State of exception: origin and topological structure

Abstract

This article aims to provide, panoramically, a reflection on the historical origins and theoretical contours of the state of exception. Thus, we can strengthen the fight against the existing spaces of exception within democracies. From the book State of Exception by Giorgio Agamben, we sought the critical support for reading the historical text of Théodore Reinach, De l'état de siège. Agamben's book also provides the theoretical contribution to explain the topological structure of the state of exception. Within this methodology, at first, it was explained the history of the state of exception and, finally, it was asserted that this is closer to the democratic-revolutionary tradition than the absolutist tradition. In a second step, we analyzed the functioning and the unique topological structure of the state of exception as well as the fundamental importance of sovereign decision for the establishment of exceptional situations. In conclusion, it was stated the unerring accuracy of Walter Benjamin’s thesis: the exception has become the rule. It would be equally or more useful, therefore, to look not whether a government is democratic or not, but the spaces of exception within democracies.