Eigenverlag/Self

Abstract:
The rapid expansion of new Information and Communication Technologies has improved the possibilities forsurveillance, rendering modern society a ‘surveillance society’ (Lyon, 2006). Surveillance practices today comprise a myriad ofactors. However, relations between different groups of “observers” and “observed” and their respective impact on the form ofsurveillance are not yet sufficiently considered. Furthermore, methodologies are missing “to look beyond abstract theory” (Galicˇet al., 2017, p. 34). This paper proposes theoretical considerations as well as a methodological framework by taking a meso-levelperspective and by incorporating the examination of power relations in surveillance systems. It is argued that contemporarysurveillance structures encompass hierarchies, albeit not in a traditional unidirectional manner. Furthermore, a first attempt ismade to provide a methodological framework that helps to analyse the power relationships between diverse actors that emergedue to differences in capabilities to observe and hide. Based on a number of specified indicators, the framework aims to assistin understanding how power is distributed and in how far actors and their position within the hierarchy determine the form ofsurveillance and the impact it can take.