Transpositions of the State Form and Perils of Radical Politics in the Wake of the Twelve-Day War

Abstract This article problematizes two dominant approaches to the Twelve-Day War, which we delineate under the rubric of localism and campism. Drawing on state theory, these approaches can be considered as ramifications of two conceptions of the state. Localism treats the state as one or a particular state, focusing on the internal dynamics and circumstances of a particular nationstate. Campism, on the other hand, treats the state as an abstract universal, approaching it with a broad brush as a generic political form rather than attending to the concrete determinations of any one state. What is overlooked in these dual conceptions, it is argued, is the parallax gap between the two, which brings to light the actual force fields among states. Dwelling within the transpositional movement, the parallax gap exposes the limitations inherent in focusing exclusively on either perspective, which masks the antagonistic relationships that exist among actual states—namely, the persistent reality of war. This is even more palpable in our contemporary conjuncture in which wars and military conflicts have increasingly turned into a fundamental facet of capital accumulation and its complexities. Failing to recognize this parallax moment has critical consequences for radical politics, which will be explored in this article in the context of the Twelve-Day War.