biometric-identification

The chapter traces the historical and political significance of the ear as a site of identification, punishment, and social sorting, from ancient practices of ear cutting used to mark slaves, criminals, and low-status individuals, to its role in property marking of livestock and humans. It highlights the transition from visible, punitive bodily mutilations to sophisticated biometric identification systems, including forensic and digital ear biometrics, illustrating how these evolving practices serve sovereign power by enabling classification, social exclusion, and control. The ear thus symbolizes broader shifts in identification regimes, reflecting the interplay of power, technology, and social hierarchy.

The chapter examines how digital power has transformed warfare by enabling individualized targeting and surveillance through technologies such as drones, biometric identification, and data management systems, challenging traditional military strategies and laws of war. It situates these developments within a colonial and orientalist framework, highlighting the persistence of imperial classification practices and the limitations of panoptic surveillance and military visuality in truly understanding complex conflict environments. The chapter also explores the role of military simulations and digital war games in shaping perceptions of the enemy, reinforcing orientalist stereotypes, and serving symbolic and ritualistic functions, while concluding that despite technological advances, digital power does not eliminate conflict or terrorism and reflects uneven global legibility in political technics.

The chapter examines the historical development and state-driven imposition of permanent surnames as a crucial tool for making populations legible for administrative purposes such as taxation, conscription, and legal identification. It contrasts customary, fluid naming practices with the state's need for fixed, inherited patronyms, illustrating this through examples from early states like China, medieval England, and colonial contexts such as the Philippines. The chapter also traces the evolution of identification methods from surnames to modern biometric systems, highlighting the ongoing state project of identity construction and control.