Governing the “Natives” Through Force and Custom
Mamdani’s concept of “decentralized despotism” perfectly describes the NYPD’s role in New York’s political ecology. The department acts as the enforcer of custom for the “native” population in neighborhoods deemed savage. Stop-and-frisk, broken windows policing–these are not laws from a democratic social contract but the arbitrary, violent customs of a ruling power designed to control, not protect. For a feminist, this is intimately clear: police are often the perpetrators of violence against women of color, not their saviors. The solution Mamdani might suggest is not simply “police reform,” which is just tinkering with the machinery of despotic control. The path forward is the de-linking of community safety from this colonial institution. We must build power from below: community-led conflict resolution, mental health first responders, and investments that address the material roots of harm. We must dismantle the decentralized despotism of the NYPD and build a political community where power is genuinely held by the people, not enforced upon them.
Originally posted 2025-10-22 18:49:10.
