SAYYIDA ZAYNAB IN THE STATE OF EXCEPTION: SHIʿI SAINTHOOD AS “QUALIFIED LIFE” IN CONTEMPORARY SYRIA

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Szanto

AbstractAccording to Giorgio Agamben, a “state of exception” is established by the sovereign's decision to suspend the law, and the archetypical state of exception is the Nazi concentration camp. At the same time, Agamben notes that boundaries have become blurred since then, such that even spaces like refugee camps can be thought of as states of exception because they are both inside and outside the law. This article draws on the notion of the state of exception in order to examine the Syrian refugee campcumshrine town of Sayyida Zaynab as well as to analyze questions of religious authority, ritual practice, and pious devotion to Sayyida Zaynab. Though Sayyida Zaynab and many of her Twelver Shiʿi devotees resemble Agamben's figure ofhomo sacer, who marked the origin of the state of exception, they also defy Agamben's theory that humans necessarily become animal-like, leading nothing more than “bare lives” (orzoē) in states of exception.

2020 ◽  
pp. 002190962094634
Author(s):  
France Maphosa ◽  
Christopher Ntau

The concept of homo sacer originates from ancient Roman law under which an individual who committed a certain kind of crime was excluded from society and all his/her rights as a citizen were revoked. This paper uses a few selected cases reported in the media of Botswana and South Africa to demonstrate why undocumented migrants in the two countries fit Agamben’s description of homo sacer. While migrants in general, whether documented or undocumented, are targets of violence, exploitation and discrimination in these countries, undocumented migrants are particularly vulnerable because of their ‘illegal’ status. Although violence against undocumented migrants is not formally endorsed by the state, their description as a problem or a threat to society places them in a state of exception which is virtually outside the protection of the law.


Profanações ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Maria Do Socorro Catarina de Sousa Oliveira

Um dos temas de maior relevância abordado por Giorgio Agamben diz respeito ao estado de exceção como paradigma político, ou seja, o estado de exceção não se restringe aos Estados totalitários, mas a uma prática governamental que vem se propagando rapidamente, inclusive nas sociedades democráticas. Assim, o presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar, a partir de duas obras que compõem o Projeto Homo Sacer, a saber, Homo Sacer: o poder soberano e a vida nua I (2002), e Estado de Exceção: homo sacer II (2004), os principais elementos que formatam a teoria agambeniana do estado de exceção como paradigma de governo e como o delineamento de suas teses nos permite falar em “eclipse político”, o qual está concretizado na impotência do cidadão diante do poder soberano, a figura híbrida que tem a sua disposição não apenas a máquina governamental, mas o próprio ordenamento jurídico desvirtuado de seu objetivo original de proteção e segurança jurídica para um complexo e malicioso mecanismo de manutenção da “ordem social”. AbstractOne of the most relevant topics addressed by Giorgio Agamben is the state of exception as a political paradigm, that is, the state of exception is not restricted to totalitarian states, but to a government practice that is spreading rapidly, even in democratic societies. Thus, this article aims to analyze, from two works that make up the Homo Sacer Project, namely Homo Sacer: sovereign power and naked life I (2002), and State of Exception: homo sacer II (2004) ), the main elements that form the agambenian theory of the state of exception as a paradigm of government and how the delineation of its theses allows us to speak in "political eclipse", which is concretized in the impotence of the citizen before the sovereign power, the hybrid figure which has at its disposal not only the governmental machine, but the legal system itself distorted from its original objective of protection and legal security for a complex and malicious mechanism of maintenance of the "social order".


Profanações ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Elijames Moraes dos Santos

Este artigo propõe analisar como as categorias do estado de exceção e da vida nua são dramatizados nos textos Antígona, de Sófocles, e Lavoura Arcaica, de Raduan Nassar. Para alcançar o objetivo estabelecido, consideramos os estudos sobre esses conceitos propostos no projeto Homo Sacer, de Giorgio Agamben (2007; 2014), entre outras fontes que respaldam este estudo. Seguindo a proposta agambeniana, enfatizamos a relação de soberania com o estado de exceção, culminando, muitas vezes na eliminação do vivente. Aspecto este que fica evidente no desenrolar das ações presentes em ambas as narrativas em análise.AbstractThis article proposes to analyze how the categories of the state of exception and bare life are dramatized in the texts Antigone, by Sophocles, and Ancient tillage¸ by Raduan Nassar. To reach the established objective, we consider the studies on these concepts proposed in the project Homo Sacer, by Giorgio Agamben (2007, 2014), among other sources that support this study. Following the Agambenian proposal, we emphasize the relationship of sovereignty with the state of exception, culminating, often in the elimination of the living. This aspect is evident in the unfolding of the actions present in both narratives under analysis.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Conor McCarthy

While exclusion from law is often assumed to be an historical phenomenon, the discussion here argues that it is an enduring and important tactic of state power. Such exclusion can occur in two directions – exclusion above the law (as where the state licenses itself or its agents to act with impunity) or exclusion below the law (as where the state excludes an individual or group from the law's protection). This book concerns itself with both, and in doing so, offers readings from two bodies of literature in English not normally read in tandem – the literature of outlawry, and the literature of espionage. This Introduction briefly surveys some influential previous work in this area – in particular Eric Hobsbawm’s notion of the ‘social bandit’ and Giorgio Agamben’s idea of the homo sacer and his related study of the ‘state of exception’ – and sets out the argument to follow.


Profanações ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Ana Suelen Tossige Gomes

Busca-se com o presente artigo discutir o método arqueológico desenvolvido por Giorgio Agamben em sua série Homo sacer, especialmente no tocante aos paradigmas, demonstrando como tal método se insere em seu projeto mais amplo de crítica à metafísica ocidental. Ainda, com base na noção de paradigma, pretende-se discutir os conceitos de exceção e de estado de exceção presentes na obra do filósofo italiano, abordando como estes se relacionam e como se diferenciam. Enquanto a exceção consiste em um dispositivo, isto é, um modus operandi mais amplo, o qual é capaz de articular duas realidades opostas, mas que inexistem sem essa articulação, o estado de exceção aparece, por sua vez, como um dos dispositivos, desvelados pela arqueologia agambeniana, cujo funcionamento se dá na forma da exceção: por meio da exclusão inclusiva da violência (e mais a fundo, da própria vida) no campo do direito.AbstractThis article aim to discuss the archaeological method developed by Giorgio Agamben in his Homo sacer series, especially with regard to paradigm concept, demonstrating how this method is part of his broader project of critical of Western metaphysics. Still, based on the notion of paradigm, it is intended to discuss the concepts of exception and state of exception present in the Agamben’s work, how these relate and differentiate themselves. While the exception consists of a dispositive, that is, a broader modus operandi, which is able to articulate two opposing realities, but which do not exist without this articulation, the state of exception appears, in its turn, as one of the dispositives unveiled by agambenian archeology, whose operation takes place in the form of the exception: by inclusive exclusion of violence (and, more deeply, of life itself) in the field of law.


Profanações ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Lara Emanuele da Luz

Giorgio Agamben, filósofo italiano, apresenta um diagnóstico da modernidade bastante relevante para nosso tempo atual. Para ele, a biopolítica existe desde o nascimento do pensamento político Ocidental, e é ela que rege e captura a vida das pessoas pertencentes à polis. Para isso, é necessário que o Estado de exceção comece a tornar-se regra para que nele, tudo possa ser instaurado. Nestes termos, o presente artigo pretende apresentar, por um lado, o que é e quais as características do Estado de exceção para Agamben, ressaltando o diálogo deste com o Carl Schmitt, grande inspirador do filósofo italiano sobre o Estado de Exceção. Por outro lado, explicar-se-á de que modo a biopolítica e o campo de concentração nascem através desse, e suas principais características. Para isso, faz-se necessário passar por um percurso explicativo, analisando aspectos da biopolítica sob a perspectiva de Hannah Arendt e Michel Foucault, grandes inspiradores de Agamben neste aspecto.AbstractGiorgio Agamben, Italian philosopher, presents a diagnosis of modernity very relevant to our current time. For him, biopolitics has existed since the birth of Western political thought, and it’s it that rules and captures the lives of people belonging to the polis. For this, it’s necessary that the State of exception begins to become the rule so that everything can be established in it. However, this article intends to present, on the one hand, what’s and what the characteristics of the State of exception for Agamben, highlighting his dialogue with Carl Schmitt, great inspiration of the Italian philosopher on the State of Exception. On the other hand, it’ll be explained how the biopolitics and the concentration camp are born through this, and its main characteristics. For this, it’s necessary to go through an explanatory course, analyzing aspects of biopolitics from the perspective of Hannah Arendt and Michel Foucault, Agamben's great inspirers in this regard.


Problemos ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 107-120
Author(s):  
Kasparas Pocius

Šiuolaikinės politinės filosofijos kontekste jau maždaug dvidešimt metų neatslūgsta domėjimasis biopolitinėmis teorijomis, kurių dėmesio centre atsiduria valdžios ir gyvybės santykis šiuolaikiniame pasaulyje, kairiųjų politinių filosofų vadinamame Imperija. Italų filosofo Giorgio Agambeno dėka biopolitikos instrumentai buvo panaudoti nepaprastosios padėties ir homo sacer sampratų tyrinėjimams. Šiame tekste, pasitelkiant nepaprastosios padėties bei su ja susijusias sampratas, bus gilinamasi į šiuolaikinės valdžios ir valdymo problemas. Aptarsime vokiečių teisės teoretiko Carlo Schmitto nepaprastosios padėties teoriją, kaip alternatyvą jai pateikdami Walterio Benjamino mesianistinę tyro dieviškojo smurto sampratą. Straipsnio tikslas – pagrįsti Benjamino idėją, kad dieviškasis smurtas gali įveikti galios taikomą prievartą. Kita vertus, keliama idėja, kad Schmitto suverenios galios samprata užmaskuoja biopolitinį galios institucijų prievartos mechanizmą, o Benjamino dieviškojo smurto samprata leidžia jį demaskuoti.State of Exception and Divine Violence: The Crossroads between the Thought of Carl Schmitt and Walter BenjaminKasparas Pocius SummaryAlready back in 1940 Walter Benjamin told us that “the ‘state of emergency’ in which we live is not the exception but the rule.” While invoking this claim, Giorgio Agamben enriches the contemporary biopolitical discourse with such concepts as ‘state of exception’ and ‘homo sacer’, which refer to bare lives of the majority of world population under contemporary capitalist and state rule. This paper, which seeks to analyse the work of Agamben, presents the notion of the state of exception by Carl Schmitt and counterposes it to the Benjaminian concept of divine violence. This counterposition allows to theoretically question the Schmittian politico-theological discourse which has been increasingly used by the conservative intellectuals and right-wing movements in the Eastern Europe, ‘the necessity of defending the nation and the state’ that they posit and to show the often concealed links between this discourse with biopower regimes. On the other hand, it is an attempt to point at a presence of multiple and radical constituent forces which, beyond liberal – constitutional and authoritarian – conservative frameworks of the State pose the threat to the political and economic order of late capitalism.


2020 ◽  

The same world - and yet everything is different. This could be a succinct formula for what the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben seeks to expose in his studies: categories of a new way of thinking, of a different use and form-of-life, in which natural life cannot be separated from social life and in which the logic of exclusion and the violence of domination are suspended. Starting from the last volume of the Homo-Sacer project, the studies in this volume trace Agamben's search for a "destituent potential" that opens a way out of the state of exception we are living in. Such a "subversive messianism" moves between politics and theology, ontology and poetry; it works archaeologically through the Greek and Roman, Jewish and Christian roots of Western culture in order to open them up to a new use in surprising constellations. With contributions by Daniela Blum, René Dausner, Daniel Kazmaier, Martin Kirschner, Aaron Looney, Edda Mack, Moritz Rudolph, Joost van Loon, Josef Wohlmuth, Peter Zeillinger, Michael Zimmermann


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