A minor biopolitics. Interview with Giorgio Agamben

Abstract

The political potential of Giorgio Agamben's intellectual legacy is a long-standing topic of discussions. Agamben is primarily known for his concept of biopolitics, which significantly expands the scope of Michel Foucault's application of this concept. In his works he seriously criticises the models of political action established in Western culture, but, as his opponents point out, he does not offer or simply does not see any alternative to them. In academic circles, the claim that Agamben's thought is pessimistic and nihilistic is a kind of cliché. Moreover, Agamben's publicistic works of recent years, in which the philosopher makes a number of ambiguous statements about the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, have become a target for criticism. Initially recognised among left-wing theorists, Agamben's thought is now being actively appropriated by conservatives, including Russian conservatives. This interview helps to clarify certain aspects of Agamben's political views and provides a key to understanding the relationship between his middle period, when his most famous works were published, and his late period, when he focused on Christian theology. In the interview, Agamben outlines the theory of the subject central to his work, and discusses the authors who have most influenced him — in particular, along with Foucault and Benjamin, he mentions Deleuze and his notion of the «line of flight».