Clio Fregoli - Entry no. 2 (Foucault)

In the second and third lecture of Society Must Be Defended, Foucault is analysing whether war can or cannot provide a principle for the analysis of power relations. He focuses and defines the concepts of power, the theory of sovereignty and war. He primarily proposes a new approach to the study of power in Western societies. Foucault rejects previous studies that focus on the ‘center’ of power, either by examining the absolute power of the sovereign or its limitations.

Foucault advocates for an understanding of power through the analysis of its “extremities”; looking at “where [power] plants itself, and produces its real effects” (Foucault, lecture II). It involves therefore looking at power from the outside, as opposed to previous thinkers. Looking at power from the outside involves a bottom up approach, with an analysis of social relationships of inequality. Power is also defined by Foucault as functioning only as part of a chain; it passes through people, and not applied to them.

Foucault is therefore offering an alternative to Hobbes’ theory of sovereignty. The theory of sovereignty depicts an absolute power of the sovereign. It was used within political theory to both restrict and strengthen royal power, with the focus of the sovereign always in the center. Foucault on the contrary, offers a theory that involves an ascending understanding of power; one that looks at relationships of subjugation and domination, as opposed to those of obedience and sovereignty.  He argues that we should create a theory of domination, as opposed to sovereignty, that begins with the lowest levels of procedures of power.  

Foucault proceeds to tie these ideas of power and power relations within an analysis of war. He inverts Clausewitz’s statement of war and politics, by arguing that “politics is a continuation of war by other means” (Foucault, lecture III). Foucault defines war as underlying all established political structures and institutions of power. War is a way of normalizing society and maintaining social order.

Foucault provides extremely insightful approaches to the study of power. He recognizes how power circulates through networks, and thus he diverges from the simple understanding of a vertical relation of power. His understanding also implies a fluidity of power in which an individual can experience different levels of subjugation within different relationships. Another insightful aspect is the theory of domination; it allows us to look at those who are subject to subordination, versus the theory of sovereignty that looks at only those who hold power. Foucault’s explanations of power appear more representative of contemporary relations among individuals within states and across states.