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From Althusser to Foucault and Back: State, Discipline and Governmentality in the Crisis of Neoliberalism

Edemilson Paraná et al.

Historical Materialism2026https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206x-bja10099article
ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Abstract Seeking a theoretical understanding of the current configuration of neoliberalism, the present article explores the following question: To what extent does Michel Foucault’s genealogy of governmentality advance or represent a retreat in relation to the framework found in Louis Althusser’s work? The investigation is guided by the hypothesis that the Foucauldian genealogy of discipline and governmentality can be understood as a concrete development of the idea of the political production of subjects defined in Althusser’s foundational text ‘Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses’. To do so, we map out how Althusser influenced Foucault, subsequently reflecting on the degree to which these Foucauldian formulations may contribute to a (re)reading of Althusser and so to a critique of both philosophers in favour of a framework of analysis better suited to the current state of capitalism.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206x-bja10099

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@article{edemilson2026,
  title        = {{From Althusser to Foucault and Back: State, Discipline and Governmentality in the Crisis of Neoliberalism}},
  author       = {Edemilson Paraná et al.},
  journal      = {Historical Materialism},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206x-bja10099},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.