War Rhetoric and the State of Exception in Ecuador

This talk presents ongoing research on the growing intersection between war rhetoric and the state of exception in Ecuador. It explores how the language of war and the legal architecture of emergency powers have merged into a single governing logic that shapes political authority, legal interpretation, and public sentiment.

The research seeks to warn that, by accepting the state’s war narrative, Ecuador risks institutionalizing authoritarian practices under the guise of defense and order. The challenge lies in confronting violence without eroding the constitutional limits that distinguish a democracy from the permanent state of war it claims to resist.

Presented by David Cordero Heredia, JSD
Visiting Fellow, Yale School of the Environment