The Biopolitics of Citizenship:

Lessons from Nazi Germany and Assam

Junaid ul Shafi

 

Abstract: Recent political science research challenges the simplistic view that dehumanisation and propaganda alone trigger mass mobilisation for genocide. This research paper utilises Michel Foucault’s concept of biopolitics, which explores the state’s control over biological aspects of life, to analyse how state-imposed biopolitical measures can erode the existential rights of a targeted group, thereby laying the groundwork for genocide. The paper contends that dehumanisation and hate propaganda gain traction only after the state enforces these biopolitical restrictions. Through a comparative analysis of historical and contemporary cases of exclusion of citizenship, this paper argues that unchecked dehumanisation and biopolitical measures can ultimately lead to genocide. It draws comparative conclusions by highlighting parallels between the citizenship laws and practices of Nazi Germany and Assam, India, exploring how these regimes have utilised citizenship laws not as instruments of protection, but as tools of exclusion and persecution against undesirable groups. By examining these cases, the paper underscores the role of citizenship policies in facilitating systemic discrimination and marginalisation.