This article examines how the image of the refugee has been defined through the fear of the other, and how the mechanisms of detention have transformed the conditions of belonging. I examine the contemporary geopolitical forces propelling the rise of a new authoritarianism, growing border anxieties and hostility towards refugees, and argue that these emerging shifts provoke an urgent need for a new conceptual framework to understand the dynamics of contemporary global flows and concepts of belonging. I introduce what I call the 'invasion complex', a new conceptual hybrid that draws upon elements of psychoanalytic theory and complex systems theory, and Giorgio Agamben's analysis of sovereignty and 'the camp', to explain heightened border anxieties and the legitimization of violence towards the Other. I consider the value, applications and limitations of Agamben's analysis, and contend that both the state-centric moral debate on the refugee crisis, and Agamben's method of privileging political agency in terms of sovereign power, tend to discount the role of complexity. Drawing on the Australian political and public discourse on refugees, and the 2001 Tampa crisis, I argue that the hostile reactions can be traced to a complex interplay between old phobias and new fantasies. I conclude by urging the need to move beyond nationstate centric critiques of racism, and propose the development of a new paradigm -a potential politics that recognizes the complex dynamics of global flows, and which opens the way for a discourse of hope based on the rights of the human being, rather than the citizen. The invasion complex: the abject other and spaces of violenceThe imaginary threat of an invasion by refugees and the construction of detention centres have become images that are reshaping the global political imaginary. The symbolic figure of the refugee and the reality of the detention centre have been central in the writing of Giorgio Agamben. In this article I will examine how the image of the refugee has been defined through the fear of the Other and how the mechanisms of detention have transformed the conditions of belonging.This essay comprises three parts. In the first part, I outline the contemporary geopolitical forces that are helping to propel the rise of a new authoritarianism, both within and beyond the nation-state; explain how these emerging shifts provoke an urgent need for a new conceptual framework to clarify the complex processes and effects of contemporary global flows; and introduce what I will call 'the invasion complex', a new conceptual hybrid that offers a model for understanding the intricate workings of global complexity, and its impacts at both local and global levels. This discussion is located within the context of amplified fears in the wake of 11 September, growing anxieties over national identity and the permeability of borders, and a climate of increased hostility and aggression towards refugees.The invasion complex model draws upon elements of psychoanalytic theory and complex systems theory, and...

The political and social reaction to the ‘refugee crisis’ in Australia cannot be solely understood in purely geo-political or economic terms. Neither can the persistence of racism in Australian political culture be explained in terms of its electoral advantage. This article contends that the racist attitudes of the Australian Liberal Government, and John Howard in particular, hide deeper unconscious processes that are historically embedded in the national imaginary. These unconscious processes are manifested in the invasion complex which lies just below the surface of Australia’s political culture.

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Jacques Rancière is one of the central figures in the contemporary debates on aesthetics and politics. This introduction maps the shift of focus in Rancière’s writing from political theory to contemporary art practice and also traces the enduring interest in ideas on equality and creativity. It situates Rancière’s rich body of writing in relation to key theorists such as the philosopher Alain Badiou, art historian Terry Smith and anthropologist George E. Marcus. I argue that Rancière offers a distinctive approach in this broad field by clarifying the specificity of the artist’s task in the production of critical and creative transformation, or what he calls the ‘distribution of the sensible’. In conclusion, I complement Rancière’s invocation to break out of the oppositional paradigm in which the political and aesthetic are usually confined by outlining some further methodological techniques for addressing contemporary art.