Assuming Responsibility and the Formation of Political Collectivities: Affective Publics in Disruptive Times

The “return of war to Europe,” a phrase coined as a reaction to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was indicative of a deep sense of radical rupture in the political West. Germany, in particular, was faced with a situation in which providing military support, ultimately in defence of Europe's security, seemed as imperative as the call to “end this war” instantly to avoid further “senseless” casualties and the threat of an unforeseeable escalation. Through the notion of assuming responsibility, as a specific form of relating oneself to oneself and to others, the article analyses how debates dealing with morally impossible situations in an affective publics lead to the formation of political collectivities in the first place. In analogy to Foucault's observation that the state is the effect of technologies of government, rather than a source of power, it argues that political institutions such as the European Union and the values it advocates are always in formation —and exposed. Focusing on the disruptive power of catastrophic events and their political effects could provide valuable insights for studies of governmentality and populism.