Theme:

Politics and violence are intertwined concepts. On the one hand, the polis (the political realm) is created to, ideally, eliminate, or at its very least, limit, the instances of violence. On the other hand, the majority of legal and political systems are typically born out of violence. Capital punishment is a manifestation of abuse of political power for purposes e.g. manufacturing an economy of fear and death and maintaining control over the populace. This sanction takes various forms, ranging from public execution to assassination. This session explores the use of lethal force by the state in its various forms as an instance of political violence.