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William Watkin

Professor of Contemporary Philosophy and Literature, Brunel University London

I am one of the leading experts on contemporary, continental philosophy in particular as regards how it relates to contemporary political situations. I specialise in the work of Agamben, Badiou, Derrida, Foucault, and Deleuze. I also work extensively on violence, conflict, terrorism, world politics and technology.

I teach a course on violence at Brunel University specialising in issues of capital punishment, technology, terrorism, surveillance and control. I have recently published articles in the media on ISIS decapitations and on the crisis in capital punishment in the US.

I have also published academic work on violence, for example: “Agamben, Benjamin and the Indifference of Violence” in Towards a Critique of Violence: Benjamin and Agamben. London: Bloomsbury, July 2015.

I am currently working with my agent on a book about the way digital technology has changed our relationship towards violence and death. Provisionally entitled "Snuff" it stretches from the use of social media to develop an intimate digital relationship with images of extreme violence, to the way digital technologies such as drones distances us from acts of war making them seem no more real than video games.

Briferendum Series

Referendum petition hack shows even democracy can be trolled

Jun 30, 2016 13:09 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The electronic petition submitted to parliament calling for a second referendum on Britains exit from the European Union is a notable development in digital democracy. The number of signatories has passed 4m how many will...

Tracking criminals' biodata is another step towards constant surveillance for us all

Jun 16, 2016 15:42 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law

For some convicted criminals, punishment doesnt end when theyre released from prison. Thanks to new electronic tags, parole officers in the US can monitor recently released prisoners 24 hours a day. These dont just check...

Lethal injections and the tragedy of America's execution addiction

Jun 03, 2016 08:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Life Law

It began in Utah back in 1977. On January 17 of that year, Gary Gilmore became the first man to be executed in the US for more than a decade, ending a national moratorium on the death penalty. Gilmore, guilty of murdering...

Economy

Scope Warns US Debt Could Hit 160% of GDP

Scope Ratings warned that the United States is becoming increasingly vulnerable to shifts in investor sentiment as persistent budget deficits drive government debt and interest costs higher. The European credit ratings...

Bank of America Sees EUR/USD at 1.15 by Year-End

Bank of America expects the euro to strengthen against the U.S. dollar over the coming year, forecasting EUR/USD will reach 1.15 by the end of this year before climbing to 1.20 by the end of 2027, according to a research...

G20 Divided Over US Push to Curb Industrial Overcapacity

A U.S.-led effort to tackle excess industrial capacity and non-market economic policies failed to secure unanimous support from Group of 20 trade ministers, highlighting persistent divisions among the worlds major...

Fed’s Hammack Says More Data Needed Before Next Rate Move

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said policymakers have time to review additional economic data before determining their next move on U.S. interest rates, signaling that the latest weak jobs report...

AI Agents Could Disrupt Financial Services, Bernstein Says

Consumer AI agents could reshape financial services by reducing customer inertia and making it easier to switch between financial products, although trust, data access and regulatory hurdles may slow adoption, according to...

Politics

Flydubai FZ1073 Co-Pilot Accused of Terror Attack

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a terrorist attack with a crash axe while the aircraft was flying to Israel, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said Saturday. The co-pilot was...

Merz to Meet ECB Frontrunners Knot and De Cos

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is preparing to meet the two leading candidates to succeed European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde as negotiations over the ECBs future leadership gather pace, Bloomberg reported,...

Xi Rest Breaks Cut Trump Summit Schedule, WSJ Reports

Chinese President Xi Jinpings delegation requested extended rest periods during his recent Washington summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, reducing the time available for meetings between the two leaders, according to...

Iran Faces Rising Pressure as U.S. Builds Military Presence

Iran is coming under intensifying economic and military pressure as the United States strengthens its forces in the Middle East while regional oil exports recover toward pre-war levels, according to Bloomberg. The Trump...

Trump Heads to Ohio to Boost Husted in Tight Senate Race

U.S. President Donald Trump will campaign in Ohio on Saturday as Republicans fight to retain their narrow congressional majority, with the states closely contested U.S. Senate race emerging as a key midterm battleground....

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

SoftBank Shares Fall After $10 Billion OpenAI Investment

SoftBank Group shares dropped sharply on Friday after the Japanese technology conglomerate completed the final portion of its latest OpenAI investment, lifting its total investment in the artificial intelligence company to...

Amazon Eyes $8 Billion Nvidia Chip Spinoff to Fund AI Expansion

Amazon is exploring a plan to transfer roughly $8 billion worth of advanced Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to outside investors as the technology giant looks for new ways to finance its rapidly expanding AI...

California AG Subpoenas OpenAI Over AI Cybersecurity Incidents

California Attorney General Rob Bonta served OpenAI with an investigative subpoena Wednesday, escalating a state investigation into cybersecurity incidents involving the artificial intelligence company and its models. The...

WordPress Malware Uses Ethereum to Evade Removal

Security researchers have uncovered a persistent WordPress malware strain that uses Ethereum infrastructure for command-and-control communications, making infected websites unusually difficult to clean. According to...

DogeOS Launches Testnet to Bring DeFi Apps to Dogecoin

DogeOS has launched a public testnet designed to bring Ethereum-style decentralized finance applications to Dogecoin, potentially expanding DOGEs utility beyond payments and price speculation. The Ethereum-compatible...