The Art of Separating Out: Zones of Qualification and the Production of Illicit Economies in Johannesburg's City Improvement Districts

While the illicit economy is generally conceived of as either a pre-existing outside reality or the product of governmental discourse, this article proposes to shift attention away from 舠the illicit economy舡 towards the practices that constitute it. Building on actor-network theory, it studies the practices through which the illicit economy is produced in zones of qualification, that is, intensely governed and vital economic spaces. Highlighting the case of Johannesburg's City Improvement Districts, it shows how the illicit economy emerges as a tangible 舠outside舡 through practices aimed at constituting and regulating an 舠inside.舡 Through in-depth analysis of both social and material practices, this article contributes to a symmetrical theoretical understanding of the way in which the illicit economy is constructed by practice.