The Politics of Immunity: Security and the Policing of Bodies

The book "Politics of Immunity" explores the obsession with immunity in contemporary politics, focusing on the immunity of bodies and the body politic, personal immunity, herd immunity, and the immunization of the social system against breakdown. It argues that security has come to dominate the whole realm of human experience and that immunity can turn its aggression inwards, leading to self-destruction and death.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 22 March 2022
Publisher: Verso Books

The contemporary political landscape is consumed by an intense fascination with immunity, encompassing the immunity of individuals, bodies, and the body politic, as well as personal and herd immunity. This obsession deepens with each new crisis, leading to the mobilization of ever more powerful tools of war and police, including measures such as quarantine, border closures, and immunological surveillance.

Engaging with four key concepts of immense cultural significance—cell, self, system, and sovereignty—Politics of Immunity traverses the realms of philosophical biology, intellectual history, critical theory, and psychoanalysis. It uncovers the underlying politics that shape the imagination of immunity, revealing how security has come to dominate the entire spectrum of human experience. From the biological cell to the political subject and from the physiological system to the social body, immunity intertwines with security, forming a complex tapestry of interconnectedness.

However, this obsession with immunity comes with a profound caveat. Just as security can manifest as aggression, immunity can also turn inward, giving rise to autoimmune disorders. The book challenges the prevailing notions of self- and social immunity, offering a critical examination of the violence inherent in these constructs. It highlights immunity's tendency toward self-destruction and death, emphasizing the need for a more nuanced and responsible approach to understanding and managing immunity in our complex and interconnected world.

Wide-ranging and provocative, Politics of Immunity presents a significant challenge to the ways in which immunity is imagined and understood. It invites readers to reevaluate the boundaries between security and immunity, to question the power dynamics that underpin them, and to explore alternative frameworks for understanding and addressing the challenges of our times.

Weight: 548g
Dimension: 161 x 240 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781839764837