Governmentality¶
Thin basis
Foucault 2007 (Security, Territory, Population), the main source for the concept, has no PDF. None of the sources read defines the concept itself; they use it or cite Foucault. The page therefore shows usage, not definitions.
Definitions in the sources¶
| Source | Definition/use | Page | U/T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asdal 2015 | Uses governmentality studies (Foucault 2007) on the licensing scheme and new ‘governable objects’, which become available for intervention when they can be named and quantified | 84–85 | U |
| Asdal et al. 2023 | Uses Foucault's governmentality lectures (The Birth of Biopolitics) on the market as a regime of veridiction | 3, 5 | U |
| Bear & Mathur 2015 | Builds on, but wants to move beyond, the anthropology of audit and governmentality, which sees bureaucratic ethics as ideals or neoliberal techniques of governance | 20 | U |
| Fourcade 2017 | Describes governmentality as the government of self-regulating units; the urinal fly ‘governs’ with no ex-ante pressure or ex-post sanction | 663, 671 | U |
| Bauman et al. 2014 | Uses Foucault 2007 on security as production rather than repression | 139 | U |
| Foucault 2008 | Not governmentality but discipline: the Panopticon as ‘a figure of political technology’ | 9 | U |
Where usage diverges¶
- Asdal 2015 uses the concept for how a document makes new objects governable (pp. 84–85) [U]. Asdal et al. 2023 and Fourcade use it for the market and economic government (Asdal et al. 2023, p. 5; Fourcade 2017, p. 663) [U]. Bear & Mathur want to move beyond the tradition (p. 20) [U].
- The sources cite different Foucault works: Foucault 2007 (Asdal 2015, Bauman et al.) and The Birth of Biopolitics (Asdal et al. 2023, Fourcade, Bear & Mathur) [U].
Concepts easily confused with this one¶
- Governmentality and discipline: The panopticism text in the source list concerns disciplinary power (Foucault 2008, pp. 3, 9) [U], not governmentality. The two should be kept apart if both are used [T].
- Governmentality and nudging: Fourcade links Thaler and Sunstein's nudge to governmentality (p. 671) [U].
How the concept is used in the primary documents¶
- Not used. Following the
/primaerprocedure, theoretical concepts are not used to describe the primary documents [T].
Open questions for Rebekka¶
- Is governmentality a concept you will use in the analysis? If so, Foucault 2007 is needed.
- Which Foucault work matters most to you: Discipline and Punish, Security, Territory, Population or The Birth of Biopolitics?
- Are Asdal's ‘governable objects’ a useful tool for how personal data is made into something the state can manage?