CAMP, DISPLACEMENT SOVEREIGN AND STATE OF EXCEPTION: AN AGAMBEN STUDY OF REFUGEES IN “EXIT WEST”

Authors

  • Munir Ahmad Zia Rao Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan
  • Khurshid Alam Department of English Language and Literature, University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan,
  • Tahreem Munir Forman Christian College, Lahore, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52567/pjsr.v5i02.1099

Abstract

Agamben (1998) through the figure of ‘refugee’ illustrates his construct on bare life, camp, state of exception, sovereignty. The narratives of the encamped refugees portray them as homines sacri as ‘zoe’ sans ‘bios’ living at the bare level of necessity. Refugees are subjected to modern day techniques of sovereignty including violence which Foucault (2007) dubbed as ‘governmentality’ are employed to control, dominate and subdue them. The refugees in “Exit West” (2017) can be seen as ‘biopolitical’ subjects that can be controlled and regulated as subpopulation in ‘state of exception outside the ambit of routine legal framework.  

Keywords: Camp, Displacement, Sovereignty, State, Refugees.

 

Author Biographies

Munir Ahmad Zia Rao , Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan

PhD Scholar

Khurshid Alam, Department of English Language and Literature, University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan,

Assistant Professor

Tahreem Munir, Forman Christian College, Lahore, Pakistan

Student

Additional Files

Published

2023-05-24

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 02 (2023): Pakistan Journal of Social Research (PJSR)

Section

Research Article

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Munir Ahmad Zia Rao , Khurshid Alam, Tahreem Munir

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.