Giorgio Agamben’s methodological limits and the potential risk of bare life

This article closely examines Giorgio Agamben’s philosophical and methodological framework, especially the notions of oscillation and threshold, and their limits. On the one hand, Agamben insightfully exposes the paradoxes of modern biopolitical structures and, in turn, seeks to dissolve the binary between zoē and bios by addressing form-of-life as a liberating unity. This article argues that, on the other hand, Agamben’s oscillatory approach contributes to a dialectic of potentiality and political passivity. By dissecting the threshold as a liminal interface – neither advancing nor retreating – Agamben’s political ontology remains ambiguous about messianic time. Despite articulating the ‘coming community’ through the reconciliation of life and form while deactivating sovereign power, Agamben’s methodological limit leaves bare life – precarious and excluded subjects – vulnerable to populist sentiments and manipulation, an unintended potentiality linked to the resemblance between Agamben’s thought and classical political romanticism.