Power Politics in Internment: A Benthamite Perspective

Abstract

Bentham an English scholar and philosopher having had a vibrant influence over philosophers of his time. Bentham’s Panopticon is an architectural design. It is a circular building with many rooms. Each room contains an inmate who cannot communicate with each other as they are separated by walls. There is a watching tower in the middle of the building, thereby allowing a watcher from the central tower to view all the activities of the inmates. This continuous surveillance prevents any type of untoward activity by inmates. The building is constructed in such a way as to prevent the inmates from looking at the observer. This mechanism can function without an observer. Hence, it is identified as a disindividualizing mechanism which can function independently.
The development of the Panopticon was based on the need to enhance democracy, as Bentham strongly believed that it would benefit society. Although he derived this idea from his brother Samuel Bentham, he wanted to apply it in society so that democracy would be vibrant with the presence of surveillance. In turn, this would result in honesty and smooth functioning of democracy. As the Panopticon served as the eye of a society, it would eliminate all untoward activities in the society because it kept on watching all the activities round the clock. This constant watch on society keeps modifying the behaviour of every citizen. The reason behind this regulating activity is that power is operative underlying this panoptic mechanism. Hence, it psychologically affects citizens in such a way that they are under close observation. As a result, they tend to modify their behaviour in accordance with existing norms. Bentham also developed a strong notion that the panoptic mechanism would allow citizens in the lower strata of society to access and regulate the Panopticon to prevent the misuse of power. Hence, Bentham strongly believed that the Panopticon was the right mechanism to enhance democracy. In Internment, the presidential candidate after winning the election exploits the repressive state apparatuses to surveil activities to control American society. Thereby, the president manipulated the constitutional machinery in his favour to hold on to power. Hence, this research paper attempts to portray how power functions behind Bentham’s Panopticon in Samira Ahmed’s novel, Internment.