The Social in the Global

'In this outstanding monograph Jonathan Joseph employs a Marxist reading of Foucault's notion of governmentality to interrogate notions of global governance, civil society, networks, social capital and other recent imports into international relations from social theory. Apart from the clear and thoughtful exposition of these theoretical notions, what distinguishes this book is the very insightful application of these notions to actual institutions, the European Union and the World Bank. Very highly recommended!' Chris Brown, London School of Economics and Political Science

'Joseph has produced a remarkable book which will surely be at the centre of governmentality studies in international relations. Highly readable, theoretically adept (in his uses of social theory, drawing upon Gramsci, Foucault and Marx) and empirically rich (especially in the analysis of the EU and World Bank), this is a major contribution to research in this area.' David Chandler, Research Director, Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster

'Is governmentality an indicative feature of the global? Philosophically aware and theoretically sure-footed, Jonathan Joseph's thorough assessment shows how this hallmark of modernity is anything but monolithic in an unevenly developed world.' Nicholas Onuf, Florida International University, Miami and Pontifcia Universidade Catlica, Rio de Janeiro

'Clear, well written and with careful 'case-studies' on the modes of governance of the European Union and the World Bank, the book is ... a very good read.' Richard Beardsworth, International Affairs

Jonathan Joseph is Reader in Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent. His areas of research span politics, international relations, social theory and philosophy of social science.

Part I. Governmentality and Social Theory: 1. Introduction: social theory, governmentality and global politics; 2. Putting governmentality in its place; 3. Globalisation, global governance and global civil society; 4. Networks, governance and social capital; 5. Reflexivity, knowledge and risk; Part II. Governmentality and International Organisations: 6. Governmentality in the European Union; 7. Global governmentality and the World Bank; 8. Conclusion.