Governance, Civil Society, Governmentality. The ‘Foucauldian Moment’ in the Globalization Debate: Theoretical Perspectives
Lidia Lo Schiavo

Abstract
After two decades of flourishing theoretical and empirical research, the “twin concept” of governance and global civil society both appear to be in need of reassessment. Authority, epistemic validity, and “good practices” are viewed as the building blocks of governance, while global civil society can either be seen as a constitutive part or as a counter hegemonic actor in an expanding neoliberal ‘order’. This paper mainly aims to address the concept of governmentality, which introduces a critical attitude towards the semantics and pragmatics of governance. In this context, the deconstruction of the mainstream account of globalization allows us to focus on the process of de- legitimization of the post-second world war “Keynesian consensus” both at domestic and international level. Secondly, our analysis revisits the issues of ‘power’ and ‘politics’ which reshape our understanding of global governance and civil society dynamics, thus shedding new light on the question of political legitimacy.

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