Scholarlink

<p>This paper examines how contemporary U.S. agricultural labor, economic, and immigration policies can appear contradictory—simultaneously depending on immigrant labor while opposing immigrants—yet nonetheless cohere as an affective project of labor governance. Focusing on policies and public discourse surrounding the second Trump administration as a critical case, I draw on Williams (<i>Marxism and Literature</i> 1977) concept of structures of feeling, Anderson (<i>Emotion, Space And Society</i> 2, 2009) notion of affective atmospheres, and Higgins (<i>European journal of cultural studies</i> 2025) idea of victim<i>could</i> to argue that immigrant labor is reshaped not through elimination but through the cultivation and management of fear. This fear operates on two interconnected levels: the constant, visceral fear experienced by immigrant agrifood workers living under the threat of deportation, and the anticipatory fear of supporters of populist nationalism, who see themselves as potential victims of harm that immigrants could cause. Through an iterative discursive analysis of over 200 publicly accessible online materials—including government documents, media interviews, agricultural industry communications, and migrant-rights reports—the paper identifies four mutually reinforcing structures: anticipatory crisis, the dual portrayal of immigrant labor as both essential and dangerous, deportability as an atmospheric technique of governance, and “victim<i>could”</i> as a justification for repression. Collectively, these dynamics create a workforce that is physically present but living in fear. The paper concludes by reflecting on its implications for scholars, policymakers, and activists, suggesting how the phenomena described can further their work to study, critique, and resist fear as a deliberate tool of governance.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Cultivating fear: agrifood labor governance and victimcould in populist nationalism

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月30日

查看全文
  • Michael Carolan

摘要

This paper examines how contemporary U.S. agricultural labor, economic, and immigration policies can appear contradictory—simultaneously depending on immigrant labor while opposing immigrants—yet nonetheless cohere as an affective project of labor governance. Focusing on policies and public discourse surrounding the second Trump administration as a critical case, I draw on Williams (Marxism and Literature 1977) concept of structures of feeling, Anderson (Emotion, Space And Society 2, 2009) notion of affective atmospheres, and Higgins (European journal of cultural studies 2025) idea of victimcould to argue that immigrant labor is reshaped not through elimination but through the cultivation and management of fear. This fear operates on two interconnected levels: the constant, visceral fear experienced by immigrant agrifood workers living under the threat of deportation, and the anticipatory fear of supporters of populist nationalism, who see themselves as potential victims of harm that immigrants could cause. Through an iterative discursive analysis of over 200 publicly accessible online materials—including government documents, media interviews, agricultural industry communications, and migrant-rights reports—the paper identifies four mutually reinforcing structures: anticipatory crisis, the dual portrayal of immigrant labor as both essential and dangerous, deportability as an atmospheric technique of governance, and “victimcould” as a justification for repression. Collectively, these dynamics create a workforce that is physically present but living in fear. The paper concludes by reflecting on its implications for scholars, policymakers, and activists, suggesting how the phenomena described can further their work to study, critique, and resist fear as a deliberate tool of governance.