We Have Not Seen the Last of the Rogue State

Abstract

Viewed at a certain angle, the rogue state seems to be in almost necessary relation with the idea of rupture. As Derrida put it in his 2002 lectures onRogues, the rogue state, état voyouinfranglaise,' “is someone who rattles, who shakes things up, who agitates.” Past and present rogue states like Iran, Iraq, Libya or North Korea, are associated with the acquisition of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), state sponsorship of terrorism and the violation of human rights. These entities pose both external threats to other states and internal threats to their own people. Today, the phrase ‘rogue state’ may seem to be past its sell-by-date. While the term was not coined by the G.W. Bush administration, during the eight years it was in power in the United States (US), the phrase became strongly associated with the Bush Doctrine, appearing in key security documents as well as speeches. Under the banner of ‘change’ President Obama, a Nobel Peace Laureate, has distanced himself from the policies of his predecessor. The phrase ‘rogue state’ has been expunged from the current National Security Strategy, for instance.