Necropolitics

Necropolitics (2019) by philosopher Achille Mbembe is a study of how sovereign states use death to maintain political power and control space. Mbembe examines how liberal democracy benefits some groups of people while condemning others to living conditions that mimic death. The social and political critic posits that democracies are both medicine and poison. Responding to the work of philosopher Michel Foucault, who emphasized ideas like biopower and genealogical critiques of historic themes, Mbembe traces how democratic societies are built on a foundation of war set by their colonialist roots. Although Mbembe’s text paints a dark picture of civilization’s history, he offers hope for a future in which humans reach a collective understanding of how they impact and relate to one another.

This guide uses the 2019 Duke University Press paperback edition.

Summary

In Necropolitics, African social and political critic Achille Mbembe examines how colonialism dictated the dual nature of democracy: that democratic societies benefit some while harming others. Mbembe introduces the concept of “deathworlds,” places where governments force certain populations of people to live in conditions not unlike death. He argues that racism is at the core of this duality and that colonialism has created the violent foundation that underpins modern democracy.