In his new book, Achille Mbembe examines a phenomenon that is constantly being reconfigured in our global age: enmity. Drawing on the psychiatric and political insights of Frantz Fanon, Mbembe illustrates how, as a result of the conflicts surrounding the decolonization of the 20th century, war—in the form of conquest and occupation, terror and revolt—has become the signature of our time. As a permanent state of exception, it leads to the erosion of liberal democracy. Mbembe's highly relevant essay explores the consequences of this erosion: the spread of authoritarian forms of governance. He describes the conditions under which questions regarding the relationship between law and violence, normality and state of exception, security and freedom are posed today, with a focus on global migration flows and the inevitable intertwining that accompanies them.