governmentality and the comparative analysis of …paperroom.ipsa.org/papers/paper_13378.pdf · 5...
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Rolf Frankenberger Eberhard Karls University Tübingen. Institute of Political Science rolf.frankenberger@uni‐tuebingen.de
Governmentality and the Comparative Analysis of Dictatorship
Paper presented the 22nd IPSA World Congress of Political Science, Madrid July 11, 2012
2
Governmentality and the Comparative Analysis of Dictatorship
Many comparative politics approaches to dictatorships focus on political regimes and their
attempts to stay in power through a formal or informal institutionalization of power. They
thus reproduce patterns of research that is strongly focused on a regime perspective of
governing and governed, sometimes overemphasizing the role of the state and its
institutions. Most recent publications in comparative politics addressing autocracies or
authoritarian regimes share this focus. This is partly due to the foundations of modern
comparative research on autocracies: (neo‐) institutionalism, rational choice, and a
decidedly Almondian view of the political system as a subsystem of society that has to be
separately analyzed from its systemic context. (Some recent examples can be found in
Bueno de Mesquita and Smith 2009; Bueno de Mesquita et al 2005; Frantz and Ezrow 2011;
Gandhi 2010; Gandhi and Przeworski 2007; Magaloni and Kicheli 2010; North, Wallis and
Weingast 2009; Wintrobe; Wright and Escriba‐Folch 2011). This focus on institutions,
political regimes and the actors involved and a quite limited logic of political action are
misleading. This perpsectivelimits the understanding of the complex interpenetrations of
power in social formations these political systems are only one part of. Instead of analyzing
autocracy in terms of a societal “bounded whole” – like it was done for totalitarianism
(Friedrich and Brzezinski 1965) and also is done for democracy, varying aspects are isolated.
Another complex of problems is caused by the lack of a consistent, and independent,
definition of what an Autocracy is. Existing definitions of authoritarianism either define
Autocracies as non‐democratic regimes (Brooker 2009), as systems without free and
institutionalized competition for power (Gandhi and Przeworski 2006) or as mixed types
between Totalitarianism and Democracy (Linz 2000). The main focus of analysis and
categorization in these approaches is on the (non‐)existence of democratic formal
institutions. This can cause problems in several ways: methodological, empirical, and
normative: methodological, as categorizations become “fuzzy”, or, as Sartori put it, they are
neither mutually exclusive nor exhaustive; empirical, as measuring gradual differences and
defining thresholds is difficult; normative, as this strategy is prone to a biased view, namely
the so called “democracy bias” (for a discussion of related argumentations, see
Schlumberger 2009, Albrecht/Frankenberger2010, Köhler/ Warkotsch 2010; Sartori 1979,
1991, 1993).
Instead of perpetuating these problems, I will present a framework that tries to avoid them
through a) analyzing Autocracies as figurations of developments and interactions of social,
cultural, economic and political kind. Following Talcott Parsons, Autocracies thus are social
systems with distinct rules, codes, and reproductive mechanisms; and b) by drawing on
Michel Foucault taking into account the social formations of power/knowledge deeply
rooted in history and developing their own logic of power.
In the following sections of the paper I will outline some theoretical reflections that might be
suitable for developing a better understanding of what autocracies are. In order to avoid
3
teleological and normative biases and to give a new impulse to a rather deadlocked
discussion, I propose to combine a structural‐functionalist perspective on macro‐level
configurations of formal and informal institutions with a poststructuralist perspective on the
micro‐ and macro level configurations of power. Using Talcott Parsons’ approach of systems
analysis (Parsons 1951, 1960, 1963, 1964) and Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality
(Foucault 1982, 1988), I argue that a framework of assessing political regime types will have
to focus not only on internal functions, mechanisms and institutions but also has to take into
account the broader perspective of social, cultural and economic environments these
political regimes are embedded in. Using the term political systems instead of regimes
reflects the importance of this integrative systemic perspective. Following Parsons, there are
some features all political systems have in common: the embeddedness of political systems
into a societal environment, a fundamental interdependence of social subsystems, and the
need for performing some functions in order to maintain and perpetuate a social system.
Following Foucault, the main feature of all societies is the exertion of power as the action
upon the action of others. This perspective adds a second complemetary layer of what all
political systems have in common: power as the basis of social action, a general tendency of
power relations to be institutionalized and stabilized and transformed into states of
domination, the differentiation of four technologies of government and a continuous
struggle of individuals and groups for gathering control over discourses.
Taken together, these perspectives allow for a distinct mapping of regime types: First,
according to the AGIL‐Paradigm (Parsons) political systems (regimes) are functional
subsystems of social systems concerned with “goal attainment” – all political systems
(regimes) are same in this way. And they are interrelated with the other functional
subsystems – they are same in this way, too. But political systems differ 1) with respect to
their interchange relations with other subsystems (and environments); 2) in the way they are
composed of functional equivalents performing the relevant tasks to reproduce themselves
and contribute to the reproduction of society; 3) in the way people are governed and govern
themselves, i.e. in the kind of governmentality of the respective systems; in the way
technologies of government are developed and used over time.
Thus, in a first step I will discuss the basic assumptions of Parsons “theory of action” and the
AGIl‐Paradigm, and then present the basic patterns of an “Analysis of Power” according to
Foucault. Bringing together both perspectives in a last step, I will try to outline a research
agenda to map regime types in a poststructuralist perspective.
Systems Theory and the AGIL‐paradigm
In the following section, I will shortly outline the basic assumptions of systems analysis, as
derived from Talcott Parsons’ Model of “societal interchange” within the AGIL‐Scheme
(Parsons 1963, also: Parsons 1960, 1964, Parsons and Smelser 1956). Parsons defines a social
system as a “mode of organization of action elements relative to the persistence or ordered
4
processes of change of the interactive patterns of a plurality of individual actors” (Parsons
1951:24). Thus for Parsons, social systems are systems of action that can be analyzed in
terms of four structural constraints: i) situational constraints, ii) material or immaterial
resources, iii) norms as situational and individual limitations to action, and iv) subjective
goals of acting individuals or groups.
Within the context of social systems, all action does have an inherent function that can be
interpreted as the contributions of social phenomena to the reproduction of the system. The
use the concept of functions that have to be performed by the system or respectively parts
of the system is an integral part of the theory, because “if such a system is to constitute a
persistent order or to undergo an orderly process of developmental change, certain
functional prerequisites must be met” (Parsons 1951: 26‐27).1 According to Almond and
Parsons, these functional prerequisits are “adaptation, goal gratification, integration, and
latent pattern maintenance” (Almond 1965:185; Parsons 1963). In order to perform these
functions, social systems have to differentiate subsystems, each of which specializes on
performing one of these functions. According to Niklas Luhmann’s concept of functional
equivalents as outlined by Niklas Luhmann social systems can (and will) develop alternative
functionally differentiated solutions to the problem of survival (Luhmann 1984: 83‐91)., In
other words, one function can be performed by different agencies or structure, depending
on the systemic context.
Social Systems often are analysed under the perspective of persistence, equilibrium or
stability. In the context of systems theory this does not imply to a crystalline or sclerotic
status. Instead it refers to a kind of flux balance that is characterized by the performance (or
adaptation of performance) of functions within the system: “when a function is performed in
such a way as to maintain the equilibrium of the system, the performance of the function by
the agency or structure is referred to as ‘functional’ (…) [and] when the performance upsets
the equilibrium, then it is referred to as ‘dysfunctional’” (Almond 1965:185).
Social systems are characterized by interdependence. This means that “when the properties
of one component in a system change, all the others, and the system as a whole, are
affected. (…) when one variable in the system changes in its magnitude or quality, the others
are subjected to strains and are transformed, and the system changes its pattern of
performance; or the dysfunctional component is disciplined by regulatory mechanisms, and
the equilibrium of the system is re‐established” (Almond 1965:185). As a result of the latter
two premises, the long‐time survival of a system depends on performance, adaptability and
the capacities of detection, control and regulation.
1 This does not mean that there is any kind of “master plan” designed by some governing agency within the system. Instead this concept addresses to conditions of persistence of systems. Or to put it in other words, “a particular system (…) has to behave in particular ways, perform a set of tasks, in order to be the particular [system]” (Almond 1965:184)
5
With the AGIL‐Paradigm, Parsons develops a model of how societal interchange between
socias systems is organized in order to perform the four functions of adaptation, goal
attainment, integration and latent pattern maintenance. For Parsons a system initially is
simply an integral interrelation that separates itself and is analytically separable from its
environment. To delineate from the environment, systems build up structures that are
independent from short‐time variations of the system‐environment relations. Thus, a system
is a complex of more or less constant patterns that are nevertheless open to adaptation.
“Since a social system is a system of processes of interaction between actors, it is the
structure of the relations between the actors as involved in the interactive process which is
essentially the structure of the social system” (Parsons 1951:25). Each social system then
can be analyzed in terms of role expectations anchored in the whole society through
institutionalization and/or communicative bargaining that are generated by communication
and interaction. On the basis of communication and interaction that are predetermined only
by the boundary conditions of what Parsons calls the basic norms, values and cognition
patterns that form the cultural complex, organized and structured interactions emerge.
These can be differed into roles (rights, duties, role expectations), and institutions
(regulatory systems that determine the relations between roles). For the development of
such action systems the four basic functions of social systems known as the AGIL‐Scheme of
social action are crucial: adaptation, goal attainment, integration and latent pattern
maintenance. Parsons distinguishes a spatial dimension with internal and external functions
and a temporal dimension with instrumental and consummatory functions. The spatial
dimension differentiates processes and patterns of interaction within the system and those
belonging to its environment. In addition it decides whether these are internal or external
input‐output relations. The temporal dimension discriminates processes and interactions
refer to present or future. The combination of the two dimensions and the four basic
functions produces the well known matrix in figure 1 (Parsons 1959:7).
Figure 1: AGIL‐Scheme
6
According to Parsons (Parsons 1953, 1959, 1960; Parsons/Bales/Shils 1953) the four
functions can be defined as follows: Adaptation refers to the mediation of interests between
the system and its environment, i.e. the adaptation “to objects in the situation outside the
system” (Parsons 1953:625). Goal attainment regulates and formulates the relational goals
between the whole system and its environment, i.e. it establishes “consummatory relations
to situational objects by instrumental processes” (Parsons 1953:625). Integration addresses
the production of the unity of the system and provides for both, the internal differentiation
of subsystems and the reciprocal adjustment of the subsystems. In other words, the
integrational system regulates the implementation and adjustment of individual and
collective interests and thus manages “the maintenance of a state of internal harmony or
absence of conflict among the units of the system” (Parsons 1953:625). The Latent pattern
maintenance system constitutes the boundaries of the system and is necessary for the
preservation of system continuity and developmental patterns over time as it maintains both
“the structure of the internalized‐institutionalized normative or cultural patterns, and
motivation to conformity with their requirements” (Parsons 1953:625). Usually these are
long lasting cultural systems of rules and symbols generating meaning. These four functions
are performed by four subsystems, each of which again has to perform these four functions
through one or another structure or agency in order to persist. This again underlines the
relevance of functional equivalents.
Whereas the cultural system as the locus of cultural and motivational commitments and the
integrative system of norms, values and social control indeed seem to be common to all
kinds of social systems, Parsons has in mind some examples derived from the analysis of
pluralist and capitalist societies when he associates the goal attainment subsystem with the
polity as institutionalized structures and agencies and the adaptational subsystem with the
economy. He describes a social system that is clearly biased, but even though it will not fit
one by one to Autocracies, it is a very important example of how such a societal interchange
system can work in a functionally differentiated society of one special kind.
Based upon these four primary functions, Parsons (1960, 1963, 1964, Parsons and Smelser
1956) develops a concept of double circulation of generalized media between each of the
four functional subsystems: “(…)every such unit is involved in plural interchange relations
with other units with respect to most of its functional requirements from its situation – i.e.
for factor inputs – and the conditions of making its contributions to other units in the
“division of labor” – i.e. disposal of “product” outputs. This order of differentiation requires
double interchanges between all the structural components belonging to each category‐pair
(…). The double interchange situation precludes mediation of processes in terms either of
ascriptive expectations or barter arrangements, or a combination of the two. It necessitates
the development of generalized symbolic media”. (Parsons 1963:259). These six interchange
systems are the A‐G‐Interchange or “resource mobilization system”, The G‐I‐Interchange or
“support system”, The L‐G‐Interchange or “legitimation system”, the A‐L‐Interchange or
“consum
Intercha
Accordi
value p
function
product
product
The Lat
value p
wages e
from th
(econom
works w
The Inte
and the
associat
derived
commo
intentio
Figure 2
The Go
effectiv
demand
mption syst
ange or “co
ng to Parso
principles,
nal subsyst
ts to the o
ts constitute
ent Pattern
rinciple Inte
extracted fr
he integrati
mic) adapti
with negativ
egrative sys
e coordinat
tions deriv
from the (
n values de
onal sanctio
2: Interchan
oal Attainm
eness and
ds extracte
tem”, the
ommitment
ons (1963:2
and coord
tems extra
other system
e one of the
n Maintena
egrity, the c
rom the (eco
ive System;
ve system
ve intention
stem (I) circ
tion standa
ed from th
(polity) goa
estined to
ons and the
nge System
ment System
the coord
d from I a
A‐I‐Intercha
system”.
262) each f
dination st
ct factors
ms. These
e major par
nce Subsys
coordinatio
onomic) Ad
; Controls t
and Claims
nal sanction
culates the
ard consens
he Latent
al attainme
L and polit
effects of P
s
m (G) wor
dination st
and Control
7
ange or “a
unctional s
tandards. T
from the
interdepen
rts of the so
stem (L) wo
n standard
daptive syst
the produc
s to loyaltie
s and the e
medium inf
sus. It cont
pattern ma
nt system.
tical suppor
Persuasion.
rks with th
andard suc
l of produc
llocative st
ubsystem c
Through th
other syst
dences and
ocial system
orks with th
pattern‐co
em and just
cts Consum
es destined
ffects of act
fluence, ha
trols the fa
aintenance
It controls
rt destined
he medium
ccess. It c
ctivity extra
tandard sys
consists of
he intercha
tems and p
d interchan
m in request
he medium
onsistency, c
tification of
ers deman
d to the int
tivation of c
s the value
actors Com
system an
the produc
to G. It w
m power, t
ontrols the
acted from
stem” and
generalized
ange syste
produce an
nges of fact
.
commitme
controls the
f loyalties e
ds destined
tegrative sy
commitmen
principle S
mitments t
nd policy d
cts commit
works with p
he value p
e factors I
A. It cont
the L‐I‐
d media,
ems the
nd send
tors and
ents, the
e factors
xtracted
d to the
ystem. It
nts.
olidarity
to value
decisions
ment to
positive‐
principle
Interest‐
trols the
8
products Leadership responsibility destined to I and Control of fluid resources destined to A.
Its sanctions are negative‐situational with the effects of securing compliance
The Adaptation System (A) circulates the medium money and has the value‐principe Utility
with the coordination standard solvency. It controls the factors capital derived from G (that
guarantees private property) and labor derived from L. It also controls the products
Commitment of services destined to G and expectation of goods destined to L. Its sanctions
are positive‐situational and the effect is inducement.
Governmentality and the “Analytics of Power”
The above said implies that there has to be a two level analysis: first on the societal level
with structural composition and interchange processes between its functionally
differentiated subsystems (as named political system, economic system, integrative system
and cultural system), and second on the sub‐societal level with the structural composition
and interchange processes within the subsystems. The following perspective on power and
domination adds a third level, that focuses on action of persons and groups as well as on the
level of concrete mechanisms of power exertion and domination within social systems.
In the perspective of Foucault, Power and Domination can be considered as the basic and
constitutive elements of social interaction and society2. Depending on the configuration of
elements and means of power exertion and domination, different types of societal power
relations emerge, that unfold their potential upon individuals, groups and structures within a
society. To grasp these patterns, we need an analytical tool that 1) can gather social
phenomena outside and beyond the political system or political regime, 2) reflects the
historical process of power formation (i.e. transformation and transition as well as less
visible variations of adaptation), and 3) integrates a macro‐ and micro perspective in a
historio‐genetic and procedural analysis of power. The approach of “governmentality”
proposed by Michel Foucault in several of his writings, does meet these criteria, even though
it is criticized due to several reasons (for a discussion see Lemke 1997; Honneth/Saar 2003;
Burchell/Gordon/Miller 1991)3. But these critiques are more than counterbalanced by the
2 This perspective highlights a difference between Foucaut and Parsons, as Foucault insists that social interaction always is based on power, whereas Parsons argues that different subsystems of society do have different communicative media, that imply a distinct logic of action within each of the subsystems. At a first glance, this seems to be contradictory, but if we take into account that each and every action is an action upon the action of others, then it becomes more plausible that people always act powerful in order to reach their goals: defend their norms and values, maximize monetary revenue and persuade others t buy their products, become friends, force or persuade others to follow their views and interests 3 There are four main lines of argumentation against Foucault’s approach: 1) the one‐sidedness and arbitrariness of his “Zeitdiagnose” that was denounced as “subjectivism” by Habermas (1985:324), 2) the suspension of normative questions or “normative neutralization” (Lemke 1997:15) of his analyses that was raised by Fraser (1981, 1985), Walzer (1986) and Taylor (1984) with a focus on the neutrality of Foucault regarding different systems of power exertion, 3) conceptual contradictions and stretching especially of his concept of power (Habermas 1985), and 4) a missing preciseness of terms and definitions, which on the one hand reflects the dynamics of Foucault’s Thinking but on the other hand leads to misunderstandings and urges for immediate clarifications when using the terminology developed by Foucault.
9
innovative power of his thought, or as Brass puts it: “Foucault’s discussions and analyses of
power and government are so original, so striking in their import not only for the way we do
political science, but for our lives, thought, and practices as scholars, that his work ought by
now to have become a focal point for the resurrection of these topics and their restoration
to centrality in the discipline” (Brass 2000:305)4. As it is hardly applied in comparative
politics, my task is to outline the main conceptual lines of thought as well as a more precise
definition of what can be used as an “Analytics of Power” in order to map regime types5.
Foucault first uses the term governmentality in his lectures at the Collège de France in 1978
to indicate his theoretical re‐conceptualization of an analytics of power. He defines it along
three dimensions: First, he defines governmentality as the “The ensemble formed by the
institutions, procedures, analyses and reflections, the calculations and tactics that allow the
exercise of this very specific albeit complex form of power, which has as its target
population, as its principal form of knowledge political economy, and as its essential
technical means apparatuses of security” (Foucault 1991:102). This includes a systematic
Analysis of present power relations, which shows the “entirety” of power exertion over and
through a society. In terms of comparative politics, this implies the analysis of formal and
informal rules and norms as well as action by relevant persons and groups. Second, he refers
to “the tendency which, over a long period and throughout the West, has steadily led
towards the pre‐eminence over all other forms (sovereignty, discipline, etc.) of this type of
power which may be termed government, resulting, on the one hand, in the formation of a
whole series of specific governmental apparatuses, and, on the other, in the development of
a whole complex of saviors” (Foucault 1991:102). This includes structural and functional
analysis of technologies of governing as well as institutions. Third, Foucault means historical
transitional processes and their results, “through which the state of justice of the Middle
Ages, transformed into the administrative state during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
gradually becomes 'governmentalized'.” (Foucault 1991:103). This implies the analysis of
path‐dependence of political systems.
Based on these three dimensions of governmentality, Foucault develops a concept of power
that is different from most other concepts (e.g. Weber, Marx, Arendt, Luhmann). He neither
interprets power as a manifestation of asymmetric goal attainment through coercive means,
nor does he think that power is a manifestation of symmetric goal attainment based on
cooperation or consent. Instead, he focuses on three main aspects: First, power can be
understood as a relational network or complex strategic situation within a society consisting
4 A systematic discussion of theoretical and research‐relevant perspectives of Foucault’s seminal work is offered by Brass 2000. 5 I will not be concerned with the first critique, as this is rather a conceptual task than a “Zeitdiagnose”. The second critique is rather an advantage than a problem: Foucault’s approach offers a solution to the so called “democracy bias” in transitology and regime typologization (cf. Albrecht/Frankenberger 2010), as it regards all systems of power from a neutral point of view without preferring one of them implicitly or explicitly. Thus the main task remaining is to clarify the “order of the things”, i.e. to sort terms and definitions and to propose a framework for analyzing political regimes.
10
of the ensemble of actions intended to constrain possible other action. As a consequence
power only exists as being exerted by one individual on another (Foucault 1982: 786).
Second power is plural, as different and heterogeneous phenotypes of power exist.
According to Foucault there is no central power, from which other powers could be derived
(Foucault 1982:788ff). Thus, Power and processes of power exertion are not identical with
political power and not limited to the political system. And power is not exclusively vertical,
but also horizontal and transversal. As a consequence, political institutions and the state are
just one intensive (and historically contingent) manifestation of power relations that are
developed out of distinct regions of power. Third, power is primarily productive, and not
repressive or reproductive, as the work according to the principle of general enhancement
of efficiency and abilities (Foucault 1982:799ff).
According to Foucault power relations either refer to strategic games between liberties or
action upon action. Foucault specifies his rather vague definitions of power by using the
terms “technologies”, “techniques” or “rationalities” of governing. To govern refers to
diverse kinds of actions and fields in order to lead individuals and collectives rather than
political structures, territories or states. Foucault insists that people have to be analysed
and governed in their relation to their human, natural and institutional environment as well
as in their relation to values, norms, forms of action and thinking and potential disasters
(Foucault 1991) Thus, all spheres of human being fall under the necessity to be governed and
become political. In this perspective government is the hinge of several perspectives: First,
government interlinks power relations and states of domination and illustrates how the first
can be transferred into the latter and how states of domination can be stabilized. In other
words, government refers to the technologies of transforming and consolidating power.
Second, government relates power and subject to each others, which allows for analyzing
linkages between techniques of domination and techniques of the self. This addresses the
question how individuals can be brought to demand for the things a state of domination
needs to stabilize itself respectively how through the entanglement of techniques of the self
and of domination power relations can be transformed into states of domination. Third, the
relation of power and knowledge can be assessed by analyzing government.
For Foucault the main interest lies in the ways of circulation and functions of knowledge in
the formation of power relations. This includes the control over the production of
knowledge, which he outlines in “The order of the discourse” as well as the ways how power
and knowledge interpenetrate each others. For Foucault, discourse is more than language
and includes the production of a complex interrelation between institutions, economic and
social processes, behavioral patterns, norms and belief systems, techniques, systems of
classification and typologization (Foucault 1997:68). Discourse thus refers to regularities of
social action (symbolic action) that are related to past and/or future action. According to
Foucault the production of the discourse is controlled, regulated and rooted through diverse
procedures of exclusion, prohibition, and control of access. The one controlling the rules of
discourse production is also controlling the power over the production of and access to
11
knowledge as a whole. As knowledge, power, domination and government determine each
others, the level of distinctiveness of penetrating and influencing contingencies is depending
on the level of efficiency and efficacy of the instruments or technologies of regulation and
can be enhanced through technological development and the sophistication of knowledge.
Technologies of government thus constitute more or less systematized, regulated and
reflected forms of power exertion (Lemke 2001a:117).
According to Foucault, “we must understand that there are four major types of these
„technologies, each a matrix of practical reason” (Foucault 1988:18):
1. ”technologies of production, which permit us to produce, transform, or manipulate things” (Foucault 1988:18). This clearly points at the dimension of economic production and the way in which transformation of things into goods is organized and the way how the material needs of a given society are met.
2. “technologies of sign systems, which permit us to use signs, meanings, symbols, or signification” (Foucault 1988:18). In other words, these techniques gather the formation of social discourses o power. They refer to their content as well as the definition of their rules. In a more political sense, the technologies of the sign system point at ideologies, programmes, belief systems, norms and values and who has the power to define and control them.
3. techniques of domination or “technologies of power, which determine the conduct of individuals and submit them to certain ends or domination, an objectivizing of the subject” (Foucault 1988:18). These techniques refer to mechanisms that are in a stricter sense political, as they ask for mechanisms of governing and dominating individuals in order to make them perform in a certain way, usually the way that stabilizes the existing power relations. This can include mechanisms of indoctrination and education, communication, coercion and persuasion, systems of rewards and punishments. This dimension can be assessed via institutional arrangement as well as political processes (bargaining, corruption, neopatrimonialism, competition and so on).
4. ”technologies of the self, which permit individuals to effect by their own means or with the help of others a certain number of operations on their own bodies and souls, thoughts, conduct, and way of being, so as to transform themselves in order to attain a certain state of happiness, purity, wisdom, perfection, or immortality” (Foucault 1988:18). These technologies of the self thus comprise complex forms o self‐regulation that are determined by the more general framework of power und are internalized by the individual in order to stabilize the power system. The phenotypes of this self‐regulation can best be measured by capturing expression of values, norms and orientations towards self‐efficacy, self‐esteem and the role of the self within a society. But keep in mind that these are only manifestations and not the processes
12
themselves, as these only can be approached through analyzing education, self‐formation and other processes of social learning.
Following this perspective, government is the ensemble or network of these four
technologies constituting a system of regulated rational opening or closure of scopes of
action that can be institutionalized by the state.
Foucault differentiates power and domination in order to focus on the processes of power
and establishes the intermediate level of technologies of government. According to Foucault,
power is conceived as “strategic games between liberties”, whereas domination must be
thought as something more static, as a state, or as crystallized strategic games (Foucault
1985:26). Strategic relations or games – action intended to influence action of others ‐ are
main characteristics of social interaction that are fluid, indefinite, and multiple. States of
domination, in turn, are a kind of crystallized strategic relations. This historical
institutionalization can either be military, political or economic. The main difference thus is
the structural basis: strategic games are reversible and structurally amorphous, whereas
states of domination are comparably hieratic, as a group or individual was able to install
durable and asymmetric power relations by using the technologies of government.
This quite sophisticated concept of analysing power offers a laborious basis for a new
approach to comparative politics and the task of mapping regime types. It could help to
clarify and exemplify functional as well as structural logics of political systems in their social
environment, as political systems and regimes always are embedded in multiple interchange
relations with the economic, social and cultural systems. It would also offer insight into the
problem of concept travelling, as the transfer of polities and polices can hardly be successful
in functionally different environments (that is one reason why state building and democracy
promotion produce more failure than success stories!)
Foucault moves the focus of analysis away from states and state institutions and towards
social interaction. As a result, political institutions and political regimes can be analyzed in
terms of historio‐genetic processes of crystallizing strategic relations in specific ways. This
perspective opens social relations much more for political analysis that other approaches do.
Processes of social change (might it be caused by political, economic, social or cultural
change) become genuinely political and can be analyzed as complex of politically relevant
interactions in terms of government, power relations and technologies.
13
Figure 3: Assessing power
Conclusions and Perspectives
It is nice to reduce complexity. This didn’t seem to have been the main objective of both
Foucault and Parsons while conceptualizing power and social systems. So what can be the
benefit of bringing together these two approaches in order to draw a map of regime types?
First, we can identify patterns of sameness. According to Parsons, political systems are
functional subsystems of broader social systems and within this framework they perform the
function of goal attainment. Political systems then are characterized by their
interdependence with the other subsystems. This implies that “when the properties of one
component in a system change, all the others, and the system as a whole, are affected. (…)
when one variable in the system changes in its magnitude or quality, the others are
subjected to strains and are transformed, and the system changes its pattern of
14
performance; or the dysfunctional component is disciplined by regulatory mechanisms, and
the equilibrium of the system is re‐established” (Almond 1965:185). As a result, the long‐
time survival of any system depends on performance, adaptability and the capacities of
detection, control and regulation. Following Foucault, each and every social interaction is
based on power and in all societies technologies of government will be historically
developed over a longer time‐period. Foucault describes power as relations between actors,
be they collective or individual. Power is neither a structure nor a modus of action or a
medium of communication, even though these concepts could be integrated. Even though
power is structurally heterogeneous, more or less fluid and discrete in historical periods,
rather stable states of domination and governmentalities will emerge in all social systems.
This implies that there also will be struggles, discontinuities and transformations in all social
systems. As a result, it is not only politically defined interdependencies, but rather social
relations and interaction that are at the core of governmentality: the way in which behavior
of individuals can be regulated.
Second, and even more important, political systems differ 1) with respect to their
interchange relations with other subsystems (and environments) and in the way they are
composed of functional equivalents performing the relevant tasks to reproduce themselves
and contribute to the reproduction of society. With the AGIL Scheme and the six societal
interchange systems, as described above, Parsons provides us with a framework that opens
up a perspective on “the most important general structural‐functional distinction in
classifying political systems” (Almond/Powell/Mundt 1996:66)6. Thus, it is a promising
strategy to take the assumptions of systems analysis serious and to ask for functional
equivalents and interchange systems. In fact this cries for an approach to political
regimes/systems that inherently tends to be interdisciplinary, as it refers to the
interdependence and interchange between social subsystems as culture, society, economy
and polity as well as the internal differentiation of each of these subsystems. The above said
implies that there has to be a two level analysis: first on the societal level with structural
composition and interchange processes between its functionally differentiated subsystems
(as named political system, economic system, integrative system and cultural system), and
second on the sub‐societal level with the structural composition and interchange processes
within the subsystems. Both the societal and the sub‐societal level can be starting points for
an analysis, but neither of the perspectives will come to satisfying results without taking into
account the far side. On the general level of analysis, the societal level, a first analytical step
will be to identify whether the society under consideration is “sufficiently differentiated”
6 Even though promised, this distinction has not yet been delivered. For example, the probably most popular definition of authoritarian regimes illustrates this shortcoming, as it neither does ask for functions nor for interchange or interrelations, but rather asks for what these regimes are or have not: Juan Linz (1964:297) defines Autocracies as characterized by „limited, not responsible, political pluralism: without elaborate and guiding ideology (but with distinctive mentalities); without intensive or extensive political mobilization (except some points in their development); and in which a leader (or occasionally a small group) exercises power within formally ill‐defined limits but actually quite predictable ones“ (Linz 1964: 297).
15
and has clear boundaries, i.e. in the one or the other way the extension of the social system
can be determined7. So it has to be asked whether social subsystems exist and how they
“extract resources from the environment, regulate behavior, distribute values, display and
transmit symbols, and respond to demands” (Almond 1965:203). In other words, how do
these subsystems differentiate themselves in order to perform the AGIL functions, what are
the interchange systems between them like, and how are they concretely composed? For all
of those the question of concrete content arises. Questions for example are, what are the
forms of social control in a specific system and the compliance of which values and norms do
they control? What are the foundations of basic commitments to the collectivity? Are they
religious, rational, traditional or utilitarian? The more differentiated level is the one of the
subsystems and their internal differentiation. There the political system becomes the focus
of interest. On this level, we can ask the classical questions of comparative politics: Who
makes decisions? How are decisions made? What impact does the political system have and
what does it do in its domestic and international environments? What impact do the society
and the international environment have on the political system? To classify or typologize
systems thus means to look at the specific patterns of functional subsystems and the related
interchange systems. This might have the by‐effect not to be able to produce another
prestigious index or typology because of a great variance of patterns, but in turn it opens
ways deeper understanding of the respective political regimes. As Systems differ in terms of
functional equivalents and societal interchange, assessing regime types means to analyze
the functional equivalents developed within social systems, their subsystems and their
interchange relations8. Different combinations result in different solutions to the problems
of survival in an international environment (with different levels of success) and thus, the
strategy of systems theory allows for more sophisticated analysis of stability and change as
well as their input/output‐relations9.
7 This points at the problem of stateness, failing or failed states, but also leaves open the possibility of social systems without stateness, e.g. tribally organized collecitivities without clearly defined territories in a sense of boarders recognized by the UN. 8 For example, Venezuela under Chávez developed a rather authoritarian regime, but has a participative integration system at the same time. In old terms it is a hybrid. Using systems theory and given that it will stay in this equilibrium, it can be referred to as a unique type. The Singapore political system is extremely restrictive, but on the other hand there is a flourishing economy, especially in the financial and service sectors. India has a well developed market economy in the urban centers, a democratic politic system and at the same time there exists a cultural caste system that is rooted in a religious pattern system. Russia has a formally democratic political system, a state capitalist economy and a culture that can be called “subject culture” in terms of Almond and Verba. 9 Almond exemplifies these advantages for the comparative analysis of political systems: “When we compare classes of political systems with each other, or individual political systems with each other, we need to make these comparisons in terms of capabilities, conversion functions, and system‐maintenance and adaptation functions, and the interrelations among these three kinds of functions (…)The theory of political change deals with those transactions between the political system and its environment that affect changes in general system performance, or capabilities that in turn are associated with changes in the performance of the system‐adaption functions and the conversion function” (Almond 1965:190‐191).
16
Third, there is another way how political systems differ: in the way people are governed and
govern themselves, i.e. in the kind of governmentality of the respective systems and the
way technologies of government are developed and used over time. Foucault himself offers
more or less concrete perspectives of analysis, as he distinguishes five factors that are
central for assessing power along the three levels ‐ strategic games, technologies of
government and states of domination ‐ outlined above:
1. “The system of differentiations which permits one to act upon the actions of others: differentiations determined by the law or by traditions of status and privilege; economic differences in the appropriation of riches and goods, shifts in the processes of production, linguistic or cultural differences, differences in knowhow and competence, and so forth. Every relationship of power puts into operation differentiations which are at the same time its conditions and its results” (Foucault 1982: 792).
2. “The types of objectives pursued by those who act upon the actions of others: the maintenance of privileges, the accumulation of profits, the bringing into operation of statutary authority, the exercise of a function or of a trade” (Foucault 1982: 792).
3. “The means of bringing power relations into being: according to whether power is exercised by the threat of arms, by the effects of the word, by means of economic disparities, by more or less complex means of control, by systems of surveillance, with or without archives, according to rules which are or are not explicit, fixed or modifiable, with or without the technological means to put all these things into action” (Foucault 1982: 792). These instrumental modalities refer to means of power exertion as well as the formality or informality, stability or flexibility of rules and norms of power exertion.
4. “Forms of institutionalization: these may mix traditional pre‐dispositions, legal structures, phenomena relating to custom or to fashion (such as one sees in the institution of the family); they can also take the form of an apparatus closed in upon itself, with its specific loci, its own regulations, its hierarchical structures which are carefully defined, a relative autonomy in its functioning (such as scholastic or military institutions); they can also form very complex systems endowed with multiple apparatuses, as in the case of the state, whose function is the taking of everything under its wing, the bringing into being of general surveillance, the principle of regulation, and, to a certain extent also, the distribution of all power relations in a given social ensemble” (Foucault 1982: 792) Institutionalization thus can be formal or informal, closed or open, general or specific, traditional or rational, complex or simple. Depending on the level of closure and relative functional autonomy of institutions, they represent more or less crystallized states of domination.
5. “The degrees of rationalization: the bringing into play of power relations as action in a field of possibilities may be more or less elaborate in relation to the effectiveness of
17
the instruments and the certainty of the results (greater or lesser technological refinements employed in the exercise of power) or again in proportion to the possible cost (be it the economic cost of the means brought into operation or the cost in terms of reaction constituted by the resistance which is encountered). The exercise of power is not a naked fact, an institutional right, nor is it a structure which holds out or is smashed: it is elaborated, transformed, organized; it endows itself” (Foucault 1982: 792).
From a methodical perspective, such kind of approaches might have a preference for
qualitative case‐study methods, indeed. Foucault himself offers the methods of genealogy
and archeology to assess the historio‐genetic processes through which technologies of
government are developed and through which strategic games are stabilized and transferred
into states of domination. (For a discussion of genealogy as method see. Kearins / Hooper
2002; Saar 2002; Mukerji 2007; Shiner1982; Owen 1995). A more conventional, but also
qualitative case‐study method that could illuminate some of the causal mechanisms and
path‐dependencies within the formation of political systems is the method of process tracing
(George/Bennett 2005; Bennett / George 1997).
Using Parsons and the AGIL‐Scheme as a bridge between conventional comparative analysis
and genealogical research can offer insights in the logics of power in autocracies and deepen
the understanding of how and why they sometimes exist over long time periods and are
hard to be transformed – and also why some societies manage to proceed transitions quite
smoothly. Systematic research, indeed, has to be done to valuate this concept.
18
Literature
Albrecht, Holger / Frankenberger, Rolf (2010): Bringing Authoritarianism Back In. In: Albrecht, Holger /Frankenberger, Rolf (Hrsg.) Autoritarismus Reloaded. Baden‐Baden: Nomos
Albrecht, Holger / Schlumberger, Oliver (2004), „’Waiting for Godot:’ Regime Change without Democratization in the Middle East,“ International Political Science Review, 25, 4, S. 371‐392.
Almond, Gabriel (1956): Comparative Political Systems. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Aug., 1956), pp. 391‐409
Almond, Gabriel (1960): A Functional Approach to Comparative Politics. In: Almond, Gabriel / Coleman, James (Eds.): The Politics of Developing Areas. Princeton: Princeton University Press, S.3‐64
Almond, Gabriel (1965): A Developmental Approach to Political Systems. World Politics, Vol 17, No. 2 (Jan. 1965), pp.183‐214
Almond, Gabriel A. / Coleman, James S. (1969) (eds.): The Politics of the developing Areas. Princeton: Princeton University Press
Almond, Gabriel A. / Powell, G. Bingham / Mundt, Robert J (1996): Comparative Politics, A theoretical framework. 2nd ed. New York.
Almond, Gabriel A./ Verba, Sydney (1963): The civic culture : political attitudes and democracy in five nations. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press
Armony, Ariel C. und Hector E. Schamis (2005), “Babel in Democratization Studies,” Journal of Democracy, 16, 4, S. 113‐128.
Bank, André (2009): Die Renaissance des Autoritarismus. Erkenntnisse und Grenzen neuerer Beiträge der Comparative Politics und Nahostforschung. Hamburg Review of Social Sciences 4, S. 10‐41.
Bennet, A. / George A.L. (1997): Process Tracing in Case Study research. (http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/bennetta/PROTCG.htm)
Blain, R. (1970): A Critique of Parsons' Four Function Paradigm. The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Spring, 1970), pp. 157‐168
Blain, R. (1971): An Alternative to Parsons' Four‐Function Paradigm as a Basis for Developing General Sociological Theory. American Sociological Review, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Aug., 1971), pp. 678‐692
Brass, Paul (2000): Foucault steals political science. Annual review of Political Science, Vol. 3, pp.304‐330
Brooker, Paul (2009): Non‐Democratic Regimes. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2nd ed.
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce / Smith, Alastair / Siverson, Randolph / Morrow, James (2005): The Logic of political survival. Boston: MIT Press
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce / Smith, Alastair. (2009),Political Survival and Endogenous Institutional
Burchell, Graham /(Gordon, Colin / Miller, peter (eds.) The Foucault Effect: studies in governmentality. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
Change." Comparative Political Studies 42:167‐197
Dahl, Robert (1971): Polyarchy. Participation and Opposition. New Haven, London.
Dubin, R. (1960): Parsons' Actor: Continuities in Social Theory. American Sociological Review, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Aug., 1960), pp. 457‐466
Easton, David (1953): The Political System: An Inquiry into the State of Political Science. Chicago
Easton, David (1957): An Approach to the Analysis of Political Systems. World Politics, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Apr., 1957), pp. 383‐400
Easton, David (1965): A Systems Analysis of Political Life. New York / Chicago
Foucault, Michel (1982): The Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, vol. 8, No.4, pp.777‐795
Foucault, Michel (1988): Technologies of the Self. In: Martin, Luther H / Gutman, Huck/ Hutton Patric (eds.): technologies of the Self. A seminar with Michel Foucault. London: travistock, pp.16‐49
19
Foucault, Michel (1991): Governmentality. In: Burchell, Graham /(Gordon, Colin / Miller, peter (eds.) The Foucault Effect: studies in governmentality. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, pp.87‐104
Foucault, Michel (1991a): Questions of Method. In: Burchell, Graham /(Gordon, Colin / Miller, peter (eds.) The Foucault Effect: studies in governmentality. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, pp.73‐86
Foucault, Michel (1991b): Politics and the Study of Discourse. In: Burchell, Graham /(Gordon, Colin / Miller, peter (eds.) The Foucault Effect: studies in governmentality. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, pp.53‐72
Frankenberger, Rolf (2007): Gesellschaft – Individuum – Gouvernementalität. Münster: LIT
Frantz, Erica / Ezrow, Natasha (2011): The Politics of Dictatorship: Institutions and Outcomes in Authoritarian Regimes. Boulder, Col: Lynne Rienner.
Fraser, Nancy (1981) ‘‘Foucault on Modern Power,’’ 1 Praxis International 272–87.
Fraser, Nancy (1985): Michel foucault: A „Young Conservative“? Ethics 96, pp.165‐184
Friedrich, Carl J. / Brzezinski, Zbigniew K. (1965): Totalitarian dictatorship and Autocracy. 2nd Ed., revised by C.J., Friedrich. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press
Gandhi, Jennifer (2010): Political Institutions under Dictatorship. New York: Cambridge University Press
Gandhi, Jennifer / Cheibub, José Antonio / Vreeland, Jim (2010): Democracy and Dictatorship revisited” Public Choice 143, 1‐2, pp. 67‐101
Gandhi, Jennifer / Kim, Wonik (2010): Cooptation and Coercion of Workers under Dictatorship. Journal of Politics 72, 3, pp.646‐658
Gandhi, Jennifer / Przeworski, Adam (2006): Cooperation, Cooptation, and Rebellion under Dictatorships. Economics & Politics 18, 1, S. 1‐26.
Gandhi, Jennifer / Przeworski, Adam. 2007. “Authoritarian Institutions and the Survivalof Autocrats.” Comparative Political Studies 40(11):1279–1301.
George, A.L. / Bennett A. (2005): Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge
Honneth, A. / Saar, M. (Hrsg.) (2003): Michel Foucault. Zwischenbilanz einer Rezeption. Frankfurter Foucault‐Konferenz 2001. Frankfurt am Main
Kearins, Kate / Hooper, Keith (2002) "Genealogical method and analysis", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 15 Iss: 5, pp.733 – 757
Köhler, Kevin / Warkotsch, Jana (2010): Konzeptualisierungsstrategien, Regimetypologien und das Problem des Kontinuums. In: Albrecht, Holger /Frankenberger, Rolf (Hrsg.) Autoritarismus Reloaded. Baden‐Baden: Nomos
Lemke, T. (1997): Eine Kritik der politischen Vernunft. Foucaults Analyse der modernen Gouvernementalität. Berlin / Hamburg
Lemke, Thomas (2001a): "Gouvernementalität" In: Kleiner, M. S. (Hrsg.): Michel Foucault. Eine Einführung in sein Denken. Frankfurt am Main, pp. 108‐122.
Lemke, Thomas (2002): Die politische Theorie der Gouvernementalität: Michel Foucault. In: Brodocz, A. / Schaal, G.S. (eds.): Politische Theorien der Gegenwart 1. Opladen: VS‐Verlag, pp. 471‐501.
Linz, Juan J. (2000): Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. Boulder, Coll. / London: Lynne Rienner.
Magaloni, Beatriz / Kicheli, Ruth (2010), Political Order and one‐party rule”, Annual Review of Political Science 13, pp. 123‐143
Merkel, Wolfgang (2004), “Embedded and Defective Democracies,” Democratization, 11, 5, S. 33‐58.
Mukerji C. (2007): Cultural genealogy: Method for a historical sociology of culture or cultural sociology of history (2007) Cultural Sociology, 1 (1), pp. 49‐71.
North, Douglass / Wallis, John Z Weingast, Barry (2009): Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
20
Owen, David (1995), Genealogy as examplary critique: reflections on Foucault and the imagination of the political, Economy and Society, Volume 24, Issue 4 November 1995 , pages 489 – 506
Parsons, Talcott (1949), The Structure of Social Action, (Glencoe, Ill: The Free Press).
Parsons, Talcott (1951), The Social System, (New York: Free Press).
Parsons, Talcott (1953): Some Comments on the State of the General Theory of Action. American Sociological Review, Vol. 18, No. 6 (Dec., 1953), pp. 618‐631
Parsons, Talcott (1959): General Theory in Sociology. In: Merton, Robert K.; Broom, Leonard; Cotrell, Leonard S., JR. (Hg.): Sociology today. New York: Basic Books, S. 3–38.
Parsons, Talcott (1960): Pattern Variables Revisited: A Response to Robert Dubin. In: American Sociological Review, Jg. 25, H. 4, S. 467–483.
Parsons, Talcott (1963): On the Concept of Political Power. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 107, No 3, pp.232‐262
Parsons, Talcott (1964): Evolutionary Universals in Society. In: American Sociological Review, Jg. 29, H. 3, S. 339–357.
Parsons, Talcott / Smelser, Neil J (1972): Economy and society. A study in the integration of economic and social theory. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul (International library of sociology and social reconstruction).
Saar, M. (2002): Genealogy and Subjectivity. European Journal of Philosophy, 10: 231–245. doi: 10.1111/1468‐0378.00159
Sartori, G. (1991): Comparing and Miscomparing. In: Journal of Theoretical Politics, Jg. 3, Heft 3, S. 243‐257
Sartori, Giovanni (1979), “Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics,” American Political Science Review, 64, 4, S. 1033‐1053.
Sartori, Giovanni (1991), „Comparing and Miscomparing,“ Journal of Theoretical Politics, 3, 3, S. 243‐257.
Sartori, Giovanni (1993), „Totalitarianism, Model Mania and Learning from Error,“ Journal of Theoretical Politics, 5, 1, S. 5‐22.
Sartori, Giovanni (1993), „Totalitarianism, Model Maniaand Learning from Error,“ Journal of Theoretical Politics, 5, 1, S. 5‐22.
Schlumberger, Oliver (2009): Assessing Political regimes: What Measurements and Typologies tell us‐ and what they don’t. In: Kienle, Eberhard (ed.): Democracy Building – Democracy Erosion. London:Saqi, pp. 19‐41
Shiner, Larry (1982) Reading Foucault: Anti‐Method and the Genealogy of Power‐Knowledge, History and Theory, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Oct., 1982), pp. 382‐398
Taylor, Charles (1984): Foucault on freedom and truth. Political Theory, Vol 12, No. 2, pp.152‐183
Walzer, Michael (1986): The Politics of Michel Foucault. In: Hoy, David (ed.): Foucault. A Critical Reader, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 51‐68.
Wintrobe, Robert (2012), “Autocracy and Coups d’Etat”. Public Choice 152, 1‐2, pp.115‐130
Wright, Joseph / Escriba‐Folch, Abel (2011), “Authoritarian Institutions and Regime Survival: Transitions to Democracy and subsequent Autocracy”. British Journal of Political Science 42, pp.283‐309