On the medicalisation of global politics: a conversation with Roberto Esposito

Riemann, M, Cerella, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6417-091X and Esposito, R, 2025. On the medicalisation of global politics: a conversation with Roberto Esposito. Cambridge Review of International Affairs. ISSN 0955-7571

Preview

Text 2507349_Cerella.pdf - Published version Download (712kB) | Preview

Abstract

This article explores the intertwining of politics and medicine by analysing how medicine has become politicized, and politics medicalized, as well as the effects of these dynamics on subjectivity, politics and the social. Rather than starting from a fixed research question or hypothesis, this work takes the form of a collaborative enquiry that “allows something to emerge” through social interaction. It unfolds through a series of encounters and reflections with renowned philosopher Roberto Esposito, whose thought has significantly influenced the social sciences and humanities and informs the core themes of this Special Issue. First, the article engages with the role of immunitary practices and metaphors in political life. Second, it enquires into the relationship between medicalized responses to political phenomena and the increasing individualization and desocialization these bring forth. Third, it explores how the protection of life is often accompanied by thanatopolitical consequences. By highlighting these issues, the dialogue seeks to transcend negative biopolitics and open new avenues for future research and the development of affirmative political life.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Cambridge Review of International Affairs
Creators:	Riemann, M., Cerella, A. and Esposito, R.
Publisher:	Informa UK Limited
Date:	29 September 2025
ISSN:	0955-7571
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/09557571.2025.2564262 DOI 2507349 Other
Rights:	© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	02 Oct 2025 15:40
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2025 15:40
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54499

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads