Abstract

the unprecedented measures regarding population mobility and dwelling that have been taken by states across the world have led the philosopher Giorgio Agamben to wonder whether the coronavirus pandemic represents the perfect opportunity for governments worldwide to take advantage of "collective panic" and instate the use of a state of exception as "a normal paradigm". Agamben's intervention in the global conversation about the impact of the pandemic has been met with outright criticism among some commentators for at least two reasons. First, it seemed that he gave in too easily to the temptation of reading the reality of the quarantine zone containing potentially infected...