Governing Practices: Neoliberalism, Governmentality, and the Ethnographic Imaginary

Neoliberalism is among the most commonly used concepts in the social sciences. Furthermore, it is one of the most influential factors that have shaped the formation of public policy and politics. In Governing Practices, Michelle Brady and Randy Lippert bring together prominent scholars in sociology, criminology, anthropology, geography, and policy studies to extend and refine the current conversation about neoliberalism. The collection argues that a new methodological approach to analyzing contemporary policy and political change is needed. United by the common influence of Foucault’s governmentality approach and an ethnographic imaginary, the collection presents original research on a diverse range of case studies including public-private partnerships, the governance of condos, community and state statistics, nanopolitics, philanthropy, education reform, and pay-day lending. These diverse studies add considerable depth to studies on governmentality and neoliberalism through a focus on governmental practices that have not previously been the focus of sustained analysis.

Table of Contents:
Figures Contributors　 Neoliberalism, Governmental Assemblages and the Ethnographic Imaginary Michelle Brady Part 1: Neoliberal subjectivities? Examining Resilience, Investment and Enterprise Creating Resilient Subjects: The Coexist project Wendy Larner and Simon Moreton Governing through Community in the Oil Sands Zone Sara Dorow Fixing Non-market Subjects: Governing land and population in the global south Tania Murray Li Part 2: Neoliberal Technologies and Politics Governing Emergent Technologies: Nanopower and nanopolitics. An ethnographic approach Rob Shields Neoliberal Numbers: Calculation and hybridization in Australian and Canadian official statistics Cosmo Howard Governing through Land: Neoliberal governmentalities in the British Columbia treaty process Akin Akinwumi and Nicholas Blomley Part 3: Neoliberal cities? Police and Ad Hoc Governance Urban Neoliberalism, Police and the Governance of Condo Life Randy K. Lippert Ad hoc Governance: Public authorities and North American local infrastructure in historical perspective Mariana Valverde Part 4: Neoliberal Welfare and Philanthropy Governing through Failure: Neoliberalism, philanthropy and education reform in Seattle Katharyne Mitchell and Chris Lizotte Exploring the Complexity and Contradictions of Poverty Governance: The case of pay-day lending in Australia Greg Marston Governmentalities, the Ethnographic Imaginary and Beyond Randy K. Lippert and Michelle Brady

About the Author :
Michelle Brady is a research fellow in the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland. Randy K. Lippert is a professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology at the University of Windsor.

Review :
" Governing Practices is a fascinating collection of case-studies that break open taken-for-granted assumptions about what neoliberalism is." --Stephen J. Collier, Chair, Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School " Governing Practices offers a welcome corrective to the tendency towards totalizing accounts of neoliberalism. It is an important volume that consolidates and pushes valuable forms of analysis and critique that have generally been confined to the margins, rather than the mainstream, of work on neoliberalism." --Janet Newman, Emeritus Professor, Department of Social Policy and Criminology, The Open University