POWER RELATIONS IN TOTALITARIAN REGIMES: A FOUCAULDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Authors : Ahmet Kurnaz, Mustafa Kara

Pages : 391-404

Doi:10.11611/yead.1153002

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Publication Date : 2022-10-08

Article Type : Research

Abstract :The root and nature of power have been the subject of political discussions for centuries. We aim to evaluate the power relations in totalitarian regimes from the Foucauldian perspective by using a phenomenological research design and examining the works of three authors who have experienced a totalitarian regime. The works named Kallocain, the Captive Mind and In God\'s Underground are investigated under \"discipline, subject and knowledge\" concepts within Foucault\'s power relations scheme. Data is analyzed using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software MAXQDA. Our findings show that the construction of self and deception are essential ways of resisting and reversing confining power in totalitarian regimes. Besides, power in totalitarian regimes aims to seize the minds as well as the bodies, but the created penal economy is not prosperous at the desired level. Finally, although the truth systems developed by the intellectuals of these regimes impose new duties on the subjects, the main factor determining the direction of power relations is the comprehensiveness of reality.
Keywords : Totalitarian Regimes, Fascism, Communism, Foucault, İktidar İlişkileri