Michel Foucault and biopower

This book is a study of the central concept in political philosophy by Michel Foucault, which is the concept of biopower or biopolitical policy. The researcher Hussein Boukber analyzed this concept in a comprehensive historical and analytical manner, moving from the general to the specific, from studying the historical aspects of the concept of power in general to a detailed analysis of the concept of biopower, with an explanation of its various political relations. The researcher was keen in each element of his research to return to the primary sources of this concept, especially those texts in which Michel Foucault analyzed this subject, notably: The Will to Knowledge, The Birth of Biopolitics, and The Foucault Reader. His reading was reinforced by what has been written about the topic in both Arabic and English. Although I have addressed this subject in one of my studies, I believe that what this diligent researcher has presented deserves appreciation for many reasons. In this general presentation, I would like to point out three of them: first, the careful reading of Michel Foucault’s texts; second, the detailed analytical study of the concept; and third, the comparative study of the concept of biopower in relation to liberalism and Marxism. If the study did not adopt a clear critical approach in analyzing the concept of biopower, the comparative process conducted by the researcher reflects, in my opinion, this critical desire, which undoubtedly needs further development and enhancement, especially knowing that this research is a master's thesis, which, as we know, has its own standards. Nevertheless, Boukber was able to present a comprehensive philosophical text that received high praise from the committee that examined him and recommended its publication, due to the research text’s application of the scientific methodology and precise analysis of its elements, which are applied and developed in various research fields, all of which confirm its importance in contemporary political, social, and cultural analysis.