Surveillance And Resistance: Navigating Panopticism In Basma Abdel Aziz’s The Queue

Abstract

Violence serves as a stark reflection of the social, political, and economic dystopia that defines many African states, manifesting in systemic and structured oppression. These oppressive structures subject citizens to perpetual hardship, often under the guise of governance and the rule of law. This paper examines the use of surveillance techniques by capitalist and autocratic rulers in Basmal Abdel-Aziz’s The Queue, where constant observation becomes a mechanism for maintaining control. Surveillance functions as an invisible tool of power that not only disciplines but also punishes, reinforcing a system in which citizens unknowingly exist under perpetual scrutiny and subjugation. However, despite being prisoners of their societies, individuals devise ingenious mechanisms to resist the authority imposed upon them, challenging systemic oppression in creative and often subtle ways. This study examines the dialectic of surveillance and resistance, analysing how rulers utilise surveillance as a tool of oppression while citizens engage in acts of defiance to reclaim their autonomy. The study employs Bentham’s “panopticon” theory, which Foucault later expanded into “panoptism”, a concept that examines how surveillance, internalised discipline, diffuse power, and bureaucratic control ensure compliance. The theory suggests that inmates (citizens) are watched without knowing whether they are being observed, thereby reinforcing self-regulation through fear. The paper argues that Panopticism operates as an alternative repressive state apparatus, enabling despotic rulers to perpetuate structural violence against their citizens. The study concludes that while authoritarian regimes manipulate bureaucratic control to maintain dominance, citizens resist through protests, boycotts, and psychological defiance.