dispositif

English

Alternative forms

• (sociology): dispositive

Etymology

Borrowed from French dispositif

Noun

dispositif (plural dispositifs)

1. (international law) A document that communicates the general stance taken by some organization or nation on a particular issue.

   Thereafter the court ruled unanimously in paragraph 2c of its dispositif that threat or use of force by means of nuclear weapons is contrary to the UN charter and is unlawful.

2. (sociology) According to Michel Foucault, the aggregate of institutional, physical and administrative mechanisms and knowledge structures that enhance and maintain the exercise of power within society.

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French

Etymology

From the root of Latin dispositum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis.po.zi.tif/

Noun

dispositif m (plural dispositifs)

1. arrangement, lay-out
2. measures, expedient, means to an end
3. device, machine, system
4. operation, plan
5. (law) dispositif

Further reading

• “dispositif”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.