The Bare Sovereign or a new look at the Schmittian Sovereign through Homo Sacer by G. Agamben
The article studies the concept of sovereignty and the notion of the sovereign within the framework of Carl Schmitt’s political theology through the prism of the concept of Homo Sacer (sacred man) from Roman law, which was supplemented and integrated into political-philosophical discourse by Giorgio Agamben. The main characteristics of Homo Sacer are explored, namely the exclusion of such a person from the ordinary legal and religious systems, which allows him to be killed with impunity, but does not allow him to be sacrificed. The sovereign, having the power to suspend the law, thus places himself outside it. In doing so, he also transcends the usual religious system and moves into a completely different plane – that of political theology. The article demonstrates that the sovereign is essentially an exceptional case of Homo Sacer.
Keywords. Sovereignty; Political theology; State of exception; Bare life; Homo Sacer; Carl Schmitt; Giorgio Agamben.
