Kevin Attell

Two months after the attacks of 9/11, the Bush administration, in the midst of what it perceived to be a state of emergency, authorised the indefinite detention of noncitizens suspected of terrorist activities and their subsequent trials by a military commission. Here, distinguished Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben uses such circumstances to argue that this unusual extension of power, or state...

Giorgio Agamben tackles our crisis-ridden world in a series of powerful philosophical essays. When the House Burns Down – From the Dialect of Thought poses a critical question: “Which house is burning?” asks Giorgio Agamben. “The country where you live, or Europe, or the whole world? Perhaps the houses, the cities have already burnt down—who knows how long ago?—in a...