The Microbial State: Global Thriving And The Body Politic
by Stefanie R. Fishel /
2017 / English / PDF
4.6 MB Download
For three centuries, concepts of the state have been animated
by one of the most powerful metaphors in politics: the body
politic, a claustrophobic and bounded image of sovereignty.
Climate change, neoliberalism, mass migration, and other
aspects of the late Anthropocene have increasingly revealed the
limitations of this metaphor. Just as the human body is not
whole and separate from other bodies—comprising microbes,
bacteria, water, and radioactive isotopes—Stefanie R. Fishel
argues that the body politic of the state exists in dense
entanglement with other communities and forms of life.
For three centuries, concepts of the state have been animated
by one of the most powerful metaphors in politics: the body
politic, a claustrophobic and bounded image of sovereignty.
Climate change, neoliberalism, mass migration, and other
aspects of the late Anthropocene have increasingly revealed the
limitations of this metaphor. Just as the human body is not
whole and separate from other bodies—comprising microbes,
bacteria, water, and radioactive isotopes—Stefanie R. Fishel
argues that the body politic of the state exists in dense
entanglement with other communities and forms of life.
Drawing on insights from continental philosophy, science and
technology studies, and international relations theory, this
path-breaking book critiques the concept of the body politic on
the grounds of its very materiality. Fishel both redefines and
extends the metaphor of the body politic and its role in
understanding an increasingly posthuman, globalized world
politics. By conceiving of bodies and states as lively vessels,
living harmoniously with multiplicity and the biosphere, she
argues that a radical shift in metaphors can challenge a
politics based on fear to open new forms of global political
practice and community.
Drawing on insights from continental philosophy, science and
technology studies, and international relations theory, this
path-breaking book critiques the concept of the body politic on
the grounds of its very materiality. Fishel both redefines and
extends the metaphor of the body politic and its role in
understanding an increasingly posthuman, globalized world
politics. By conceiving of bodies and states as lively vessels,
living harmoniously with multiplicity and the biosphere, she
argues that a radical shift in metaphors can challenge a
politics based on fear to open new forms of global political
practice and community.
Reframing the concept of the body politic to accommodate
greater levels of complexity, Fishel suggests, will result in
new configurations for the political and social organization
necessary to build a world in which the planet’s inhabitants do
not merely live but actively thrive.
Reframing the concept of the body politic to accommodate
greater levels of complexity, Fishel suggests, will result in
new configurations for the political and social organization
necessary to build a world in which the planet’s inhabitants do
not merely live but actively thrive.