• Niya V Raj

Thanatopolitics – a concept that examines how power operates not merely through the governance of life but through the sovereign decision over who may live and who must die, and how this power is sometimes resisted by those who are neglected or condemned to death. This paper tries to explore Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner (2003), through the theoretical framework of thanatopolitics, where personal guilt and collective violence intersect to expose the ethical implications of sovereignty, class, and ethnicity of Afghanistan. In his debut novel, Hosseini portrays the life and friendship of two young boys – Amir and Hassan – who live in a war-torn Afghanistan. His narrative reveals the systemic marginalization and dehumanization of the Hazara community, positioning them as subjects of exclusion. The novel explores themes such as, friendship, betrayal, guilt, redemption, familial relationships, political instability, cultural disintegration, the enduring impact of imperialism, and the quest for both national and personal identity, life and death. The recurring motifs of sacrifice, redemption, and moral awakening showcase how individuals are trapped in the vicious web of a regime that determines value and disposability of life. The study employs the methodology of close reading of the novel and textual analysis, to delve deep into the narrative where thanatopolitical argument is both reproduced and resisted, altering the personal redemption into a critique of the moral and political economies of death in postcolonial Afghanistan, where they decide who will live and who will die.

Thanatopolitics, The Kite Runner, Power, Death, Life, Afghanistan, Hazara, Marginalization, Dehumanization, Soverienity

"Between Life and Death: A Thanatopolitical Reading of The Kite Runner", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 10, page no.d211-d215, October-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2510330.pdf

"Between Life and Death: A Thanatopolitical Reading of The Kite Runner", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 10, page no. ppd211-d215, October-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2510330.pdf