Giorgio Agamben's 'Homo Sacer' Analyzes Biopolitics and Sovereign Power
In his 1997 essay 'Homo sacer, le pouvoir souverain et la vie nue', Giorgio Agamben argues that 'bare life' is deeply implicated in the political phenomenon that ultimately negates it. For the present time, this results in the camp—where life is perpetually threatened—replacing the city as the biopolitical paradigm of the West. Agamben contends that the ambiguity of the political bond lies in the fact that, though conceived as a peaceful link between men, it actually stems from a sovereignty that grants freedom only by abandoning them, if necessary, to death.
Key facts
- Giorgio Agamben is the author of 'Homo sacer, le pouvoir souverain et la vie nue'.
- The essay was published in 1997.
- Agamben argues that bare life is involved in the political phenomenon that denies it.
- The camp, not the city, becomes the biopolitical paradigm of the West.
- Sovereignty grants freedom by abandoning individuals to death.
- The essay was reviewed in artpress.
- The original French title is 'Homo sacer, le pouvoir souverain et la vie nue'.
- The work discusses biopolitics and sovereign power.
Entities
Artists
- Giorgio Agamben
Institutions
- artpress
Sources
- artpress —