Governmentality
–
The State
Apparatchik in Africa – Power & Socially Cogent Livelihoods
Public lecture
– Respublica Litereria - RL Vol XIII No 570 MMXIX
Costantinos
Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD
Former Chairperson of the African Union Anti-corruption
Advisory Board
Professor of Public Policy and Sustainable Institutional
Reforms
Abstract
The lecture is based on Foucault’s ideas - governmentality as the art of government in a
wide sense, i.e. an idea of government that is not limited to state politics
alone, but includes a wide range of control techniques - a wide variety of
objects, from one's control of the self to the bio political control of
populations. The knowledge gap the paper addresses are augured on the need for
undertaking a serious review of states and governmentality in African political
transitions to more pluralist societies. The research question augur on what
are the mainstream thoughts that have influenced ideologies? What role has the
developmental state played in development? What are the diagnostic limitations
in contemporary philosophy of development and how do we prime
‘new’ ideological trajectories for African states? The
following sets of tools by which to measure empirically the institutional
concepts of policies & organisations have been adopted into the methodology
of the research to enable desk analysis of the study. Types of policies in
political
competition and political participation: policies may or may not be formalised,
when formalised, they are codified at three levels: constitutional policies, legislated
policies and administrative policies. Organisational Characteristics refer
to autonomy, capacity, complexity and cohesion.
It is widely accepted
that Michel Foucault’s ‘governmentality lectures’ constituted a seminal moment
in the history of neoliberal studies. In an analysis which was original and
prescient, Foucault framed neoliberalism, not only in terms of a set of
economic policies based on monetarism, de-regulation and privatisation, but
also as a productive power, which arguably, marked the beginnings of a new
paradigm in the governance of human beings. The paper recommends that the legal
and judicial systems are important parts of the antidote against the threats to
good governance. While good intentions on the part of lawmakers and constitutions
may be a basic starting point, experience over the years have shown that this
may not be adequate. Legislation alone may not be effective in limiting
unethical practices unless there is the evolution of a political culture. These
include inter alia, building rules and institutions, leadership - democratic
and governing institutions that stem the
threats to good governance include legislatures, legal and judicial
systems and electoral bodies. Further, founding independent human
quality development think tanks would be the single most powerful
tool. Oversight and
regulation of the state actions - government corporate plans, if
well designed can provide the basis for establishing the state’s core
activities. Ultimately,
the road to good governance can only be paved if economic means exist to
support private sector-led social development.
The threats to good governance can be avoided if in
law, citizens are able to sue the government for infringement of their civil
rights that is subject to criminal proceedings and there are regulations
governing conflicts of interest by the executive branch.
Key words: Governmentality, bio politics, political competition, political participation, policies:
constitutional policies, legislated policies and administrative policies;
organizational autonomy, capacity, complexity and cohesion
Updated
Keynote address from UNECA, 2000
See paper here or https://www.academia.edu/39815048/Governmentality_-_The_State_Apparatchik_in_Africa_-Power_and_Socially_Cogent_Livelihoods_-_RL_Vol_XIII_No_570_MMXIX
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