Categories: uncategorized
Date: 12 September 2005 21:09:18
A Brief History of the State of Exception
by Giorgio Agamben.
An excerpt from State of Exception.
Here's an excerpt:
President Bush's decision to refer to himself constantly as the "Commander in Chief of the Army" after September 11, 2001, must be considered in the context of this presidential claim to sovereign powers in emergency situations. If, as we have seen, the assumption of this title entails a direct reference to the state of exception, then Bush is attempting to produce a situation in which the emergency becomes the rule, and the very distinction between peace and war (and between foreign and civil war) becomes impossible.
Also added a couple of links and done some housekeeping. I'll hoover under the sofa next week.