both structure, and are structured by differentiated experiences of urban political life in Karachi. Similarly, the interactions and negotiations over circulation and security between residents, visitors and security workers within each enclave showcase that each enclave is a dynamic, processual and relational socio-political assemblage that is performatively and discursively constructed, and is made apparent through patterns of circulation rather than physical form. In relating these key points with the politics of enclavisation and urban violence in Karachi, it becomes possible to argue that the production of enclaved spaces is in fact a cause of urban violence in Karachi.