Biopolítica y necropolítica: ¿constitutivos u opuestos?

Abstract

This article searches for respond to the question whether biopolitic’s objective (to manage life and construct lifestyles) and necropolitic’s objective (to administrate death and destroy habitats and peoples), polarized, make both concepts opposites, or on the contrary, if they indicate a dialectical relationship and mutual construction in phenomena such as migration. To answer the question, the article first examines biopolitics in the work of Michel Foucault and seeks how it has been taken up in the analysis of contemporary migration. The paper then describes necropolitics in the work of Achille Mbembe, and how it has been taken up to identify the causes of forced migration and racism against migrants. Finally, it reviews the literature on biopolitical and necropolitical studies in the context of international migration.