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The article addresses the processes of neoliberal subjectivation in the field of punishment and criminalization. We first reconstruct M. Foucault's argument regarding the transformations promoted by neoliberalism in the context of punishment and its correlated modality of subjectivation. We argue that his prognosis regarding the future of normalizing institutions, such as the prison, turned out to be, in part, historically mistaken. We then proceed to explore the central argument of the article, namely, that in the past three decades, political technologies and forms of subjectivation in the sphere of punishment have been marked by reciprocal support between neoliberal and other disciplinary and sovereign mechanisms. To this end, we conduct a theoretical-analytical discussion based on empirical examples from countries such as the United States and Brazil. We aim to contribute, thus, from the sociology of punishment, to the contemporary discussion regarding the confluence between neoliberalism and authoritarianism.

RESUMEN: En este documento se propone una quinta dimensión de poder, a partir de una analítica de la gubernamentalidad en los estudios organizacionales. Para ello, se revisa la literatura y se relaciona un estudio de caso cualitativo focalizado en cuatro programas gubernamentales de la organización Municipio de Medellín: Medellín Solidaria, Planeación Local y Presupuesto Participativo, Medellín a la U y Banco de los pobres/Oportunidades. Los datos del caso se recolectaron a partir de documentos institucionales y entrevistas con los gestores de estos programas y algunos de sus usuarios. Para analizar esta información se utilizó el método de análisis crítico del discurso en una perspectiva foucaultiana. En los resultados se evidencian prácticas de gobierno neoliberal en el ente municipal, la analítica del poder gobierno en los programas objeto de estudio y la construcción de diversas subjetividades. En este sentido, este trabajo no solo busca proponer un elemento teórico, sino que presenta su analítica a partir de un caso empírico, en aras de contribuir a la discusión sobre las dimensiones del poder.

Since the early 1990s hundreds of thousands of Tamil villagers in southern India have participated in literacy lessons, science demonstrations, and other events designed to transform them into active citizens with access to state power. These efforts to spread enlightenment among the oppressed are part of a movement known as the Arivoli Iyakkam (the Enlightenment Movement), considered to be among the most successful mass literacy movements in recent history. In The Light of Knowledge, Francis Cody's ethnography of the Arivoli Iyakkam highlights the paradoxes inherent in such movements that seek to emancipate people through literacy when literacy is a power-laden social practice in its own right. The Light of Knowledge is set primarily in the rural district of Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu, and it is about activism among laboring women from marginalized castes who have been particularly active as learners and volunteers in the movement. In their endeavors to remake the Tamil countryside through literacy activism, workers in the movement found that their own understanding of the politics of writing and Enlightenment was often transformed as they encountered vastly different notions of language and imaginations of social order. Indeed, while activists of the movement successfully mobilized large numbers of rural women, they did so through logics that often pushed against the very Enlightenment rationality they hoped to foster. Offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at an increasingly important area of social and political activism, The Light of Knowledge brings tools of linguistic anthropology to engage with critical social theories of the postcolonial state.

Cowinner of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology’s Edward Sapir Book Prize Since the early 1990s hundreds of thousands of Tamil villagers in southern India have participated in literacy lessons and other events designed to transform them into active citizens with access to state power. These efforts are part of a movement known as the Arivoli Iyakkam (the Enlightenment Movement), one of the most successful mass literacy movements in recent history. This rich ethnographic account of highlights the paradoxes inherent in such movements that seek to emancipate people through literacy. “A work of linguistic anthropology that makes crucial contributions to the study of literacy and language ideologies. It is also a broadly ranging work of social theory that will be of interest to students and scholars of the postcolonial state and neoliberal governmentality in South Asia and beyond, and of activism and social movements more generally.”—Anthropological Quarterly

Las transformaciones sufridas en los procesos socioeconómicos de las últimas décadas han acrecentado la emergencia de iniciativas enmarcadas en la economía social y solidaria que abren nuevos campos problemáticos respecto de las formas de naturalización presentes en la llamada “nueva cuestión social”: el énfasis puesto sobre los sentimientos y pasiones humanas y las transformaciones en las relaciones de poder. Nuestra hipótesis radica en la transformación de las formas de gobierno de la fuerza de trabajo que apunta al gobierno de la potencialidad de las relaciones sociales -que denominaremos como el gobierno de lo posible-. Lo “social” es constituido como ámbito de construcción de nuevos lazos locales en un medio regulado por la desigualdad y la competencia. Nuestro trabajo de campo, realizado en un empren-dimiento enmarcado en la economía social y solidaria, nos permitió construir algunas reflexiones teórico-filosóficas críticas en relación con las transformaciones en las formas de gobierno de la fuerza de trabajo. En este sentido, analizamos algunos antecedentes de la idea de “deseo” desde la filosofía de Spinoza y las resignificaciones en la Teoría de la Acción Humana, de von Mises, en el marco de la racionalidad de gobierno neoliberal. The changes in the socio-economic processes in recent decades have increased various initiatives within the social and solidary economy that open up new problematic areas regarding to the naturalization forms present in the “new social issue”: the emphasis on feelings and human passions and changes in power relations. Our hypothesis lies in the transformation of the forms of workforce government pointing to the government of the potential of social relations, which we will call the government of possible. “Social” is constituted as an area to build new local relationships in an environment governed by inequality and competition. Our fieldwork in an initiative framed in the social economy, allow us to build some theoretical and philosophical critical reflections in relation to the changes in the forms of workforce government. In this sense, we will analyze some background on the idea of “desire” from the philosophy of Spinoza, and resignifications in the Theory of Human Action, by von Mises, in the context of neoliberal rationality of government.

Abstract From the 1980s onwards, the neoliberal paradigm brought about a fundamental change in the labour markets on account of deregulation and various forms of employment tied to flexibility, which deepened gender inequalities. Women in precarious and informal jobs face greater job insecurity, wage instability, and diminished power of collective bargaining. In the dual-breadwinner model, which is more common nowadays, the legal system has never really adapted to gendered problems that arise in employment. Implementing laws like the European Union’s Digital Labour Platform Directive is crucial to explicitly addressing inequalities in the gig economy. Such actions can ensure minimum salaries and social safeguards for platform workers, enforce algorithmic transparency, and clarify employment status. Additionally, it is critical to implement equal pay and non-discrimination rules more strictly to achieve real outcomes rather than just policy declarations. Gender-inclusive labour laws must prioritise social sustainability and economic justice through these enforced methods to guarantee long-term inclusion and truly level the playing field for all workers. Resumen A partir de la década de 1980, el paradigma neoliberal provocó un cambio fundamental en los mercados laborales debido a la desregulación y a diversas formas de empleo vinculadas a la flexibilidad, lo que agravó las desigualdades de género. Las mujeres que ocupan puestos de trabajo precarios e informales se enfrentan a una mayor inseguridad laboral, inestabilidad salarial y disminución del poder de negociación colectiva. En el modelo de doble sustento, más común en la actualidad, el sistema legal nunca se ha adaptado realmente a los problemas de género que surgen en el empleo. La aplicación de leyes como la Directiva de la Unión Europea sobre la plataforma digital laboral es fundamental para abordar explícitamente las desigualdades en la economía gig. Estas medidas pueden garantizar salarios mínimos y garantías sociales para los trabajadores de plataformas, imponer la transparencia algorítmica y aclarar la situación laboral. Además, es fundamental aplicar de forma más estricta las normas de igualdad salarial y no discriminación para lograr resultados reales, en lugar de limitarse a declaraciones políticas. Para garantizar la inclusión a largo plazo y la igualdad de condiciones para todos los trabajadores, las leyes laborales inclusivas en materia de género deben dar prioridad a la sostenibilidad social y la justicia económica mediante estos métodos específicos y aplicados. Resumo A partir da década de 1980, o paradigma neoliberal provocou uma mudança fundamental nos mercados de trabalho devido à desregulamentação e a várias formas de emprego ligadas à flexibilidade, tendo aprofundado as desigualdades de gênero. Mulheres em empregos precários enfrentam mais insegurança no emprego, mais instabilidade salarial e diminuição do poder de negociação coletiva. No modelo de dupla fonte de rendimento, o mais comum atualmente, o sistema jurídico nunca se adaptou realmente aos problemas de gênero que surgem no emprego. A implementação de leis como a Diretiva da União Europeia sobre a Plataforma Digital do Trabalho é crucial para abordar explicitamente as desigualdades na economia gig. Tais ações podem garantir salários mínimos e salva-guardas sociais para os trabalhadores da plataforma, impor a transparência algorítmica e clarificar o estatuto profissional. Além disso, para alcançar resultados reais, em vez de apenas declarações políticas, é fundamental implementar de forma mais rigorosa regras de igualdade salarial e não discriminação. As leis laborais inclusivas em termos de gênero devem dar prioridade à sustentabilidade social e à justiça econômica por meio desses métodos específicos e aplicados para garantir a inclusão a longo prazo e nivelar verdadeiramente o campo de ação para todos os trabalhadores.

The technological vision of smart urbanism has been promoted as a silver bullet for urban problems and a major market opportunity. The search is on for firms and governments to find effective and transferable demonstrations of advanced urban technology. This paper examines initiatives by the UK national government to facilitate urban technological innovation through a range of strategies, particularly the TSB Future Cities Demonstrator Competition. This case study is used to explore opportunities and tensions in the practical realisation of the smart city imaginary. Tensions are shown to be partly about the conjectural nature of the smart city debate. Attention is also drawn to weakened capacity of urban governments to control their infrastructural destiny and also constraints on the ability of the public and private sectors to innovate. The paper contributes to smart city debates by providing further evidence of the difficulties in substantiating the smart city imaginary.

El Gobierno de extrema derecha de Bolsonaro, en Brasil, está aplicando una política ambiental que avanza en dos frentes relacionados: el desmantelamiento del sistema regulatorio tradicional de protección del medioambiente y el aumento de la financiarización de las cuestiones ambientales a la hora de determinar el objeto y las prácticas de conservación del medioambiente. Estas políticas contribuyen a afirmar que los activistas ambientales operan ilegítimamente en un espacio que debe ser despolitizado y dejado en manos de «expertos financieros y de conservación». La redefinición del sistema normativo brasileño para facilitar la entrada de la financia-cion verde y la emision de bonos verdes tiene importantes repercusiones politicas y ambientales que deben ser motivo de preocupacion mas alla de las fronteras del pais. Esta redefinicion expresa la forma en que el Gobierno de extrema derecha brasileno esta ligando el discurso ambiental con los objetivos politicos neoliberales y autoritarios, algo que otros Gobiernos de extrema derecha tambien pueden perseguir. The far-right government of Bolsonaro in Brazil is pursuing an environmental policy that moves forward in two related fronts: the dismantling of the traditional regulatory system for environmental protection; and the increase of the financialization of environmental issues in determining the object and practices of environmental conservation. These policies contribute to the understanding that environmental activists illegitimately operate in a space that shall be otherwise de-politicized and left to «financial and conservation experts». The redefinition of the Brazilian regulatory system to facilitate the entry of green finance and the issuance of green bonds has significant political and environmental implications that shall be of concern beyond the boundaries of the country. This redefinition expresses the way the Brazilian far-right government is coupling environmental discourse with neoliberal and authoritarian political goals, something that other far-right governments can pursue as well.

Rising levels of urban food insecurity and diet-related disease have led to many inquiries into the urban food environment and its relation to health. Community-based food activism and urban agriculture (UA) provide alternatives to conventional food systems and promote food justice. Forms of food activism include community gardens, farmers' markets, antihunger initiatives, legislative advocacy, food literacy campaigns, and organic food consumption. Although many benefits are noted, scholars also contend that food activism often serves to bolster neoliberal structures by encouraging neoliberal citizen subjectivities or engaging in localized activities that do not directly challenge broader structural injustices. To the extent that neoliberalization is a racist (and racialized) process, the reproduction of neoliberal structures contributes to reproducing racial difference. This article examines the complexities of food activism within the context of neoliberal governance, with particular attention to the role of the local entrepreneurial state and its interactions with nonstate actors. City government and private development agencies promote UA as a means of neoliberal economic development that operates via public-private partnership to revitalize and generate value from central city neighborhoods. In so doing, these actors appropriate discourses from community-based UA organizations to legitimize their political-economic interests. Community-based organizations in turn recognize these interests and engage strategically with the city and private agencies to survive in the context of heightened resource competition and performance pressures within the nonprofit sector. Our research is based on seven years of fieldwork in Milwaukee, collecting data through intensive semistructured interviews, participant observations, and documents analysis.

Populism has become more salient in multiple regions in the world, in developed as well as developing countries. Today it is largely a reaction to social dislocations tied to processes of neoliberal globalisation. As a concept, populism has had a long and contentious history. We suggest that populism has been on the rise alongside new imaginings of what constitutes the ‘people’ and ‘elites’, as the meanings attached to these labels are continually reshaped in conjunction with new social conflicts. These conflicts are intensifying across the globe together with new kinds of social marginalisation, precarious existence and disenchantment with the broken promises of liberal modernity. The article introduces a special issue on Populism in World Politics that seeks to understand general processes involved in the emergence of populist politics along with specific circumstances that affect how it is expressed in terms of identity politics, political strategies and shifting social bases.