Foucault’s Legacy on Contemporary Thinking: Forty Years Later (1984-2024) (Special Issue Introduction)

Michel Foucault was undoubtedly one of the most important and influential philosophers and intellectuals of the twentieth century. It is not surprising that in 2024, on the fortieth anniversary of Foucault’s death, an abundance of tributes paid to the thought and work of this author has emerged (consider, for example, the “World Congress: Foucault 40 Years After”). Among these, the tribute of the journal Foucault Studies, one of the main international “places” for analysis and reflection on the French philosopher, could not be missing. We believe that this guest-edited special issue of Foucault Studies is capable not only of confirming the fundamental influence of Foucault’s thought on today’s intellectual debates but also of testifying to its unprecedented ability to offer fruitful, penetrating, and original conceptual tools which can help us decipher the physiognomy of our time in its diversity and complexity. Forty years after Foucault’s death, we can thus say: Michel Foucault is dead, long live Michel Foucault!