A Critical Analysis On The Road Of War During Iraq...

According to Foucault, ‘We live in the era of ‘governmentality’ marked by a â€Å"govermentalization† of the state’ (Security, Territory, Population, at 109). Critically analyse this claim and identify some of its public law implications, referring to issues raised in your special study and, if relevant, other material presented throughout this course. Governmentality is a complex public law concept to do with how a state is governed, which is interpreted in many different ways by academic commentators. The different perspectives of these commentators are fundamental to this essay, particularly Foucault’s own perspective, so that the concept of governmentality itself can first be critically analysed and then placed in context of modern†¦show more content†¦There are many ways to define governmentality since there are so many various ways it can be interpreted. Foucault articulated governmentality as the ‘conduct of conduct’ , which can be interpreted as how conduct is controlled or regulated, or â€Å"calculated attempts to direct human behavior towards particular ends†. When discussing different academics’ ideas and conceptions of governmentality and the various ways in which it is utilized, such as the use of knowledge and information or self-regulation, it is usually based on Foucaultà ¢â‚¬â„¢s original concept of governmentality. Mckee defines governmentality as a â€Å"fundamentally political project – a way of problematizing life and seeking to act upon it, which identifies both a territory and means of intervention.† What governmentality offers is a critical approach that doesn’t focus on how a ‘good’ government should operate or how moral the conduct that arises from governmentality is, instead it merely makes the distinctions between ‘liberating’ and ‘repressive’ power , just as Foucault emphasises the difference between governance and sovereignty. Governance is the ‘status’ of things such as economy, space, citizens, etc. which uses multiform tactics to operate, whereas sovereignty is the adherence to law enforced by law. Lemke discusses Foucault’s work and what he meant by governmentality. He explains that in explaining the history of