necropolitics

English

Etymology

From necro- +‎ politics, coined by Cameroonian philosopher and political scientist Achille Mbembe.

Noun

necropolitics (uncountable)

1. The relationship between sovereignty and power over life and death.
   • 2007, Mitchell Dean, chapter 8, in Governing societies: political perspectives on domestic and international rule, →ISBN, page 148:

     The idea of a supreme power which monopolizes legitimate violence is as much about limiting and restraining ‘necropolitics’ as it is about engaging in it.

   • 2021, C.L. Quinan, Kathrin Thiele, editors, Biopolitics, Necropolitics, Cosmopolitics: Feminist and Queer Interventions, Routledge, →ISBN, page 4:

     Jasbir K. Puar (2007, 2017) has been particularly instrumental in provoking an expanding body of work on queer necropolitics.

Derived terms

• necropolitical

Related terms

• biopower
• necropolis
• necropower