Decifrare il potere. Michel Foucault e la crisi della sovranità

One of the central themes in Michel Foucault’s philosophical and political reflection is the reconstruction of the different forms of discipline of bodies between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, onto which a number of ways of managing power were grafted. The present contribution aims to reconstruct the working hypothesis from which these studies start and its consequences for their historical and political analyses of power mechanisms. On the methodological level, Foucault starts from the premise that power is not a commodity, which can be exchanged or given up, but is formed of a grid of disciplines and practices that define the identity, conduct, and sexuality of individuals, legal-political mechanisms and medical-scientific techniques that affect the domination of oneself and others. In this sense, power does not function just repressively, but also productively, informing discourse, lifestyle, and behaviour. On the political level, the consequences are central to the change in the theoretical models (from the doctrine of natural law to contractualism) that define sovereignty in the modern age. Keywords: Foucault – Power – Subjectivity – Sovereignty – Political Philosophy

One of the central themes in Michel Foucault’s philosophical and political reflection is the reconstruction of the different forms of discipline of the bodies, between the 16th and 19th centuries, on which a number of ways of managing power are grafted. The present contribution aims to reconstruct the working hypothesis from which these studies start and its consequences in the historical and political analysis of the mechanisms of power. On the methodological level Foucault starts from a premise: power is not a good, which can be exchanged or given up, but is formed by a grid of disciplines and practices that define the identity, conduct and sexuality of individuals, legal-political mechanisms and medical-scientific techniques that affect the domination of oneself and others. In this sense, power is not just a repressive matter, but a productive matter of discourse, lifestyle and behaviour. On the political level, the consequences are central to the change in theoretical models (from the doctrine of natural law to contractualism) that define sovereignty in the modern age.