Mourning the Margins

Abstract

Modern democracies declare in their laws that all human lives are of equal value. Yet in practice, there is a sharp hierarchy in terms of which suffering we collectively commemorate and whose loss may be forgotten. This thesis examines how political frames determine whose life is worthy of protection and which individuals are pushed to the margins of society, with the result that the loss of these people is not considered grievable. Central to this is the question of whether public mourning can be an effective form of political resistance against the creation of these unliveable lives. Drawing on Judith Butler’s perspective, this research analyses how the state regulates perception. This framework is contrasted with alternative visions and perspectives on political action: Achille Mbembe’s material Necropolitics, Joan Tronto’s proactive ethics of care and Hannah Arendt’s public action in the political sphere. These conceptual tensions are applied to the postcolonial marginalisation of the KNIL community in the Netherlands. The research concludes that Butler’s focus on mourning falls short without material justice and proactive care. To break through the hierarchy of grievability, a shift is needed towards a form of citizenship in which vulnerability is regarded as a common ground for solidarity and in which the liveability of every human is actively protected.