The enemy concept lacks integrity and must be plural to function

Evidence

There is more at stake here than apparent contradictions (as if love and war were simply opposites). What is at stake is the integrity of the concept “enemy,” which is to say, in this case, its lack of integrity. The enemy is not one, as we saw (hence, love your enemies). The enemy must be legion, and it is this becoming-plural of the enemy that gives it a productive and dynamic dimension. — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 207

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that the enemy is intrinsically plural, not singular—that enmity’s productivity depends on the concept being many to start with—resists one-sentence summary and reframes how enmity, not just in war but in identity, actually operates.