Abstract
This thesis develops de-territorialisation as a critical theoretical framework for interrogating the spatial dimensions of sovereignty and governmentality, with particular attention to colonial formations. Building upon—but also moving beyond—the work of Giorgio Agamben and Michel Foucault, it undertakes a critical engagement with bio political and sovereign paradigms to expose their conceptual limitations. These limitations lie not only in their Eurocentric genealogies but also in their systematic neglect of colonial histories and geographies. By applying these paradigms to the context of Israel and Palestine and by adopting a methodologically critical stance, the thesis interrogates the adequacy of Western political theory in accounting for the material and spatial logics of domination in non-Western and settler-colonial contexts.While drawing upon key concepts such as the state of exception, camp, and milieu, the research argues that these terms often universalise the modalities of power while abstracting them from the concrete territorial and historical structures in which they operate. In contrast, the concept of de-territorialisation is introduced as a way to theorise how sovereignty and governance are enacted through spatial practices that fragment, displace, and reorganise both land and populations. Rather than treating space as a passive backdrop to political power, the thesis foregrounds it as an active terrain of contestation and control, historically shaped by colonial projects of appropriation, segregation, and rule. De-territorialisation thus reframes modern political power as not only biopolitical but inherently territorial and colonial in its operation. This reconceptualisation opens new theoretical ground for understanding how spatial technologies—such as borders, checkpoints, walls and camps—do not simply reflect sovereign authority but actively constitute and reconstitute it through their material and symbolic operations.
The theoretical framework is tested through reference to the case of Israel’s settler-colonial practices, which serve as a critical empirical site for examining how spatial mechanisms of control operate within contemporary formations of power. However, the case study is not the central focus; rather, it functions as one empirical entry point to test and refine the conceptual framework. It reveals how territorial strategies such as fragmentation, enforced mobility, and infrastructural violence are used to continuously recalibrate and reassert sovereign power.
Ultimately, this thesis contributes to political theory by challenging the epistemic foundations and geopolitical assumptions of dominant Eurocentric frameworks and proposing an alternative model for understanding the spatial reproduction of power. De-territorialisation emerges not only as a critique of established theoretical paradigms, but also as a generative tool for rethinking sovereignty, space, and violence in relation to colonial histories and geographies. In doing so, it offers a more situated and historically attuned account of how spatial power is exercised, resisted, and reconfigured in the context of ongoing colonial relations and their aftermath.
Thesis embargoed. Available: 31/08/2030
| Date of Award | Aug 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | German Primera Villamizar (Supervisor) & Mark Devenney (Supervisor) |