Explores the relationship between the sovereign state and the politically marginalized Homo sacer - exiles, refugees, prisoners of war, and others whom the state actively excludes from political participation and full humanity. This title examines "Homo Sacer" (1995), "The Open (2002)", and "State of Exception" (2003).

Some contributors use Agamben's work to examine the history of abortion law in the West, the history of slavery, and women's rights. Others analyze the connections between Agamben's work and that of his contemporaries, including Jacques Derrida, Slavoj i ek, and Jean-Luc Nancy. Other essays identify new points of interdisciplinary communication between some of Agamben's most provocative ideas and popular twentieth-century writing.