Books by Donatella Di Cesare

A stimulating and profound portrayal of the epochal event that has already left its mark on the twenty-first century.Immunodemocracy offers a stimulating and profound portrayal of the epochal event that has already left its mark on the twenty-first century. Moving from the ecological question to the rule of experts, from the state of exception to immunitarian democracy, from rule by fear to the contagion of conspiracy theory, from forced distancing to digital control, Donatella Di Cesare examines how existence is already changing--and what its future political effects may be. In her own personal style, the author reconstructs the dramatic phases of what she calls "the breathing catastrophe." Coronavirus is a sovereign virus that skirts its way around the walls of patriotism and the sovereignists'' imperious frontiers. And it reveals in all its terrible crudeness the immunitarian logic that excludes the weakest and hits the poorest. The Cordon sanitaire of disengagement risks expanding beyond all proportion. The disparity between the protected and the helpless--a challenge to any idea of justice--has never been so blatant. The virus has not introduced, but merely brought out into the open the ruthlessness of the capitalism that is now wrapping us in its devastating spiral, in its compulsive, asphyxial vortex. Is it our final warning? The violent global pandemic shows that it is impossible for us to survive if we don''t help each other. We will need to protect ourselves from protection and the specter of absolute immunization. When breathing can no longer be taken for granted, we need to rethink a new way of living together.

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002), one of the towering figures of contemporary Continental philosophy, is best known for Truth and Method, where he elaborated the concept of "e;philosophical hermeneutics,"e; a programmatic way to get to what we do when we engage in interpretation. Donatella Di Cesare highlights the central place of Greek philosophy, particularly Plato, in Gadamer's work, brings out differences between his thought and that of Heidegger, and connects him with discussions and debates in pragmatism. This is a sensitive and thoroughly readable philosophical portrait of one of the 20th century's most powerful thinkers.

In this book, Donatella Di Cesare argues that terrorism is not an aberration but intrinsic to the struggle for sovereignty in the modern world. The growing concentration of power in the hands of the state sows the seeds of terrorism, deployed as a weapon by those exposed to the violence of the state that feel they have no other recourse.