Biopolitics of Stalinism

Sergei Prozorov is University Lecturer in World Politics and Academy of Finland Research Fellow at the Department of Political and Economic Studies, University of Helsinki. He is the author of six monographs, the most recent being Ontology and World Politics: Void Universalism I and Theory of the Political Subject: Void Universalism II (both Routledge, 2013), and numerous journal articles on political philosophy and international relations.

• Preface; Introduction; 1 Postcommunist Stalinism: The Resurrection of the Effective Manager; 2 Stalinism in the Theory of Biopolitics: A Brief Genealogy of a Reticence; 3 The Great Break: Making Socialism Real; 4 High Stalinism: Retreat, Simulacrum, Terror; 5 Deathly Life: The Subject of Stalinism; 6 Shalamov, or the Negative Experience; 7 A Real Renewal of Life: Towards an Affirmative Biopolitics; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

'The Biopolitics of Stalinism is as lucid and usable as it is theoretically innovative. It draws connections from current issues in Soviet Studies to ongoing debates in philosophy and the social sciences… A necessary book for any scholar looking for a new perspective on Stalinism and its aftermath. It also heralds the possibility of an anarchist critique of biopolitical regimes, including of the Soviet system.' --Ania Aizman, Harvard University, Slavic and East European Journal. 'This book provides a mostly convincing case for its argument. Unlike traditional biopolitical theory, which views the biopolitical modes of Stalinism and of Western rationality as similar, Prozorov finds distinctions between those two modes. In addition, he identifies the link between the Stalinist biopolitical mode and the destiny of Stalinism. Prozorov makes valuable points, providing a new perspective on Stalinist biopolitics.' --Zhen Wei, University of Edinburgh, Europe-Asia Studies.