Journals / Bilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 11 Sayı: 1

Rethinking Sovereignty: The Spatial Logics of Agamben’s Biopolitics in Contemporary Camp Practices

Egemenliği Yeniden Düşünmek: Güncel Kamp Pratiklerinde Agamben’in Biyopolitikasının Mekânsal Mantıkları

Pages
59–71
Publication Date
2026-05-31
DOI
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

By tracing these dynamics, the study contributes to ongoing debates in political geography and biopolitics regarding the transformation of state power and the juridical status of vulnerable populations.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Giorgio Agamben provides a framework for reinterpreting the biopolitical practices of political authority through his concept of homo sacer, elaborating on Aristotle’s zoon politikon and the theories of Schmitt’s state of exception and Benjamin’s legal violence.
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Key Findings & Data:Scholars particularly examine the “war on terror” following 9/11 and the global refugee crisis, where governments increasingly employ exceptional measures within and beyond their territories.
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Conclusion & Impact:By tracing these dynamics, the study contributes to ongoing debates in political geography and biopolitics regarding the transformation of state power and the juridical status of vulnerable populations.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Biyopolitika · Ulus Devlet · İstisna Hali

Abstract

Giorgio Agamben provides a framework for reinterpreting the biopolitical practices of political authority through his concept of homo sacer, elaborating on Aristotle’s zoon politikon and the theories of Schmitt’s state of exception and Benjamin’s legal violence. Unlike Foucault, Agamben conceives biopolitics as an instrument of sovereign power that renders individuals as objects of political decision-making within a designated spatial order, the camp. Within this space, people become “exceptions”, losing legal protections associated with citizenship and humanity. Contemporary geopolitics revisits Agamben’s ideas to analyze how nation-states negotiate sovereignty, borders, and security in the context of globalization. Scholars particularly examine the “war on terror” following 9/11 and the global refugee crisis, where governments increasingly employ exceptional measures within and beyond their territories. The spatialization of sovereign power, manifested in detention centers and refugee camps, highlights how exceptional governance has been normalized in liberal democracies. This article examines the state of exception that arises when national security interests conflict with international humanitarian norms, arguing that camp practices reveal shifting spatiotemporal configurations of sovereign authority in the post-globalization era. By tracing these dynamics, the study contributes to ongoing debates in political geography and biopolitics regarding the transformation of state power and the juridical status of vulnerable populations.

Özet

Giorgio Agamben, homo sacer kavramı aracılığıyla siyasal otoritenin biyopolitik pratiklerini yeniden yorumlamak için bir çerçeve sunar ve Aristoteles’in zoon politikon anlayışı ile Schmitt’in istisna hâli ve Benjamin’in hukuki şiddet tartışmalarını genişletir. Foucault’dan farklı olarak Agamben, biyopolitikayı, belirlenmiş mekânsal bir düzen içerisinde bireyleri siyasetin nesnesine dönüştüren egemen gücün bir aracı olarak kavrar; bu düzene kamp adı verilir. Bu mekânda bulunan kişiler “istisna” hâline gelerek vatandaşlık ve insanlıkla ilişkili hukuki korumalarını yitirirler. Güncel jeopolitik çalışmalar, küreselleşme bağlamında egemenlik, sınırlar ve güvenlik tartışmalarını incelemek üzere Agamben’in fikirlerine yeniden başvurmaktadır. Araştırmalar özellikle 11 Eylül sonrasında ortaya çıkan “teröre karşı savaş” uygulamalarına ve küresel mülteci krizine odaklanarak devletlerin kendi sınırları içinde ve ötesinde olağanüstü tedbirleri nasıl normalleştirdiğini göstermektedir. Egemen gücün mekânsallaşması, gözaltı merkezleri ve mülteci kamplarında tezahür ederek liberal demokrasilerde olağanüstü yönetim biçimlerinin sıradanlaştığını ortaya koyar. Bu makale, ulusal güvenlik çıkarlarının uluslararası insani normlarla çatıştığı durumlarda beliren istisna hâlini inceleyerek, küreselleşme sonrası dönemde egemenliğin değişen mekânsal ve zamansal özelliklerini tartışmaktadır. Bu yaklaşım, devlet iktidarının dönüşümü ve kırılgan toplulukların hukuki statüsüne ilişkin siyasi coğrafya ve biyopolitika tartışmalarına katkı sunmayı amaçlamaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Kaya, M. S. (2026). Rethinking Sovereignty: The Spatial Logics of Agamben’s Biopolitics in Contemporary Camp Practices. Bilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt: 11 Sayı: 1, 59–71. https://ajindex.com/articles/1463303

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