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

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Biyopolitika
• Ulus Devlet
• İstisna Hali
• Mekân Politikası
• Kamp

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

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Biopolitics
• Nation State
• State of Exception
• Space Politics
• Camp

Kaynakça

1. Agamben, G. (1998). Homo Sacer: Sovereign power and bare life (D. Heller-Roazen, Trans.). Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA.
2. Agamben, G. (2000). Means without end. Notes on politics (V. Binetti and C. Casarino, Trans.). University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis.
3. Agamben, G. (2005). State of Exception (K. Attell, Trans.). The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.
4. Agier, M. (2011). Managing the undesirables: Refugee camps and humanitarian government (D. Fernbach, Trans.). Polity Press.
5. Althusser, L. (2014). On the reproduction of capitalism: Ideology and ideological state apparatuses, (G. M. Goshgarian, Trans.). Verso: London & New York.
6. Amoore, L. (2006). Biometric borders: Governing mobilities in the war on terror. Political Geography, 25(3), 336-351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2006.02.001
7. Andersen, L. E. (2016). The Syrian refugee crisis. In The neglected Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the Syrian refugee crisis, 15-18. Danish Institute for International Studies. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep17376.6
8. Arendt, H. (1994). Eichmann in Jerusalem. Penguin Books.

9. Benjamin, W. (1998). The critique of violence. In Walter Benjamin: Selected Writings (vol. 1). The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
10. Bird, G. and Dodd, E. (2023, October 10). Overcrowded camps at Europe’s borders. Social Europe. [Retrieved November 10, 2025, from: https://www.socialeurope.eu/overcrowded-camps-at-europes-borders].
11. Dholakia, N. (2025, June 11). The truth about immigration detention in the United States. Vera. [Retrieved May 8, 2026, from: https://www.vera.org/news/the-truth-about-immigration-detention-in-the-united-states].
12. Ek, R. (2006). Giorgio Agamben and the spatialities of the camp: An introduction. Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, 88(4), 363-386. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4621535.
13. Elden, S. (2013). The birth of territory. University of Chicago Press.
14. Ellery, B. (2023, March 7). Inside Grande-Synthe: The lawless camp migrants are desperate to escape. The Times. [Retrieved November 10, 2025, from: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/inside-grande-synthe-the-lawless-camp-migrants-are-desperate-to-escape-fjgndwsrd].
15. Emmanouilidou, L., Stavinoha, L., and Fotiadis, A. (2023, May 11). EU details alleged violations at Greece’s ‘model’ refugee camps. Al Jazeera. [Retrieved November 9, 2025, from: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/5/11/eu-details-alleged-violations-at-greeces-model-refugee-camps].
16. Esposito, R. (2008). Bios: Biopolitics and philosophy (T. Campbell, Trans.). University of Minnesota Press.
17. European Data Journalism Network (2023, August 1). Mapping the migrant camps in Europe. [Retrieved October 21, 2025, from: https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/cp_data_news/mapping-the-migrant-camps-in-europe/].
18. Forensic Architecture (2023, March 6). Fire in Moria refugee camp. Forensic Architecture. [Retrieved November 9, 2025, from: https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/fire-in-moria-refugee-camp].
19. Foucault, M. (1980). The history of sexuality (vol. 1, R. Hurley, Trans.). Pantheon Books: New York.
20. Foucault, M. (2003). Society must be defended (David Macey, Trans.). Picador: New York
21. Frost, T. (2010). Agamben’s sovereign legalization of Foucault. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 30(3), 545-577. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40959744.
22. Gassama, H. (2026, April 13). Detained Immigrants Detail Physical Abuse and Inhumane Conditions at Largest Immigration Detention Center in the U.S. ACLU. [Retrieved May 8, 2026, from: https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/detained-immigrants-detail-physical-abuse-and-inhumane-conditions-at-largest-immigration-detention-center-in-the-u-s].
23. Gritten, D. and Abualouf, R. (2025, October 29). Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 104, health ministry says, after Hamas accused of killing soldier. BBC News. [Retrieved November 11, 2025, from: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjdy5eevn2o].
24. Henley, J. (2024, June 17). Greek coastguard’s treatment of migrants ‘illegal’, says ex-officer. The Guardian. [Retrieved October 23, 2025, from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/17/greek-coastguard-treatment-of-migrants-illegal-says-ex-officer].
25. Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (2020). Refugee camp management. In Rohingya refugees in Aceh: An update, 2-3. Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep31662.5
26. International Rescue Committee (2025, October 23). Crisis in Gaza: What to know and how to help. [Retrieved November 11, 2025, from: https://www.rescue.org/crisis-in-gaza#:~:text=Mass%20displacement%20in%20Gaza,to%20provide%20safety%20or%20dignity].
27. Jan, N. (2019). The metacolonial state: Pakistan, critical ontology, and the biopolitical horizons of political Islam. Wiley.
28. Jessop, B. (2002). Time and space in the globalization of capital and their implications for state power. Rethinking Marxism, 14(1), 97-117. https://doi.org/10.1080/089356902101242071.
29. Jessop, B. (2013). Hollowing out the “nation-state” and multi-level governance. In A Handbook of Comparative Social Policy (P. Kennett, Ed.), 11-26. Edward Elgar Publishing. DOI: 10.4337/9781782546535.00008.
30. Jones, R. (2009). Agents of exception: border security and the marginalization of Muslims in India. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 27(5), 879-897. https://doi.org/10.1068/d10108
31. Kayaoglu, T. (2007). The extension of Westphalian sovereignty: State building and the abolition of extraterritoriality. International Studies Quarterly, 51(3), 649-675. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4621732.
32. Leake, M. (2025, October 21). As Gaza enters a new chapter, West Bank journalists speak out about the growing threats to their work and lives. Reuters Institute. [Retrieved November 11, 2025, from: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/gaza-enters-new-chapter-west-bank-journalists-speak-out-about-growing-threats-their-work-and].
33. Lemke, T. (2011). Biopolitics: An advanced introdcution (Eric Frederick Trump, Trans.). New York University Press: New York & London.
34. Minca, C. (2005). The return of the Camp. Progress in Human Geography, 29(4), 405-412. https://doi.org/10.1191/0309132505ph557xx0.4337/9781782546535.00008.
35. Minca, C. (2006). Giorgio Agamben and the new biopolitical nomos. Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, 88(4), 387-403. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4621536
36. Mogire, E. (2009). Refugee realities: Refugee rights versus state security in Kenya and Tanzania. Transformation, 26(1), 15-29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43052753
37. Mountz, A. (2013). Political geography I: Reconfiguring geographies of sovereignty. Progress in Human Geography, 37(6), 829-841. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132513479076.
38. National Immigrant Justice Center (2024). Policy brief: A snapshot of ICE detention, inhumane conditions, and alarming expansion. [Retrieved May 8, 2026, from: http://immigrantjustice.org/research/policy-brief-snapshot-of-ice-detention-inhumane-conditions-and-alarming-expansion/].
39. Neal, A. W. (2004). Cutting off the king’s head: Foucault’s society must be defended and the problem of sovereignty. Alternatives, 29(4), 373-398. https://doi.org/10.1177/030437540402900401.
40. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (2025, March 18). ‘Tragedy foretold and stain on our collective humanity’: Special Rapporteur warns of mass ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. United Nations Human Right Office of the High Commissioner. [Retrieved November 11, 2025, from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/03/tragedy-foretold-and-stain-our-collective-humanity-special-rapporteur-warns].
41. Ojakangas, M. (2005). Impossible dialogue on biopower: Agamben and Foucault. Foucault Studies, (2), 5-28.
42. Painter, J. (2015). Power. In The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Geography (J. Agnew et al. Eds.). Wiley Blackwell Publishing.
43. Poulantzas, N. (2001). State, power, socialism. Verso Classics.
44. Quillen, S., Pietromarchi, V., Najjar, F. and Adler, N. (2025, November 8). Updates: Israel air strikes, demolitions hit Gaza despite ceasefire. Al Jazeera. [Retrieved November 12, 2025, from: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/11/8/live-israeli-air-raids-demolitions-hit-gaza-despite-ceasefire-with-hamas].
45. Ramadan, A. (2013). Spatialising the refugee camp. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 38(1), 65-77. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24582441.
46. Reichlin-Melnick, A. (2026, January 23). New Report Details ICE’s Expanding and Increasingly Unaccountable Detention System. American Immigration Council. [Retrieved May 8, 2026, from: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-expanding-detention-system/].
47. Schmitt, C. (1988). The crisis of parliamentary democracy (E. Kennedy, Trans.). The MIT Press.
48. Schmitt, C. (2005). Political theology: Four chapter on the concept of sovereignty (G. Schwab, Trans.). The University of Chicago Press.
49. Schmitt, C. (2007). The concept of political (G. Schwab, Trans.). The University of Chicago Press.
50. Selin, K. (2021, January 4). “We have fewer rights than animals”: The unbearable life in the Greek refugee camp Kara Tepe. World Socialist Web Site. [Retrieved October 29, 2025, from: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/05/refu-j05.html].
51. Smith, L. and Steele, B. (2024, June 17). Migrants: Greece denies forcing asylum seekers onto boats. BBC News. [Retrieved October 29, 2025, from: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0vv717yvpeo].
52. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) (2025). UNRWA Situation Report #173 on the Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. [Retrieved November 18, 2025, from: https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-173-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem].
53. Wilson, A. (2014). Ambiguities of space and control: when refugee camp and nomadic encampment meet. Nomadic Peoples, 18(1), 38-60. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43124160