Unravelling governmentality in project ecologies

Journal Article (2023)
Author(s)

Stewart Clegg (University of Sydney)

Johan Ninan (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)

Research Group
Integral Design & Management
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plas.2023.100099 Final published version
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Publication Year
2023
Language
English
Research Group
Integral Design & Management
Volume number
4
Article number
100099
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343
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Abstract

Under the rubric of project governance, governmentality has been defined as a general mode of governing people in projects, whether these projects are organized in an authoritarian, liberal, or neo-liberal mode in their approach to authority relations. We argue that governmentality is a specifically neo-liberal form of social integration, one that stresses the freedom of its subjects, and discuss how it extends governance beyond enforcing contracts and includes all stakeholders. Examples of governmentality in the modern era of projects are discussed as a proactive strategy conceptualized in five contexts in which the concept of governmentality, as governing through freedoms, has been applied in project ecologies. These include governance by contract, governance by alliancing, governance by influence, governance by co-optation, and governance by incorporation. The degree of governmentality in play increases through the sequence.