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The German Beast Unleashed: Kleist’s Hermannsschlacht and the Suspension of ‘Human Rights’ in the Era of Nationalism

Nitschke, Claudia

The German Beast Unleashed: Kleist’s Hermannsschlacht and the Suspension of ‘Human Rights’ in the Era of Nationalism Thumbnail


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Abstract

This article scrutinises the aporetic confrontation of different ultimate values in Kleist’s infamous Die Hermannsschlacht, namely nationalism and a basic notion of ‘human rights’. Kleist’s play does not settle for one of these priorities, but conceptualizes the nation as a facilitator, promulgator, and protector of rights and — at the very same time — as an inexorable principle of selection which ties the notions of exclusion and elimination closely to those of inclusion and participation. In this respect, Die Hermannsschlacht not only prepares and anticipates elements of Carl Schmitt’s political theory, but also comes very close to Giorgio Agamben’s analysis of sovereignty and the production of politically qualified life in his Homo Sacer series. However, it does so without completely abandoning the universal ideas of human rights.

Citation

Nitschke, C. (2018). The German Beast Unleashed: Kleist’s Hermannsschlacht and the Suspension of ‘Human Rights’ in the Era of Nationalism. Publications of the English Goethe Society, 87(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593683.2018.1433479

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 8, 2018
Online Publication Date Feb 12, 2018
Publication Date Feb 12, 2018
Deposit Date Jan 30, 2018
Publicly Available Date Aug 12, 2019
Journal Publications of the English Goethe Society
Print ISSN 0959-3683
Electronic ISSN 1749-6284
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 87
Issue 1
Pages 1-14
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/09593683.2018.1433479

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