Have You Heard of Necropolitics? -- Achille Mbembe

Necropolitics is a book by Achille Mbembe, a Cameroonian philosopher and political theorist. In Necropolitics, Mbembe defines a style of politics, one that categorizes groups of people as superfluous or disposable. Mbembe challenges the traditional western binary between rational, peaceful political spaces, and chaotic and violent "natural" spaces. He argues that, in fact, supposedly peaceful states have long created and governed terribly violent political spaces like refugee camps or detention centers.

Mbembe's Necropolitics provides us with a challenging political theory for a number of reasons, not least of which is that the book forces us to grapple with the violent colonial histories of modern western democracies. According to Mbembe, the story of western liberal democracy is not simply about social contracts, and human rights; it's also about these violently policed spaces both within and outside of the social contract.

#Necropolitics #Mbembe #philosophy #politics

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[phoenixnnq]

Your efforts in simplifying such great and important and possibly uncomfortable books are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much

[catriverch]

Proffessor, Hello from Japan.

I've been interested in "necropolitics".
But Japanese version hasnt still published and I am hesitating to read it in English .

Surprisingly, You explained the main points of the book as well as other philosopher's thoughts MBembe refers to in the book. I will listen to this video repeatedly.

Thank you for your great introduction.

[Skandgupta]

Yes, you are right. Mbembe's prescription of necropolitical state would certainly be anarchy. However, his method of transition towards anarchy would pe peaceful. Thus implying "pacifist anarchism" of Gandhi and Tolstoy.

[ayodele]

Professor. This one hit me HARD. please forgive the forthcoming long post. Now I had heard of Mbembe & necropolitics via Wisecrack. They have a video on Mad Max Fury viewed through the lens of Necropolitics. It was pretty good. But that video hit me hard and as your did because of my background. I’m a dual citizen. Born in America but raised in Nigeria and didn’t moved back to the US till I was 20. And the idea of necropolitics had always swirled in my mind but never really knew how to describe it. Then you had to drop the psychological utility of necropolitics and let me tell you was screaming when you brought this up because the thing that came to mind was how people would always tell me how “ free” America was and I always be like man your standard for freedom is ridiculously low. But anyway I’m rambling. Thank you as always for your videos. This particular one has given voice to something I’ve always thought about in the back of mind. Bout to go buy Mbembe’s book ASAP.

Again professor we appreciate you

[canella]

Thank you for this incredible summary, with all the nuances, such a great video !

[zeff]

Professor, thank you so much for the effort you put into these videos. I've been a fan since a few months ago. Your content is awesome! 😁

[ChloePayne-yf]

Really fantastic video here! I needed to understand this book for class and I really appreciate how thorough you are in describing exactly what Mbembe is trying to say. Thank you!

[Minija]

I’ve just finished the book. It’s definitely a challenging read - especially since I don’t come from a background in political science or philosophy. Still, as someone engaged in Peace and Conflict research, I find this book essential to the field. Mbembe is also clearly influenced by Fanon, which seems to be an important thread throughout his work. Your reflection on Necropolitics is really helpful after reading such a dense and layered text.
I read Necropolitics after Homo Sacer, and I felt that the progression between the two thinkers created a strong build-up.

[KreativeKlubb]

I enjoyed it. Very comprehensively explained. Thank u 🎉

[appleby]

thank you for this summary and yr work on it! appreciate all the weaving through ideas and explanations all the you's from different time-spaces come in and do in this lol

[Edmonddantes]

Hmmmm… I can’t really put my finger on it but I have the feeling there is a small area where an overwhelming military force has violently caged a population of millions for years and years and periodically “mowed the lawn”… the name escapes me momentarily

[aal-e-ahmadhussain]

An important book to get a matter-of-fact understanding of the modern state is Professor Graeme Gill’s “The Nature and Development of the Modern State” (Macmillan, 2016)

[mounamehellou]

My dissertation is based largely on this concept Democracy and death in an Iraki novel called Frankenstein in Baghdad

[pablopenguin]

This video was a super great help in explaining necropolitics for my essay, thank you so much!!

[Philosophia]

I think most problematic thing is, we had been socialised with violence and there is a space, a lack of liberty, creating unsatisfied desires, to get to unknown destinations. Natural equality of rights and liberty is academically and socially systematised to hurt us by illogical emotions.

[Jasitus]

Professor, I am even more fascinated by the materials on The Wire and David Simon on your shelf.

[reedehinger]

Holy mackerel this dude is great! Explains things very clearly, plus really pleasant reading voice (I know that's weird but you're all thinking it).

[graceatim]

Thankyou Prof...been struggling understanding these theories...

[poonammenger]

Thank you so much for this video it really helped me with my essay!! You make the ideas really clear and honestly reading this was hard

[zeynepsagirr]

İ am psycoholgy student who takes sociology class
And ı really appreciate the effort you put in the video
İt helped me so much, thanks