nonpersons

Nonperson is a term used in sociology, political theory, and law to describe an individual who is treated as if they do not possess personhood within a given system. The designation reflects how a social or institutional framework recognizes, records, or grants rights to a person, rather than making a universal claim about inherent humanity.

In governance, policy, and law, nonperson status can arise when states or institutions deny recognition through bureaucratic processes, censorship, or legal categories that exclude certain groups. Refugees, stateless persons, dissidents, and others may be effectively treated as nonpersons when their rights, identities, or protections are withheld or ignored. In information systems, individuals can become nonpersons when data practices erase or anonymize identities, or when records are improperly maintained, lost, or misattributed.

Nonperson status often accompanies erasure, marginalization, and dehumanization, enabling exclusion from social, legal, or political life. The concept helps analyze how power operates to render people invisible, constrain accountability, and justify control or violence.

Scholars emphasize that “nonperson” is context-dependent and should be used carefully, as it highlights processes of recognition and denial rather than a fixed category. Related discussions appear in debates on dehumanization, bureaucratic exclusion, statelessness, and the politics of memory and record-keeping.