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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Lauda ACTA UNIVERSITATIS LAPPONIENSIS 334 Suvi Alt Beyond the Biopolitics of Development Being, Politics and Worlds Academic dissertation to be publicly defended with the permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lapland in lecture room 2 on 9 December 2016 at 12 noon Rovaniemi 2016 ACTA UNIVERSITATIS LAPPONIENSIS 334 Suvi Alt Beyond the Biopolitics of Development Being, Politics and Worlds Rovaniemi 2016 University of Lapland Faculty of Social Sciences © Suvi Alt Layout: Taittotalo PrintOne Cover: Anne Behrndt Sales: Lapland University Press / LUP PL 8123 FI-96101 Rovaniemi Finland tel. +358 40 821 4242 [email protected] www.ulapland.fi/LUP University of Lapland Printing Centre, Rovaniemi 2016 Printed: Acta Universitatis Lapponiensis 334 ISBN 978-952-484-926-5 ISSN 0788-7604 Pdf: Acta electronica Universitatis Lapponiensis 202 ISBN 978-952-484-927-2 ISSN 1796-6310 Abstract The dissertation inquires into the biopolitics of development from the perspective of conceptualising a ‘beyond’ of such biopolitics. This inquiry is informed by the need to re-evaluate both prevailing discourses of development and their existing biopolitical critiques. It approaches the idea of develop- ment in terms of its centrality to Western liberalism, arguing that a critique of development needs to account for its embeddedness in the metaphysics of modernity. Drawing on the works of Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben for a critical reading of development studies literature and policy documents by the United Nations, the World Bank and other relevant agencies, the dis- sertation shows the various ways in which policies of development produce the kind of depoliticised life that is required by neoliberal capitalism. With the purpose of furthering this biopolitical critique, the dissertation argues that an engagement with Martin Heidegger’s work enables an interrogation of the ontological underpinnings of contemporary biopolitics which are generally left unexamined in biopolitical critiques. It is then argued that the ontological violence entailed by the enframing of Being forms the conditions of possibility for the production and governing of biopoliticised subjects. Development is thus part of the processes that sustain what Heidegger calls ‘the forgetting of Being’. Yet, the dissertation suggests that the ontological question of Being also opens the way for a repoliticised conception of beings and their worlds; a beyond of biopolitics. The concept of theAugenblick , a blink of an eye, is discussed as a moment that opens up the existing order, enabling a politics that understands ‘world’ as the openness of Being, which nevertheless requires involvement by beings in order for them to overcome the limitations that even benevolent and supposedly emancipatory projects (re)produce when they lack recognition of their own historico-ontological commitments. Finally, the dissertation suggests rethinking development in the light of the ‘decoloniality of Being’, which is here conceived as a politics of ‘pluriverse’. The dissertation’s contribution thus lies in its critical engagement with the ontology of contemporary biopolitics of development and in its map- Abstract | 5 ping of the conditions of possibility of a beyond of such biopolitics; a beyond conceived in terms of a politics of being as opposed to the biopolitics of life. Keywords: biopolitics, development, being, life, world, ontology, decolo- niality 6 | Suvi Alt: Beyond the Biopolitics of Development Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the pre-examiners of this dis- sertation, Michael Dillon and Sergei Prozorov. Both of their works have been important for me since the beginning of this PhD project, and I could not have asked for two more suitable or generous examiners. I am grateful for the care with which they had gone through the manuscript and for the truly substantial comments that they provided. Their critical and insightful remarks will provide me with much to work with also far beyond this dissertation. I am honoured that Michael Dillon also agreed to make the trip to Lapland to act as my opponent. Luis Lobo-Guerrero and Mika Luoma-aho have supervised this disserta- tion, each providing me with indispensable support and guidance. Luis has been the kind of a supervisor that every PhD student should have. He has dedicated considerable time and effort to commenting on my papers and ideas, while also helping me navigate the complex waters of academia. Perhaps most importantly, however, he has encouraged me to stick to the kind of research that I have wanted to do, and to keep on trying to think, to wonder and to be surprised by the unexpected. The faith that Luis has had in this project is something quite remarkable. Mika has always been there for me from the very beginning of the project, and he has provided me with continuous en- couragement and support which have been important for me in carrying this work through. His empathy and sense of humour have convinced me that, in the end, all will be good. One of the best parts of doing the PhD has been to get to know people who not only share an interest in the problems that are at the heart of this thesis, but who are also wonderful human beings that I consider myself for- tunate to have met. While I was a visiting researcher at Griffith University in Australia in 2012, Gideon Baker engaged me in tremendously inspiring discussions that were a breath of fresh air to this dissertation, and ever since then – despite living on the other side of the world – he has provided me with continuous friendship and encouragement. Jemima Repo has also been an invaluable support and inspiration for me in the past years. I appreciate her friendship and thank her for solidarity in everything. Special thanks are Acknowledgements | 7 likewise due to Mikko Joronen for his considerate and generous engagement with my work, which helped me to have faith in the direction that the thesis ended up taking. I am also grateful to Ari-Elmeri Hyvönen for continuing to share with me the musings of a fellow theorist, which have often inspired me to think of things I would not have otherwise. At the University of Lapland, I thank the Politics and International Rela- tions staff, especially Aini Linjakumpu, Petri Koikkalainen, Tiina Seppälä and Sandra Wallenius-Korkalo, for all the ways in which they have supported me along the way. I thank Julian Reid for encouraging me to pursue the PhD in the first place. I am especially grateful to Aini for urging me to apply for the graduate school position that gave me the time and the resources which made it possible for me to focus my energies on the thesis while also spending extended periods of time away from Lapland. The camaraderie shared with Sandra as well as Hanna Lempinen and Joonas Vola while each of us have been writing our dissertations has both carried me over the rough patches and made the whole process more fun than I ever thought it could be. Furthermore, at the University of Lapland I particularly wish to acknowledge Soile Veijola for the support provided throughout the project, but especially for her vital words of encouragement at a time when they were needed the most. I also wish to thank my current colleagues at the University of Groningen (RUG), which has by now become a second home to me. Particular thanks for engaging with my work are due to Anahita Arian, Julia Costa López, Mohammadbagher Forough, Benjamin Herborth, Friederike Kuntz, David Shim, Anna Stobbe and Nadine Voelkner. Julia and Anna saw me through the final weeks of writing for which I am especially grateful. During the past year at RUG, I have taught seminars to about 400 students who also deserve thanks for frequently taking me out of my comfort zone, and for showing me that writing is not the only part of academic work that can be truly enjoyable and fulfilling. In the course of this project, I have lived and spent extended periods of time in Rovaniemi, Helsinki, Brisbane, Berlin and Groningen, and in each I have been fortunate enough to enjoy the intellectual engagement and company of great people. For various forms of collaboration, for discussing ideas and sometimes simply for making academia a bit more livable a place, 8 | Suvi Alt: Beyond the Biopolitics of Development I thank Jaakko Ailio, Leonie Ansems de Vries, Oliver Belcher, Ramiro Borja Martinez, Jonas Hill, Emily Höckert, Ali Jones, Laura Junka-Aikio, Glenn Kefford, Marjo Lindroth, Lee Morgenbesser, Philani Mthembu, Mikko Räk- köläinen, Mirva Salminen, Heidi Sinevaara-Niskanen, Monica Tennberg, Marc Venhaus and Miguelángel Verde Garrido. I also wish to thank Anne Behrndt for her great company on many occasions and for designing the beautiful cover of this book. The first part of my doctoral research was funded by Kone Foundation, Oskar Öflund Foundation, Olvi Foundation, and the University of Lapland. The great bulk of this thesis was written while enjoying a graduate student position at the Finnish Graduate School for Political Studies (POLITU). I thank all of them for the financial support without which it would not have been possible to carry out this research. Outside academia, my heartfelt thanks go to my dear friends who love laughter but are not afraid of tears: Essi Nurmela, Johanna Ketola, Anni Lahtinen, Suvi Lyytinen, Maarit Korhonen, Tikli Oikarinen, Mari Ulkuniemi, Heini Uusipaavalniemi and Kaisa Vuorjoki have all supported me immensely with their friendship and kindness. Countless times, Mari and Kaisa have nur- tured me with tea, sympathy, and skype calls, for which I am forever grateful. My greatest gratitude is due to my loving parents Oili and Kari Alt.
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