Does the state of exception secure sovereignty? - Sam Mace
- Date
- Wednesday 16 December 2020, 1pm
- Location
- MS Teams
This online seminar took place on 16 December 2020 as part of the School of Politics and International Studies research seminar series:
Title: Does the state of exception secure sovereignty?
Abstract: The state of exception has been envisaged as a way for the state to guarantee sovereignty. This is predicated upon a belief that power alone is sufficient for a state to exercise sovereignty over the state. However, this paper challenges that claim. The paper contests the argument that power alone is sufficient to exercise power and instead there are 'sovereign traits' which need to be activated to underpin power. The unrestricted use of power paradoxically weakens these sovereign traits which corresponds with a weakening of power.
Sam is a third year PhD student working on the state of exception, sovereignty and the Middle East.