Politik der Feindschaft

In his new book Achille Mbembe examines a phenomenon that is constantly reconfiguring itself in our global age: enmity. Drawing on the psychiatric and political insights of Frantz Fanon, Mbembe shows how, as a result of the conflicts surrounding the decolonization of the 20th century, war - in the form of conquest and occupation, terror and revolt - has become the signature of our time. As a permanent state of emergency, it leads to the erosion of liberal democracy. Mbembe's highly topical essay traces the consequences of this erosion: the spread of authoritarian forms of government. He describes the conditions under which questions are asked today about the relationship between justice and violence, normality and state of emergency, security and freedom. With a view to global migration flows and the inevitable coalescence that goes hand in hand with them.