Understanding Necropolitics
In the face of the arbitrariness and disproportion in today’s rising authoritarian policies, one might wish to believe that leaders have gone mad. Unfortunately, their conduct responds to a logic of power, largely coherent with the exacerbated capitalist system of the 21st century, which, though not new, has been intensified and is no longer confined to regions once seen as the “periphery” of the Western world but is now prevalent within it: necropolitics or the politics of death, which justifies the stigmatization, degradation, and even extermination of entire populations through overexploitation and commodification, gradually turning the planet into an uninhabitable wasteland.
Necropolitics, conceptualized by Cameroonian political scientist Achille Mbembe in relation to European colonialism in Africa, is a policy of death that not only determines “who should die” and who should live (Foucault’s biopolitics) but also makes “the killing of its enemy its primary and absolute objective, under the pretext of war, resistance, or the fight against terror.”
From Colonialism to Modern Authoritarianism
Initially directed against colonized populations deemed “inferior,” “savage,” and therefore disposable, necropolitics is now deployed to varying degrees against stigmatized populations, both internal and external, labeled as “enemies,” “dangerous criminals,” “terrorists,” or mere “dissidents.” As the South American dictatorships taught us, “the enemy” can be anyone. Just as we see in current wars or areas controlled by organized crime, states and actors participating in this logic view (and transform) human beings as disposable commodities or killable bodies.
Extreme authoritarianism does not always destroy legality; instead, it molds it to justify its escalating violence. States of emergency or exception in wartime, for instance, allow them to limit or suspend rights and guarantees, pit the military against civilian populations, or, in martial language, “destroy the enemy.” When there are no extreme situations to justify imposing repressive measures, autocratic leaders create them, as Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on fascism, has pointed out. The Reichstag fire is a classic example; reactions to 9/11 in the United States, with the creation of the Patriot Act and Guantanamo Bay, followed by subsequent wars, are more recent instances.
Trump’s Exacerbated Authoritarianism
In the immediate context, Trump’s reaction to protests against arbitrary detentions by immigration agents in Los Angeles exemplifies exacerbated authoritarianism. It aims to establish conditions for declaring a state of exception, allowing him, in his militaristic fantasy, to deploy the National Guard against the governor of California’s will and even use the Navy. The audacity of someone imagining himself as king was evident when he recently declared his intention to arrest Governor Newsom (CNN). Observers like Robert Reich have already spoken of an impending police state.
The Escalation Towards Militarized Policing
The outcome of this clear Trump provocation remains uncertain. However, the escalation that has turned Los Angeles into a militarized-policing laboratory can be traced by weaving together the xenophobic and racist rants characteristic of the president and his administration (which appeal to structural racism and deep-seated resentments among the white population), the manipulation of fear through strident rhetoric that portrays Latino presence as a dangerous “invasion” and peaceful protest as “riots” or “insurrection”), and the glorification of militarized police forces (or even the armed forces themselves) as “saviors” of the nation.
These discourses awaken hatred and fear against those deemed different and therefore “dangerous.” Among democracy advocates and peaceful coexistence defenders, they trigger alarms due to their historical background of intolerance and violence, their corrosive power.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is necropolitics? Necropolitics, as conceptualized by Achille Mbembe, refers to a policy of death that not only determines who should live and die but also makes killing enemies its primary objective, often under the guise of war, resistance, or fighting terror.
- How has necropolitics evolved? Initially directed against colonized populations deemed inferior, necropolitics has evolved to target stigmatized groups both internally and externally, labeling them as enemies, criminals, terrorists, or dissidents.
- What are examples of exacerbated authoritarianism? Examples include the Reichstag fire, reactions to 9/11 with the creation of the Patriot Act and Guantanamo Bay, and subsequent wars. In a contemporary context, Trump’s reaction to protests against arbitrary detentions in Los Angeles demonstrates exacerbated authoritarianism.
- How does Trump’s rhetoric contribute to necropolitics? Trump’s xenophobic and racist rants, manipulation of fear through strident rhetoric, and glorification of militarized police forces all contribute to the escalation of necropolitics.
