The end of emergency : Coronavirus, uncertain bodies, and agitating sovereignty

Journal article


Poe, Andrew. (2020). The end of emergency : Coronavirus, uncertain bodies, and agitating sovereignty. Theory and Event : An online journal of political theory. 23(4), pp. 41-52. https://doi.org/10.1353/tae.2020.0079
AuthorsPoe, Andrew
Abstract

Emergencies are those risks of threat too high to ignore. Recently, democratic theorists have worried that the emergency use of powers is itself the fundamental emergency of democratic politics. But this paper asks whether other modalities of emergency may not also be useful for democracy. I argue that the recent emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic, while horrific, can also provide the opportunity for developing new democratic habitus. I offer reflections on my own experience of COVID-19 in Denmark in March and April of 2020, placing these reflections in the context of a national response to the pandemic in Denmark, and contrast these with the government response in the United States. In this context, Foucault’s reflections on foundational metaphors for governing—steering the ship to safe harbor and caring for the shepherded flock—suggest how sovereign power can be limited, but also where countercurrents of sovereignty might manifest themselves. I turn to these metaphors as language that traces the dangers and promises that linger in emergencies.

Year01 Jan 2020
JournalTheory and Event : An online journal of political theory
Journal citation23 (4), pp. 41-52
PublisherJohns Hopkins University Press
ISSN1092-311X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1353/tae.2020.0079
Web address (URL)https://muse.jhu.edu/article/775401#info_wrap
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range41-52
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
PrintOct 2020
Publication process dates
Deposited19 Sep 2024
Additional information

© 2020 Johns Hopkins University Press

Place of publicationUnited States
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