The future of the state

Abstract

This chapter explores the relevance of concepts such as bare life or homo sacer, zone of indistinction, the state of exception and sovereign power that have been popularized by the work of Giorgio Agamben and the scholarly debate around them. It situates an exploration of these concepts by drawing from examples about their relevance and application to sovereignty in International Relations, the camp, US foreign policy, and the 2020-2021 novel coronavirus pandemic among other things. It reviews the need for a reassessment of these contributions of Agamben (and those applying his work) in light of his controversial statements about Western states’ handling of the pandemic. It concludes that uncovering the exception and its operations requires that we not dismiss out of hand arguments that have enabled us to grasp its construction and production. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Gerard Delanty and Stephen P. Turner.