Asymmetric Geometry of Interregional Relations of Governmentality

The thesis of Hardt and Negri in Empire combines geography and power in a configuration of relations that it is not clear how they in their theorised by them form accommodate dynamic transitions from their one geometry to another. Post-imperial transitions could be such cases that are left undertheorised in terms of their local impact on the larger power constellations. The theoretical calculus of the force relations that apply to a given geographical spot may of necessity be affected by changes as a consequence of events that introduce asymmetry into previous power balances. Post-imperial transitions, such as that of the British Empire or the Soviet Union, introduce asymmetry into pre-existing relations in that far more agency becomes exercised in places that were part of a homologous structure of centre-periphery relations that dominated their larger geography. To various extents, such transitions in what appears to be democratic directions of development have something of a disruptive effects of other exercises of asymmetric power, such as revolutionary movements would. Post-imperial transitions, however, may have held the promise of holding a post-revolutionary chaos at bay, precisely because the changes in the geometry of interregional relations were called for to put their existing governmentality on a new basis, albeit at the price of significant changes on the local level.