State of Exception

State of Exception

Giorgio Agamben

Giorgio Agamben's State of Exception (2005) maps out the history of emergency powers from early iterations under Roman law through the aftermath of 9/11 and the subsequent empowerment of security services around the globe. This text builds upon the foundational works of Carl Schmitt, and attempts to clarify the blurry space between law and lawlessness. Agamben argues that while states of exception have become increasingly routine, this trend undermines democratic norms and risks states slipping into more autocratic modes of governance. State of Exception also discusses the nature of sovereignty, citizenship, and legal protections under states of emergency, how those emergency powers are invoked, and who determines when they should end. As a supplement to this text, “Nature of Writing” has a thorough four-part lecture series discussing the book on Youtube. See: (Part One), (Part Two), (Part Three), and (Part Four).