A Matter of Life and Death: State Power and Control of the Body in a Pandemic Era in the Light of Foucault’s Concept of Biopolitics

Year 2024, , 111 - 126, 30.06.2024

Sunday Onwuegbuchulam

https://doi.org/10.31679/adamakademi.1317666

Abstract

The advent of COVID-19 pandemic saw the declaration of state of national disaster in South Africa which meant that the country was literally shut down with several restrictions on socio-economic and with it some human bodily activities. The situation has brought into the fore a revived interest in the interrogation of the nexus between state power and control of freedom of citizens. As such, the issue has also brought into focus Foucault’s analysis of power in modern and postmodern societies centring on the concept of biopower/biopolitics. Considering the centrality of citizen’s constitutional right to several civil liberties including right to bodily integrity, there is need to explore the limits of state power in the idea of biopolitics. This essay utilises desktop methods to interrogate state’s power and control of citizen’s bodies in South Africa during and post COVID-19 era. Ultimately, the article is an attempt to contribute to the discourse on how political theorising incorporates human embodiment.

Keywords

COVID19, Biopower, Civil Liberties, Foucault, Social Contract

Supporting Institution

Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Bir Ölüm kalım meselesi: Foucault'nun Biyopolitika Kavramı Işığında Pandemi Çağında Devlet İktidarı ve Beden Kontrolü

Abstract

COVID-19 salgınının ortaya çıkışı, Güney Afrika'da ulusal felaket durumunun ilan edildiğini gördü; bu, ülkenin sosyo-ekonomik ve bununla birlikte bazı insani bedensel faaliyetler üzerindeki çeşitli kısıtlamalarla kelimenin tam anlamıyla kapatıldığı anlamına geliyordu. Durum, devlet gücü ile yurttaşların özgürlüğünün denetimi arasındaki ilişkinin sorgulanmasına yönelik yeniden canlanan bir ilgiyi ön plana çıkardı. Bu haliyle konu, Foucault'nun biyoiktidar/biyopolitika kavramını merkeze alan modern ve postmodern toplumlardaki iktidar analizini de odak noktası haline getirdi. Vatandaşların bedensel bütünlük hakkı da dahil olmak üzere çeşitli sivil özgürlüklere ilişkin anayasal haklarının merkeziliği göz önüne alındığında, biyopolitika fikrinde devlet gücünün sınırlarını keşfetmeye ihtiyaç vardır. Bu makale, COVID-19 döneminde ve sonrasında Güney Afrika'da devletin gücünü ve vatandaşların organları üzerindeki kontrolünü sorgulamak için masaüstü yöntemlerini kullanıyor. Nihayetinde makale, siyaset kuramlaştırmanın insan cisimleşmesini nasıl içerdiğine dair söyleme katkıda bulunma girişimidir.

Keywords

Covid19, Foucault, Civil Liberties, Biopower, Social Contract

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