Gender, Statelessness and the Sovereignty of the Modern State

This study consists of semi-structured interviews with women who were seekingasylum in Australia and had been granted Temporary Protection Visas. In addition, adiscourse analysis was undertaken of newspapers from 1999 to 2003, whichcorresponds with the beginning of the implementation of Temporary Protection Visasin Australia.Drawing on the work of Foucault, my research explores the subtle processes ofcontrol, surveillance and regulation that characterise women's lives within Australia.It develops a framework for understanding and contributing to discussions ofsovereignty by examining the ways in which the women spoke about their experienceswith the state and agents of the state. So too, this thesis examines how women who areseeking asylum in Australia become controlled, manipulated and regulated as theyattempt to forge a safe haven for themselves, and often their families. Importantly, thisresearch has considered how women are not passive recipients, but rather sites ofmultiple resistances, as they attempt to project an image of themselves that reflectstheir perception of the ideal.