Security for Show? The Militarisation of Public Space in Light of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games

Abstract

Abstract:This article aims to analyse the increasing militarisation of public space in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, particularly on the eve of the 2016 Olympics. To this end, I briefly discuss how the concept of militarisation has been historically approached in the International Relations literature, namely within the security field. In the first section, I address the nature of the domestic security challenges Brazil faces as a developing country. In the second section, I show that the public security challenge of organised crime in Rio was securitised and confronted by increasing militarisation over the years as a result of a specific model of neo-liberal social control carried out by the country. I then analyse Brazil's Olympics security scheme carried out in order to portray Rio as a safe city to the world. In the last section, I highlight the contradictions between accounts on the collapse in domestic security vis-à-vis official government statements to the international media to assure that 'nothing would go wrong' during the mega sports event. The idea is to show how the militarisation of public security, rather than mere governmental efforts to signal stability to the international community during the Olympics, is a trend likely to outlast the event that implies not only, but mainly, the perpetuation of insecurity.Keywords: (In)Security; Securitisation; Militarisation; Global Cities; Neo-liberalism; Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. Security and militarisation in International RelationsAfter being central for many decades in International Relations literature, the concept of militarism became marginal in post-Cold War debates within the field, even in critical security studies. The assumption that central international insecurity challenges come from a weakening of the Weberian legitimate monopoly over violence (rather than the assertion or extension of state power) constitutes the source of current central challenges to human well-being and world order -be it internally, in cases of increasing civil violence and population displacement within failed states, or internationally, for instance, through

A sportrendészet és a turizmusbiztonság szerepe a nyári olimpiai játékokon

“…A szurkolók tömegesen mennek egy másik országba azért, hogy megtekintsenek egy sportmérkőzést. Ez viszont komoly biztonsági kockázatokat generált, amely kihívások elé állította a sportmérkőzést rendező várost és országot egyaránt (Azzi, 2017;Banks, 2020). Az olimpia biztonságának garantálása az egyik legnehezebb feladat.…”

“…A sportesemények közül a négyévente megrendezett nyári és téli olimpiai játékok azok, amelyek a legnagyobb kihívás elé állítják a sportrendészet képviselőit, mivel itt a legnagyobb a résztvevők és a nézők száma, illetve e versenyek azok, amelyek a legnagyobb területen fekszenek. Az egyes helyszínek olykor több száz kilométerre fekszenek egymástól, így a terület rendőri erővel történő biztonságos lefedését rendkívül nehéz megoldani a biztosításban részt vevő szerveknek (Azzi, 2017). A sportrendészet "szolgálatást nyújt", ezért állandó fejlődésben van, hogy minél magasabb szinten tudjon szolgáltatást nyújtani.…”

Mudança global do clima as cidades no Antropoceno: escalas, redes e tecnologias

“…A cidade global seria, assim, marcada por enormes desigualdades socioeconômicas, pela gentrificação dos espaços e pela especulação imobiliária, culminando num direito à cidade apenas a uma minoria privilegiada (Harvey , 2008). Caracterizada pelo alto nível de informalidade no mercado de trabalho (Sassen, 2005), além de problemas de segurança (violência urbana, terrorismo e crimes de ódio racial e étnico), levando a uma varieda de de instâncias de militarização da vida urbana (Graham, 2010;Azzi, 2017; Mendes, 2018).…”

Quando o estado de exceção se torna permanente

“…22. Para uma análise sobre a relação entre megaeventos e militarização, ver Azzi (2017). nizou uma intervenção nas favelas da Maré e no Morro do Alemão que custou aos cofres públicos mais de 1 bilhão de reais (Bianchi, 2017).…”