Democratic Biopolitics : : Popular Sovereignty and the Power of Life / / Sergei Prozorov.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Complete eBook-Package 2019
• VerfasserIn: Prozorov, Sergei,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2019
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (224 p.)

Develops the first positive synthesis of democracy and biopoliticsContemporary studies of biopolitics assume that the rise of biopolitical governance entails the eclipse of democracy. The abstract egalitarianism of democratic government appears to be incompatible with the concrete, particularist and individualising operations of biopower. Sergei Prozorov challenges the assumption that the biopolitical governance means the end of democracy, arguing for a positive synthesis of biopolitics and democracy. He develops a vision of democratic biopolitics where diverse forms of life can coexist on the basis of their reciprocal recognition as free, equal and in common. He demonstrates how this vision can be realised and sustained by using examples of our lived experience.Key FeaturesCritically re-engages with the canonical theories of biopolitics from Foucault, Agamben and EspositoIntroduces new philosophical voices into the discussion of biopolitics: Nancy, Badiou and LefortExplicates the historical background of the contemporary critique of biopoliticsInterprets the current crisis of liberal democracy through a biopolitical lens, and suggests possibilities for overcoming it

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Prologue: Towards an experimental analytics of government -- PART 1: ROUSSEAU AND THE CRITIQUE OF BIOPOLITICS -- 1. Rousseau’s aporia -- 2. The community of solitary walkers -- PART 2: FREEFORM LIFE -- 3. Biopower and the politics of contingency -- 4. Is there a democratic form of life? -- 5. Demos distracted -- 6. How to enjoy democracy again (and again) -- Epilogue: Why democracy is good for life -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index