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“Sovereign is he who decides the exception.”
— Carl Schmitt (Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty, 1922)
The rise and fall of South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol
South Korea’s Constitutional Court formally removed President Yoon Suk-yeol from office on April 4, 2025, ending a political deadlock that had gripped the country. The ruling also caps Yoon’s rapid rise from the prosecutor’s office to the presidency after he was elected in 2021 by the smallest margin in South Korean history. Yoon’s tenure as president was rocked by scandals and protests ahead of his failed declaration of martial law, a move that triggered his impeachment and eventual downfall.
El Salvador opens path for Nayib Bukele to stay in power indefinitely
Per reporting from the Associated Press, on 31 July 2025, El Salvador's Legislative Assembly pushed through a constitutional reform overnight eliminating presidential term limits, fueling concerns that it paves the way for President Nayib Bukele to indefinitely stay in power…
Is the "State of Exception" the New Normal? Giorgio Agamben
This video from Philosopheasy explores Giorgio Agamben's philosophy on the "state of exception," where emergency powers become a norm, allowing governments to suspend laws and exert control, as seen in situations like the war on terror and the COVID-19 pandemic.