BIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT OF ‘ARAB SPRING’

Abstract

“Arab spring” – political events in countries of Maghreb and Near East at the beginning of the year, can hardly be explained in one, general, cognitive framework. Even if we manage to make out some clear shapes out of the fog, we still cannot be sure to have trace that could lead us to unambiguous theoretical answers. It is not just a phrase that real causes for political events mainly remain hidden; rather it is a case that behind this apparently straightforward manifestation of events we presume the whole scale of meanings. It is clear that the matrix used so far can no longer offer a reliable answer. Interpretations now require conceptual language, for the events in countries in turmoil offer an extreme image of dynamics that already involves most of the major political phenomenon of our time. In this article author is offering outlines of fundamental standpoints of biopolitics, leaving it to a reader to apply these to a concrete case of ‘Arabic spring’, because experience of biopolitics is the element behind all media highlights.