Abstract:
Whilst the concept of the 'event' occupies a central role and is frequently used in discourses of international politics it remains a largely unchallenged and unexplored concept. In response to this lack of critical engagement with the concept of the 'event', this thesis develops a way of thinking about the production of 'events'. Drawing upon the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, the thesis argues that instead of understanding the 'event' as a static object or a coherent whole that refers to what has happened in a fixed moment in time, the 'event' has to be understood in terms of an ongoing and continuous process of becoming. According to this becoming, the place and meaning of the 'event' is never determined as such. Rather, as something that is conditioned by and emerges from an interaction of different kinds of lines, processes and movements, the place and meaning of the 'event' always remains open to change and transformation. This way of thinking about the 'event' is further developed through an examination of the production of '9/11' as an “event”. The thesis shows how '9/11' emerges from and is sustained by a mixture of lines and movements, and thereby also stays open to a process of change and transformation. Finally, the thesis looks at how it is possible to understand the politics as well as ethics of encountering 'events', arguing that at the centre of this encounter there are always elements of uncertainty and unpredictability, which together open up to an active process of experimentation. This is a highly political process, which has the potential to inscribe certain ways of speaking and thinking about 'events', but also to challenge the dominant forces in the social field.
