The article delves into the governance of urban marginality, focusing on the interplay of the Wacquantian distinction between the left and right hands of the state in governing urban marginality and the gender dimension of this governance. Studies of state involvement in managing urban marginality have concentrated on the content of policies and services, neglecting their modes and forms. Our research sheds light on the concrete forms of implementing ‘left hand’ services and on the role of women involved in delivering them. We develop a case study linked to a sudden crisis in urban governance: a fire and the subsequent relocation of a Roma community in a Transylvanian city. Based on two rounds of interviews (2018/2019 and 2023), we reveal a distinctive albeit short-lived shift in approaching urban marginality in the aftermath of the crisis. We define this as the feminisation of governing ‘Gypsy Urban Areas’ (GUAs), which we contrast with previous masculine forms. While highlighting the increase in the responsiveness of women decision-makers to the challenges facing the Roma, we also draw attention to the limitations of this feminised governance. Our findings reveal that the feminised governance of GUAs has an emancipatory potential in challenging the right (punitive) hand of the state but, paradoxically, it also enfeebles its left (supportive) hand. Feminised governance is thus inherently ambiguous: it indicates an alternative space of governance that previously seemed unachievable but is still unable to effect structural changes and tends instead to reproduce neoliberal forms of urban discipline.

中文翻译：

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女性化、治理和城市边缘的罗姆人


本文深入探讨了城市边缘性的治理，重点关注了国家左手和右手在治理城市边缘性方面的 Wacquantian 区别的相互作用，以及这种治理的性别维度。关于国家参与管理城市边缘性的研究集中在政策和服务的内容上，而忽视了它们的模式和形式。我们的研究揭示了实施“左手”服务的具体形式以及参与提供这些服务的女性的作用。我们开发了一个与城市治理中的突发危机相关的案例研究：特兰西瓦尼亚城市的一场火灾和随后的罗姆人社区搬迁。根据两轮访谈（2018/2019 年和 2023 年），我们揭示了危机后在接近城市边缘性方面的独特但短暂的转变。我们将其定义为治理“吉普赛城市地区”（GUAs） 的女性化，我们与以前的男性形式形成对比。在强调女性决策者对罗姆人面临的挑战的反应能力提高的同时，我们也提请注意这种女性化治理的局限性。我们的研究结果表明，GUAs 的女性化治理在挑战国家的右手（惩罚性）方面具有解放潜力，但矛盾的是，它也削弱了它的左手（支持）手。因此，女性化治理本质上是模棱两可的：它表明了一种替代性的治理空间，以前似乎无法实现，但仍然无法实现结构性变化，而是倾向于复制新自由主义形式的城市纪律。