44
2
structures (Fox 1998). People are, however, rarely passive victims of the mechanisms of discourses, but act within the possibilities that discourses and material
circumstances provide (Stern et al. 2015).
There are also other perspectives, influenced by Foucault, that explicitly allow more
space for agency. For instance, in his ‘third power dimension’, Lukes (2005) deals
with discursive power where one actor gets other actors to do something they would
otherwise not do, by influencing their wishes. As mentioned in 7 Chap. 1, this may
involve governments perspectives domination media and education, so that people
only get access to perspectives in line with those within government. In this situation, people are not forced to act in the manner that the government wants, but they
choose to do it themselves based on the information they have access to.
Furthermore, Edward Said (1935–2003) has inspired political ecology, especially through his renowned book on ‘Orientalism’ (Said 1978), which largely also
inspired the emergence of postcolonial studies as a new field. Said saw Orientalism
as a discourse produced in the West about the inferior ‘others’ in ‘the Orient’.
Western fiction, visual art, academia and journalism have consistently contributed
to this discourse presenting the ‘Orient’ as alien, different and inferior to Western
culture. In this way, ‘Orientalism’ has helped to justify colonialism and Western
domination, Edward Said argued. According to this thinking, Western cultural
expressions can be seen more as reflections of the interests of Western actors, than
as presentations of reality in the ‘Orient’.
Definition
Foucault’s notion of governmentality has increasingly been used in political ecology
as a way to understand how power works in environmental governance (e.g.
Agrawal 2005; Fletcher 2010, 2017; Bose et al. 2012; Valdivia 2015; Johnsen and
Benjaminsen 2017). Governmentality can be seen as ways in which governments
administer citizens through discourse to act in accordance with government
priorities (Foucault 1991, 2008). Buliding an Foucault (2008), and as mentioned in
7 Chap. 1, Fletcher (2010) distinguishes between four different governmentalities
that are relevant to environmental governance. ‘Disciplining’ implies that the
government manages to get citizens to internalize certain ‘mentalities’ in terms of
social norms and ethical standards. ‘Truth’ means ruling of people through religion
or other overarching truth-defining principles. The other two types of
governmentality are not necessarily dependent on people subscribing to believing
state presentations or priorities, although they will see it as beneficial to act in
accordance with them. ‘Neoliberal rationality’ implies that an incentive structure is
established to maximize results, while ‘sovereign power’ means governing through
defined rules and sanctions. Each of these governmentalities may work alone,
overlap or conflict with any of the other forms (Fletcher 2010). The four techniques
may sometimes function separately, sometimes work together and they may also be
in conflict. These are power techniques that not only states may use, but also actor
groups such as universities, political parties, and companies (Li 2007).
Chapter 2 · Theoretical Influences and Recent Directions
2
structures (Fox 1998). People are, however, rarely passive victims of the mechanisms of discourses, but act within the possibilities that discourses and material
circumstances provide (Stern et al. 2015).
There are also other perspectives, influenced by Foucault, that explicitly allow more
space for agency. For instance, in his ‘third power dimension’, Lukes (2005) deals
with discursive power where one actor gets other actors to do something they would
otherwise not do, by influencing their wishes. As mentioned in 7 Chap. 1, this may
involve governments perspectives domination media and education, so that people
only get access to perspectives in line with those within government. In this situation, people are not forced to act in the manner that the government wants, but they
choose to do it themselves based on the information they have access to.
Furthermore, Edward Said (1935–2003) has inspired political ecology, especially through his renowned book on ‘Orientalism’ (Said 1978), which largely also
inspired the emergence of postcolonial studies as a new field. Said saw Orientalism
as a discourse produced in the West about the inferior ‘others’ in ‘the Orient’.
Western fiction, visual art, academia and journalism have consistently contributed
to this discourse presenting the ‘Orient’ as alien, different and inferior to Western
culture. In this way, ‘Orientalism’ has helped to justify colonialism and Western
domination, Edward Said argued. According to this thinking, Western cultural
expressions can be seen more as reflections of the interests of Western actors, than
as presentations of reality in the ‘Orient’.
Definition
Foucault’s notion of governmentality has increasingly been used in political ecology
as a way to understand how power works in environmental governance (e.g.
Agrawal 2005; Fletcher 2010, 2017; Bose et al. 2012; Valdivia 2015; Johnsen and
Benjaminsen 2017). Governmentality can be seen as ways in which governments
administer citizens through discourse to act in accordance with government
priorities (Foucault 1991, 2008). Buliding an Foucault (2008), and as mentioned in
7 Chap. 1, Fletcher (2010) distinguishes between four different governmentalities
that are relevant to environmental governance. ‘Disciplining’ implies that the
government manages to get citizens to internalize certain ‘mentalities’ in terms of
social norms and ethical standards. ‘Truth’ means ruling of people through religion
or other overarching truth-defining principles. The other two types of
governmentality are not necessarily dependent on people subscribing to believing
state presentations or priorities, although they will see it as beneficial to act in
accordance with them. ‘Neoliberal rationality’ implies that an incentive structure is
established to maximize results, while ‘sovereign power’ means governing through
defined rules and sanctions. Each of these governmentalities may work alone,
overlap or conflict with any of the other forms (Fletcher 2010). The four techniques
may sometimes function separately, sometimes work together and they may also be
in conflict. These are power techniques that not only states may use, but also actor
groups such as universities, political parties, and companies (Li 2007).
Chapter 2 · Theoretical Influences and Recent Directions