Geopower: On the states of nature of late capitalism
Journal
European Journal of Social Theory
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2019
Author(s)
Abstract (De)
The article argues that environmental planetary discourses have coalesced into the Anthropocene crisis narrative and reformulated the state of nature apparatus of Western political theory. The Anthropocene, as an ecological state of nature of late capitalism, casts light on the logics of geopower, which assembles species thinking, a fascination with nonlife and sovereignty, and the imaginary of extinction and mutation. Geopower shifts governmental technologies from human populations and their ‘milieu’ to nonhuman species, energy flows and ecosystems, from political economy and biopower to Earth science and systems ecology. This configuration of power suggests a shift in the neoliberal agenda and imposes the Earth as a political personage, generating threatening political myths and figures of chaos and sovereignty, such as Gaia, Chthulu and Climate Leviathans.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Volume
22
Number
3
Start page
342
End page
363
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
256110