Surveillance studies have long argued that electronic databases are designed to maximize state surveillance as a “superpanopticon” or “surveillant assemblage.” But how are databases being implemented in practice, and do they actually enhance control? This article addresses these questions by examining the case of the German Central Foreigners Register (Ausländerzentralregister [AZR]). Established in 1953, the AZR was one of the first databases on migrants in the western liberal world, and remains a pillar of Germany's migration control system today. By analyzing internal ministerial records from the 1950s to the 1970s – the time when this database was introduced, expanded, and automatized while still relatively free from legal or public constraints – this article examines whether, or how, databases enhance state control. I argue that the AZR did not provide the “perfect surveillance” it was intended to deliver; rather, it produced major bureaucratic and political challenges and a series of malfunctions. This case study confirms that database surveillance, such as the German AZR in the 1970s and European databases today, depends on three basic conditions: shared expectations regarding data usages, cooperation in data supply, and capacities of data storage and maintenance. Moreover, databases serve the additional symbolic function of reassuring the self-imagination of sovereign, modern state power.

中文翻译：

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完美监管控制的谬误：从 1950 年代到 1970 年代西德移民数据库监控的教训

长期以来，监视研究一直认为，电子数据库旨在最大限度地将国家监视作为“超级全景”或“监视组合”。但是数据库在实践中是如何实现的，它们是否真的增强了控制？本文通过研究德国中央外国人登记处 ( Ausländerzentralregister)的案例来解决这些问题[AZR]）。AZR 成立于 1953 年，是西方自由世界最早的移民数据库之一，至今仍是德国移民控制系统的支柱。通过分析 1950 年代至 1970 年代的内部部长记录——该数据库在此期间被引入、扩展和自动化，同时仍然相对不受法律或公共约束——本文研究了数据库是否或如何增强国家控制。我认为 AZR 没有提供它打算提供的“完美监视”；相反，它产生了重大的官僚和政治挑战以及一系列故障。本案例研究证实，数据库监控（例如 1970 年代的德国 AZR 和今天的欧洲数据库）取决于三个基本条件：对数据使用的共同期望、在数据供应、数据存储和维护能力方面的合作。此外，数据库还提供了额外的象征功能，即让人们对现代主权国家权力的自我想象更加放心。