Orderkeepers: Civilians Holding Cities Together

Everyday residents, shopkeepers, and local workers perform routine governance tasks — cleaning, deterrence, setting informal norms — that keep public spaces usable where municipal services are weak or politicized. These 'orderkeepers' are both practical actors (sweeping, cajoling, informal conflict management) and political symbols used by narratives blaming or defending city authorities. — Recognizing and naming this informal governance clarifies who actually sustains urban life, reframes debates about public services and policing, and exposes how such visible civic labour is weaponized in political narratives.