Governmentality

Governmentality is a concept first developed by the French philosopher Michel Foucault in the later years of his life, roughly between 1977 and his death in 1984, particularly in his lectures at the Collège de France during this time.

Governmentality can be understood as:

the organized practices (mentalities, rationalities, and techniques) through which subjects are governed^[1]

Governmentality may also be understood as:

the "art of government"^[2]
the "how" of governing (that is, the calculated means of directing how we behave and act)^[3]
"governmental rationality"^[4]
"a 'guideline' for the analysis that Michel Foucault offers by way of historical reconstructions embracing a period starting from Ancient Greece right through to modernity and neo-liberalism"^[5]^[6]^[7]
"the techniques and strategies by which a society is rendered governable"^[8]
The "reasoned way of governing best and, at the same time, reflection on the best possible way of governing"^[9]

Peter Miller, Nikolas Rose and Mitchell Dean, among other scholars, have elaborated on the notion of governmentality.

^ Mayhew, Susan (ed) A Dictionary of Geography (Article: Governmentality) Oxford University Press, 2004
^ Foucault, Michel (1991). 'Governmentality', trans. Rosi Braidotti and revised by Colin Gordon, in Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon and Peter Miller (eds.), The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, pp. 87–104. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
^ Jeffreys and Sigley (2009) 'Governmentality, Governance and China' in China's Governmentalities, (ed.) Elaine Jeffreys, ISBN 978-0-415-54744-4
^ Gordon, C (1991). 'Governmental Rationality: An Introduction', in Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon and Peter Miller (eds) The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, pp. 1–48. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
^ Michel Foucault, The Government of Self and Others: Lectures at the Collège de France 1982-1983 (2010)
^ Michel Foucault The Courage of Truth : Lectures at the Collège de France 1983-1984 (2011)
^ Michel Foucault The Birth of Biopolitics Lectures At The College de France 1978-1979 (2008)
^ Foucault, Governmentality, and Critique (2002) "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-05-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Foucault, M., (2008), The birth of biopolitics: Lectures at the College de France, 1978‐79. Palgrave MacMillan

[1] Mayhew, Susan (ed) A Dictionary of Geography (Article: Governmentality) Oxford University Press, 2004

[burchell1-2] Foucault, Michel (1991). 'Governmentality', trans. Rosi Braidotti and revised by Colin Gordon, in Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon and Peter Miller (eds.), The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, pp. 87–104. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

[Jeffreys-3] Jeffreys and Sigley (2009) 'Governmentality, Governance and China' in China's Governmentalities, (ed.) Elaine Jeffreys, ISBN 978-0-415-54744-4

[gordon-4] Gordon, C (1991). 'Governmental Rationality: An Introduction', in Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon and Peter Miller (eds) The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, pp. 1–48. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[5] Michel Foucault, The Government of Self and Others: Lectures at the Collège de France 1982-1983 (2010)

[6] Michel Foucault The Courage of Truth : Lectures at the Collège de France 1983-1984 (2011)

[7] Michel Foucault The Birth of Biopolitics Lectures At The College de France 1978-1979 (2008)

[8] Foucault, Governmentality, and Critique (2002) "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-05-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[9] Foucault, M., (2008), The birth of biopolitics: Lectures at the College de France, 1978‐79. Palgrave MacMillan

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]