State of Exception

Synopsis

Two months after the attacks of 9/11, the bush administration, in the midst of what it perceived to be a state of emergency, authorized the indefinite detention of noncitizens suspected of terrorist activities and their subsequent trials by a military commission. Here, distinguished italian philosopher giorgio agamben uses such circumstances to argue that this unusual extension of power, or "state of exception, " has historically been an underexamined and powerful strategy that has the potential to transform democracies into totalitarian states.