Description
While one plane safely evacuated 162 pets from Afghanistan during the collapse of the Republic and the Taliban takeover, another ascending plane witnessed the tragic sight of Afghan people desperately seeking refuge, dropping from its wings meters above the ground. These events underscored historical moments that, once again, highlight how some lives are deemed more valuable than others. This article contends, whether viewed through Agamben's ontological lenses or Foucault's genealogy, that the Western conceptualization of human life holds significance only within certain geographic locations and for specific populations, while excluding others.
The concepts of Biopolitics or thanatopolitics, which concern the value placed on life, seem to be applicable solely to the Western hemisphere, whereas the global south is perceived through the lens of necropolitics, rooted in a colonial memory. Although the terms 'human' and 'rights' may sound universal, their application differs significantly between the Global South and Global North. This article sheds light on the shortcomings of the politics of empathy and, heeding Hannah Arendt's warnings, delves into the politics of liberation.
The argument posits that even the discourse on dehumanization is not aimed at the Global South but serves the purpose of eliciting emotional responses from the Global North, shaping perceptions of their actions as either good or bad.
