From Governance to Governmentality in CSDP: Towards a Foucauldian Research Agenda

Abstract: Governmentality theory is a tool to study networked governance beyond the state. Its research profile is characterized by a focus on power and micro-practices from a critical perspective. This article identifies the theory's comparative strengths and its distinct analytical style. It lays out the conceptual tools of governmentality theory before applying them to internal CSDP governance and the external governance by the CSDP of post-conflict societies. These short case studies serve the didactic purpose of demonstrating the kinds of research questions, analytical concerns, arguments, empirical evidence and methods that governmentality research calls for and the sorts of findings that it can generate. The article concludes by pinpointing shortcomings of the theory that will be of concern to some CSDP researchers.