Throughout "Homo Sacer," Agamben makes several references to Foucault's "History of Sexuality." I just finished reading Foucualt's "Madness and Civilization" as well as "Discipline and Punish" for my final paper and their themes are equally resonant in Agamben's arguments. The continuous link between law and violence is an underlying force in both of Foucault's works. In order to implement a society defined by morals and organization, violence must be used on citizens. Anyone who strays from societal "norms" must be punished and in many instances, this entails banning.

In the introduction to "An Introduction", Foucault regards Freud's contributions to our understanding of sexuality with sharp sarcasm. He writes, "Have we not liberated ourselves from those two long centuries in which the histroy of sexuality must be seen first of all as the chronicle of an increasing repression?