- Title
- The [bio]politics of genocide: an Agambenian approach
- Creator
- Page, Bethany Rachel Elisabeth
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Genocide is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon. Scholars disagree as to what should be properly encompassed by the term, but even when it is agreed that genocide has in fact occurred the explanations for its occurrence are contested. The primary argument of this thesis is that the current prevailing theories of genocide, whilst undeniably relevant, do not provide an overarching, fully encompassing analysis of genocide. Much of this current scholarship takes the Holocaust as both the historical phenomenon and paradigm for defining and explaining genocide. However, this thesis aims to develop an alternative approach by focusing on two recent examples of genocide from the late twentieth century: Rwanda in 1994 and the Bosnian War from 1992-1995. The currently dominant international interpretation of these two genocides is that they are to be understood in terms of ‘primordial conflict’ and ‘ancient ethnic hatreds’ where one or both are posited as being in large part to blame for these conflicts. While this thesis pays due heed to this interpretation it moves away from it to develop an analysis that explores genocide from a biopolitical perspective. To do this, the thesis argues for an explanatory approach based on the biopolitical works of Italian political philosopher, Giorgio Agamben, in particular Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life (1998), as well as his texts Remnants of Auschwitz (2002) and State of Exception (2005). The thesis critically examines Agamben’s biopolitical approach, paying particular attention to his concepts of ‘bare life’, ‘homo sacer’, the ‘state of exception’ and the ‘camp’. It develops a biopolitical framework for understanding and evaluating the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina. While the thesis draws on these two events of the late twentieth century to illustrate its arguments, the focus is not solely a study of genocide as such, as it is not concerned with solving the ‘problem’ of genocide. Nor is its concern to argue that Agamben’s theories enable a determination of the ‘correct causes’ of modern genocide. Rather, the analysis developed in this thesis is concerned to argue that an Agambenian approach has the explanatory power to help us understand genocide as a phenomenon of biopolitical power relations. In so doing the thesis aims to provide a more inclusive analysis and understanding of genocide. This study provides a number of contributions to both biopolitical theory and genocide scholarship. Whilst aiming to develop a more holistic analysis of genocide it demonstrates a link between ‘ethnic cleansing’ and biopolitics, something that is not focussed on by Agamben. This thesis demonstrates the value of Agamben’s biopolitical theory for developing an approach, an Agambenian framework, that can enhance our understanding of the twin phenomena of ‘ethnic cleansing’ and genocide. By focussing on the more ‘recent’ genocides of Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina, this thesis demonstrates that an Agambenian approach can in fact advance our capacity to make sense of the phenomenon of genocide and the complexities surrounding it.
- Subject
- genocide; politics; biopolitics; Giorgio Agamben; Rwanda; Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1395219
- Identifier
- uon:33835
- Rights
- Copyright 2018 Bethany Rachel Elisabeth Page
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
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| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 4 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 885 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |