Enclaves, Insecurity and Violence in Karachi

This paper analyses conditions of insecurity and violence in Karachi in relation to an emerging geography whereby the city is fragmented into various enclaves of business, leisure, and residence. Although enclavisation is largely viewed as a response to heightened urban crime and violence, the paper argues that socio-political conditions generated by processes of enclavisation themselves create circumstances that generate a continuum of violence. Qualitative data from two selected residential enclaves within Karachi illustrate the argument. The experience of residents, visitors and workers within the two enclaves is relationally reviewed within the context of urban politics in Karachi. The conclusion highlights the agency of urban space in structuring conflict in Karachi by exacerbating differences, heightening vulnerabilities, and reconfigurestate society relations.