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Globalizing Governmentality: Sites of Neoliberal Assemblage in the Americas Jason R View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by DigitalCommons@Florida International University Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 6-3-2010 Globalizing Governmentality: Sites of Neoliberal Assemblage in the Americas Jason R. Weidner Florida International University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the International and Area Studies Commons, and the International Relations Commons Recommended Citation Weidner, Jason R., "Globalizing Governmentality: Sites of Neoliberal Assemblage in the Americas" (2010). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 258. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/258 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida GLOBALIZING GOVERNMENTALITY: SITES OF NEOLIBERAL ASSEMBLAGE IN THE AMERICAS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS by Jason R. Weidner 2010 To: Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences This dissertation, written by Jason R. Weidner, and entitled Globalizing Governmentality: Sites of Neoliberal Assemblage in the Americas, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. ________________________________ Gail Hollander ________________________________ Ronald W. Cox ________________________________ Harry Gould ________________________________ Francois Debrix, Major Professor Date of Defense: June 3, 2010 The dissertation of Jason R. Weidner is approved. ________________________________ Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences ________________________________ Interim Dean Kevin O’Shea University Graduate School ii © Copyright 2010 by Jason R. Weidner All rights reserved. iii DEDICATION In memory of my father, Frederic Clinton Weidner (1942 – 2002) iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the result of a long journey. I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to those who accompanied and inspired me through this journey. To my major professor, Francois Debrix, whose patient support, encouragement, and expert knowledge provided important conditions of possibility for this dissertation. To Lisa Prugl, who has been a crucial source of friendship and support throughout the course of my Ph.D. To Gail Hollander, whose thinking on globalization has helped shape this dissertation. To the members of my committee, Ron Cox and Harry Gould, for providing thoughtful input into the final version of this dissertation. To Paul Kowert, who has provided enormously helpful advice and support throughout my time at FIU. This work would not have been possible without the generous financial support that I received from Florida International University, the Graduate School, and the Department of Politics and International Relations. That support includes a Presidential Fellowship, Teaching Assistantships, and a Dissertation Evidence Acquisition Fellowship. I would also like to thank Nicholas Kiersey, a wonderful friend and source of intellectual stimulation. His thinking on Foucauldian IR and governmentality have been very influential in this dissertation. My thanks also go to Diana Ter-Ghazaryan, for her support and friendship. Special mention is also deserved for Michelle Real and Martha Rodriguez, for helping navigate the bureaucracy and for their support and friendship. v I would like to thank my family, who have been extraordinarily supportive throughout this project and my entire graduate career. Most importantly, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my wife, Karin Weidner. Without her love and support, none of this would have been possible. From the beginning, when I first began graduate studies in Santiago, Chile (and she helped me get my application submitted in time!), Karin has been the reason that I have been able to move forward and get to this point. vi ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION GLOBALIZING GOVERNMENTALITY: SITES OF NEOLIBERAL ASSEMBLAGE IN THE AMERICAS by Jason R. Weidner Florida International University, 2010 Miami, Florida Professor Francois Debrix, Major Professor This dissertation analyzes processes of globalization, through a critical examination of the dynamics of neoliberalism in the Americas. It employs and also develops a Foucauldian governmentality analytical framework, demonstrating how such a framework contributes to our understanding of world politics. This dissertation also develops the concept of a liberal political imaginary—consisting of the market, society, and the state—and utilizes this as an analytical framework for understanding the globalization of neoliberal forms of governance. The research suggests that discourses and practices of globalization, global civil society, and global governance represent a fundamental transformation in the way that contemporary social and political reality is understood, and that this has significant consequences for the kinds of political practices and relations that are possible. Moreover, the research suggests the globalization of a neoliberal form of competitive subjectivity that can be applied to a broad range of actors—from individuals to nation-states and international organizations—is reshaping contemporary world politics. The dissertation concludes vii by suggesting how Foucauldian IR can move forward by incorporating studies of contemporary transformations in capitalism into their analyses. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THEORIZING THE GLOBAL……………………………………………….1 Introduction................................................................................................... 1 Foucault, Governmentality, and World Politics ........................................... 5 Globalization and Governmentality............................................................ 12 The Globalization of (Neo) Liberal Governmentality ................................ 16 The Global as Governmentality.................................................................. 23 II. GLOBALIZATION..................................................................................... 38 Introduction................................................................................................. 38 Globalization as the Global Market ............................................................ 42 The Introduction of Political Economy in the Art of Governing................ 46 Neoliberalism and the Market..................................................................... 50 Neoliberalism and Globalization ................................................................ 58 Free Trade and Regional Trade Agreements .............................................. 64 The Problem-Space of Regionalism ........................................................... 67 Econometric Models and Governmental Technologies.............................. 71 Governmentality and Free Trade in the Americas...................................... 78 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 87 III. GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY........................................................................ 92 Introduction................................................................................................. 92 The Discourse of Global Civil Society ....................................................... 95 Civil Society as a Technology of Government......................................... 101 Global Civil Society as Governmentality ................................................. 109 Civil Society of the Americas................................................................... 120 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 132 IV. GLOBAL GOVERNANCE....................................................................... 136 Introduction............................................................................................... 136 Global Governance and the Problem of Order ......................................... 138 Theories and Discourses of Governance................................................... 142 Neoliberalism, Subjectivity and Ethics..................................................... 151 viii Nation Branding as Neoliberal Governmentality ..................................... 160 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 187 V. GOVERNMENTALITY, CAPITALISM, SUBJECTIVITY.................... 194 Italian Post-Marxist Thought: Subjectivity and Capitalism...................... 198 Conclusion: Bringing Capitalism Back In ................................................ 216 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 223 VITA……..……………...………………………………………………………….271 ix CHAPTER ONE: THEORIZING THE GLOBAL Introduction The aim of the present study is to contribute toward a better understanding of the structures and dynamics of contemporary world order. The general issue area that the present study
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