The European Court of Human Rights as Governor of Risk

This chapter analyses the ‘risk dispositief’ of the European Court of Human Rights and explores the ways in which the Court governs risk. It begins with an exploration of the specific features of governing uncertain future events that are adopted by the Court, including the identification of the forms of risk that the Court incorporates in its mode of governance and the manner in which it allocates responsibility for these risks. It then examines the manner in which the Court’s risk dispositief creates new subjectivities and redefine relationships. The Foucauldian concept of governmentality provides the theoretical framework for exploring the Court’s risk dispositief, and provides a tool for analyzing the Court’s techniques of risk governmentality. The ultimate purpose of this enquiry is to ascertain how the Court addresses risk-related complaints and how it conceptualises risk in different contexts.