The State of the Sublime: Aesthetic Protocols and Global Security

Security politics is everywhere, its tendrils entangled with every aspect of life. Nonetheless, this hyper-securitised status quo has not interrupted the flow everyday life, nor circulation people, goods, or ideas. For privileged world, a paradox emerged: war, terrorism, ecological disaster, pandemics, and many other ‘monstrous’ forms insecurity are now experienced as mundane manageable phenomena in spite exceptional political measures, more generalised affective states fear anxiety, that they have proliferated. How occurred? This article argues aesthetic processes fundamental to maintenance paradox. To do so, we draw on Bruno Latour’s concept ‘transfrayeurs’ (trans-fears) understand how modes design deployed simultaneously locate sublime imaginaries our midst while also allowing us live with, accept, forget their presence. More specifically, suggest trans-fearing achieved through ‘aesthetic protocols’ specify principles for designing material, affective, discursive into lives ways allow careful ‘calibration’ (unequally) experience hierarchised, depoliticised, militarised ‘state sublime’ within global security politics. L’État du : protocoles esthétiques et sécurité mondiale