This research examines how political discourses, frequently characterized by increased securitization ideologies and shaped by popular media, have played a role in the development of Libya’s and...Show moreThis research examines how political discourses, frequently characterized by increased securitization ideologies and shaped by popular media, have played a role in the development of Libya’s and Italy’s migration policies and inter-state agreements. Specifically since the emergence of the European migration crisis in 2015, discourse has produced a negative (influence on) societal perception on migration, both in Italy and Libya. Despite large amounts of research on migration narratives and politives, few analyze the exlusionary effects of political and media discourse on migration. This research aims to fill this game through frameworks of Necropolitics and Existentialism, presenting Italian and Libyan application of power through migration policies and media narratives as a (inter-)national Chess Game. The states are players who control the chess game and the chess pieces: the migrants.Show less
As migration increases in the world, many countries struggle to address it. Some governments have taken on a necropolitical stance on the matter, meaning that they have deliberately failed to help...Show moreAs migration increases in the world, many countries struggle to address it. Some governments have taken on a necropolitical stance on the matter, meaning that they have deliberately failed to help migrants and asylum seekers in their territories, effectively abandoning them to die. As migration trends also increase in Brazil, the current administration of Jair Bolsonaro could be following in the same path as those governments. This thesis will analyze the presence of necropolitics in Bolsonaro’s discourse, arguing that he uses language to justify the ‘letting die’ of immigrants.Show less
Considering the urgency posed by the violent homophobic conduct of Sub-Saharan African states towards males who appear as challenging the socially dominant standards of masculinity and sexuality,...Show moreConsidering the urgency posed by the violent homophobic conduct of Sub-Saharan African states towards males who appear as challenging the socially dominant standards of masculinity and sexuality, this thesis aims to problematize queer violence in the African post-colony. Queer violence is hereby defined as the violence inflicted upon the bodies and lives of citizens of the post-colonial state on the sole ground of their perceived or actual sexuality. Looking into the underexplored case of Nigeria, this thesis asks the following question ‘How has the Nigerian state exercised queer violence?’ Based on a review of the literature, the building blocks of the homophobic discourse (laws, morality, tradition and religion), which legitimize queer violence in the African context, and particularly in Nigeria, are discussed. In order to criticise the persisting violent conduct and unveil how queer violence functions, queer theory is utilised together with Foucault’s notion of biopolitics and Mbembe’s necropolitics. Additionally, a genealogical approach helps analyse the state conduct through its discursive, but also non-discursive/material practices. Through the analysis of the occasion of the arrests and arraignment of 57 men in Lagos, Nigeria from August 2018 through March 2020, for offenses related to same-sex relations and homosexuality, it is observed that the Nigerian state has exercised queer violence by disguising its necropolitical conduct in biopolitical terms. It has been further observed that queer violence is performed indiscriminately, endangering especially the male population.Show less
This thesis examines how liberal democracies rationalise drone warfare. Drawing on the philosophical works of Michel Foucault, Michael Dillon, Julian Reid and Achille Mbembe, I argued that liberal...Show moreThis thesis examines how liberal democracies rationalise drone warfare. Drawing on the philosophical works of Michel Foucault, Michael Dillon, Julian Reid and Achille Mbembe, I argued that liberal democracies rationalise drone warfare through a discourse of biopower – the power over life - that presents drones and drone operators as life-preserving. Lethal drone strikes are rationalised as necessary acts of pre-emptive killing in order to save valuable life (killing to make life live). However, I also found that liberal democracies rationalise drone warfare through a discourse of necropower – the power over death – that deems acceptable the putting to death of entire populations living under drones. Hence, this thesis demonstrates that drone warfare reflects both a biopolitical and a necropolitical rationality.Show less
