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War/truth: Foucault, Heraclitus and the dominion of force
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 13:35 authored by Shane BrightonMichel Foucault’s problematics of war centre on three concerns: 1) the operation of that ‘historical-philosophical’ discourse which, counterposed to a ‘Platonic’ ‘juridical-philosophical’ tradition, takes war as analyzer of power relations; 2) the implication of that discourse in racial dividing practices; 3) the extent to which - despite intent - contemporary polemic philosophical and political activism risk reproducing such dividing practices. Departing from Foucault’s association of these problematics with modernity, this article attends to philosophical discussion of war and coeval transformations of Greek society and military practice in the transition from the Archaic to Classical period. In doing so, it suggests that 'historical-philosophical' discourse has a longer history and at its origin, the ‘juridical-philosophical’ tradition contained a more nuanced account of war than Foucault acknowledges. Reconstructing some of Foucault's assumptions thus has implications for addressing contemporary 'War/Truth', especially that which - invoking Classical Greek experience - promotes the concept of an historically continuous 'Western Way of War'.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Cambridge Review of International AffairsISSN
0955-7571Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
26Page range
651-668Department affiliated with
- International Relations Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- No
Legacy Posted Date
2013-05-29Usage metrics
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