Governmentality

William Walters is Professor of Political Science and Sociology at Carleton University, Ottawa Canada.

Governmentality: Critical Encounters offers a well-written and clear account on the trajectory, dimensions and effects of “governmentality” in Foucault’s work and beyond. It is a richly insightful work by one of the leading scholars in the field.Thomas Lemke, Goethe University Frankfurt, GermanyWalters’ admirably clear discussion of both Foucault’s shifting understanding of governmentality and the broader field of governmentality research will be an invaluable guide for readers new to the field, while old hands will benefit from Walters provocative sketch of how it should develop.Barry Hindess, Emeritus Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, ANUWhat is governmentality? What theory does it advance and what practices does it illuminate? What is its place in the arc of Foucault’s thought and what is its value for social science research? How has the concept of governmentality been used, misused, and creatively reworked in the past three decades? What is its fecundity and what are its blindspots? Walters’ elegantly written, sophisticated yet highly accessible book answers these questions from a perspective that is judicious, erudite and relentlessly intelligent. This is an indispensable work.”Wendy Brown, Class of 1936 Professor of Political Science, University of California, BerkeleyWalters offers his readers a critical encounter with the governmentality literature that reinserts pressing questions of politics and history, and that takes our thinking about governmentality to the international level. Compellingly and very accessibly written, this book makes indispensable reading for critical scholars of the arts and sciences of (international) government and politics.”Marieke de Goede, University of AmsterdamIn this book William Walters casts his characteristically authoritative gaze over a number of key features of the governmentality literature. The result is A highly original and refreshing reading of both the cannon of work associated with governmentality and some unusual and fascinating topics not previously well explored. In a measured analytical and diagnostic style we have here a clear voice that both demarcates and clarifies Foucault’s own accounts of governmentality and those of his most ardent followers and critics.Grahame Thompson, Copenhagen Business School and the Open University

• Introduction 1. Foucault, Power and Governmentality 2. Governmentality 3.4.7 3. Foucault Effect Redux? Some Notes on International Governmentality Studies 4. Reconnecting Governmentality and Genealogy: Questions of Style 5. Conclusion: Encountering Governmentality