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Political power beyond the State: problematics of government

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TLDR
This paper argues against an overvaluation of the 'problem of the State' in political debate and social theory and demonstrates that the analytical language structured by the philosophical opposition of state and civil society is unable to comprehend contemporary transformations in modes of exercise of political power.
Abstract
This paper sets out an approach to the analysis of political power in terms of problematics of government. It argues against an overvaluation of the 'problem of the State' in political debate and social theory. A number of conceptual tools are suggested for the analysis of the many and varied alliances between political and other authorities that seek to govern economic activity, social life and individual conduct. Modern political rationalities and governmental technologies are shown to be intrinsically linked to developments in knowledge and to the powers of expertise. The characteristics of liberal problematics of government are investigated, and it is argued that they are dependent upon technologies for 'governing at a distance', seeking to create locales, entities and persons able to operate a regulated autonomy. The analysis is exemplified through an investigation of welfarism as a mode of 'social' government. The paper concludes with a brief consideration of neo-liberalism which demonstrates that the analytical language structured by the philosophical opposition of state and civil society is unable to comprehend contemporary transformations in modes of exercise of political power.(1).

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Journal ArticleDOI

Spatializing States: Toward an Ethnography of Neoliberal Governmentality

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify two principles that are key to state spatialization: vertically (thestate is "above" society) and encompassm ent (state "encompasses" its localities).
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THE LIMITS OF THE SOVEREIGN STATE Strategies of Crime Control in Contemporary Society

TL;DR: A descriptive analysis of strategies of crime control in contemporary Britain and elsewhere can be found in this paper, where the authors argue that the normality of high crime rates and the limitations of criminal justice agencies have created a new predicament for governments.
Book

A Postcapitalist Politics

TL;DR: Gibson and Graham as discussed by the authors describe a politics of possibility that can build different economies in place and over space, and argue that post-capitalist subjects, economies, and communities can be fostered.
Journal ArticleDOI

The death of the social? Re-figuring the territory of government

Nikolas Rose
- 01 Aug 1996 - 
TL;DR: This article argued that the social is no longer a key zone, traget and objective of strategies of government, arguing that economic relations are no longer easily understood as organized as organized across a single bounded national economy.
Journal ArticleDOI

Governance Innovation and the Citizen: The Janus Face of Governance-beyond-the-State:

Erik Swyngedouw
- 01 Oct 2005 - 
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the emerging innovative horizontal and networked arrangements of governance-beyond-the-state are decidedly Janus-faced, particularly under conditions in which the democratic character of the political sphere is increasingly eroded by the encroaching imposition of market forces that set the "rules of the game".
References
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Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a history of the first half of the 20th century, from 1875 to 1914, of the First World War and the Second World War.
Book

Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977

TL;DR: The Eye of Power: A Discussion with Maoists as mentioned in this paper discusses the politics of health in the Eighteenth Century, the history of sexuality, and the Confession of the Flesh.
Book

The History of Sexuality

Book

Capitalism and Freedom

TL;DR: In the classic bestseller, Capitalism and Freedom, Friedman presents his view of the proper role of competitive capitalism as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom as mentioned in this paper.