The juridical discourse of sovereignty has dominated Western analysis of power.

Evidence

In studying the historico-political discourse of war in this course, Foucault shows us one way to detach ourselves from the philosophicojuridical discourse of sovereignty and the law that has so dominated our thought and political analysis. … Foucault’s concern during this period was both with the representation of power and with the actual functioning of power. — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 13

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the key contrast between philosophico-juridical discourse of sovereignty/law and the war-based strategic model Foucault proposes as its alternative.
• XREF: The ‘head of the king’ line and the juridical critique connects forward to Foucault’s biopolitics lectures and to the broader Islamophobia field’s insistence that race/religion analysis must escape legal-sovereignty framing. — connects to: Western juridical thought was built around and for royal power. — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 43; Analyzing power requires abandoning the juridical-representation model entirely — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 17; Power analysis must begin from techniques of domination, not sovereignty — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 52 (+2 more)

Related

• Analyzing power requires abandoning the juridical-representation model entirely (similarity 0.89)
• The West has only ever theorized power through the legal-juridical lens (similarity 0.87)
• Western thought has no representation of power outside the legal model (similarity 0.86)
• Foucault sought to break thought free of the sovereign-model of power (similarity 0.85)
• Domination and relations of force replace juridical sovereignty as the lens on power (similarity 0.84)
• Power analysis must shift from sovereignty to relations of domination. (similarity 0.84)
• Juridical theory treats power as a commodity owned and alienable by contract. (similarity 0.83)
• Foucault proposed war as the model for understanding political power (similarity 0.83)
• The discourse of right masks domination as legitimate sovereignty and obligation. (similarity 0.82)
• Western juridical thought was built around and for royal power. (similarity 0.82)
• War drives the regular mechanisms of power beneath the law (similarity 0.81)
• The liberal subject of right derives from state sovereignty, not natural drives. (similarity 0.81)
• Power analysis must begin from techniques of domination, not sovereignty (similarity 0.80)
• Sovereignty is always constructed from below by the fearful, never from above (similarity 0.79)
• War-deciphering discourse is historico-political, critical and mythical rather than juridical (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Western juridical thought was built around and for royal power. #corroborates (0.85) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 43
• Juridical theory treats power as a commodity owned and alienable by contract. #expands (0.85) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 32
• Analyzing power requires abandoning the juridical-representation model entirely #complicates (0.82) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 17
• Power analysis must begin from techniques of domination, not sovereignty #responds-to (0.78) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 52
• Sovereign power makes the subject’s very life and death depend on its will #expands (0.78) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 255