The Moderns: A Study on the Governmentality of World Societ - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Moderns: A Study on the Governmentality of World Society

A Brief IntroductionSlide2

World Society

2

Why is the world looking more and more similar?

Principles of World Society Theory:

consciousness of the world as one (stateless) place

rational organisation of world culture as a framing assumption

Cultural/ Environmental constitution of authorised (en)actors:

shift attention away from individual social actors toward social context in which actors are embeddedSlide3

Neo-Institutionalism

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Helps in asking questions and explaining patterns not generally asked or answered by:

functionalism

coercive, zero-sum power games (world-system)

scientific realism

rational-choice actor-centrism

Emphasises:

de-masking of dominant, taken-for-granted views as cultural world-wide models

strong commonalities in international discourses

disorganisation, contradictions, decouplingSlide4

World Polity

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Tracing and explaining isomorphism in structures and policies and in shifting trends since 1950s

Patterns of influence and conformity cannot be explained by zero-sum power or functionalism

Nation-states as ritual enactors

conformist decision-makers

agenda for local action defined and legitimated by worldwide, culturally rooted models

propagation in global cultural/ associational processesSlide5

Applications

14

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5

Mostly quantitative cross-national comparative analyses of isomorphism in:

education (higher education)

human rights

environment and environmental sustainability

gender equality

civil society and international NGOs

Perspective – nothing inevitable or even functionally defensible

post-Enlightenment cultural rootednessSlide6

More on world polity theory

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http://worldpolity.wordpress.comSlide7

But…

7

Explaining difference?

creolisation

,

hybridity

, …

Agents and actors?

Aren’t there individuals pursuing their interests, only

Babbits

, “

hypocrite conformists” that enact world models at the national level?

Our key research question:

How is isomorphic change brought about in such a way that banal nationalism is maintained?

That is, despite uniformity, the nation is seen a self-evident entity or community minding its own businessSlide8

Domestication

of

Transnational

Models

These

two

phenomena,

isomorpic

change

and

banal

nationalism

,

are

intertwined in the process here called the domestication of transnational models

It entails that a model is brought to a local political agenda and as a consequence of more or less intense deliberation and field battle tamed to the local context

Because of the crucial role of local actors, domestication often leads into a strengthening rather than weakening of banal nationalism

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Domestication

of

Transnational

Models

How transnational models or ideas are domesticated to local contexts has been addressed in several research traditions:

In

case-studies of policy transfer it has been shown that

domestic actors build congruence between exogenous models and local practices and in which models are re-embedded into, and reshaped in, the new context

In the

‘second wave’ of norm scholarship in international relations the term

norm localization

describes a complex process and outcome by which norm-takers build congruence between transnational norms and local beliefs and practices Slide10

Domestication

of

Transnational

Models

In ’

Scandinavian

institutionalism’ the

concept

of

translation

has

been

used

to

take

distance

from

the notion of diffusion or transfer and emphasize that when concepts and conceptions derived from a one social context are introduced into another, they trigger a shift in the existing order of interpretation and action in that context

We use the concept of domestication as a reference to such a process

The term has been used in antropology

, consumption research, science and technology studies, as well as in research on the domestication of foreign news

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Domestication

of

Transnational

Models

In

world

polity

theory

local

processes

are

downplayed

as

unimportant

or

mitigated

by

talking about decoupling of

principles

and

actual

practices

(hence the

talk

about ”hypocrite conformists”)On the other hand the localization of worldwide models can be celebrated as proof that globalization does not lead into homogenizationWe emphasize that isomorphic development does occur but the domestication process hides it from view; does it in such a way that the nationhood framework persists

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Domestication

of

Transnational

Models

The

process

of

domestication:

The introduction of cross-national information or new translocal ideas coupled with the (transnational) cultural framework of competition

Invoking the national team in competition

The onset of a field battle

The national cast of actors engaged in power play

The transformation of actors and fields

Supranational politics with a view on national interests

Nationalization

as

Naturalization

Models become emblems of national culture and society

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Domestication

of

Transnational

Models

Important

points

:

We

must

not

conceive

of

transnational

models

as

whole

systems

but

rather

as an array of translocal ideasAny

process

of

domestication

consists of a plethora

of

worldwide

ideas and principles appealed to by the actorsNot only models promoted

but

also

the

discourses

of resistance are transnationalA contradiction between worldwide ideal principles and eventual practices is not the effect of domesticationIdeals and reality are both part of a ”regime of practices”E.g. ’individuality’ in early childhood education planning

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Domestication

of

Transnational

Models

Domestication

is an

endless

process

through

which

translocal

paths

of

change

constantly

converge

A new idea

or

fashion

is

introduced before previous

ones

are

fully

saturated to the

local

realitySocial change as domesticationSociologists tend to conceive of society (a nation-state) as a systemic

whole

with

its

inherent dynamics that lead to structural transformationsIn reality, paraphrasing Kerstin Sahlin-Andersson, in nation-states problems are constructed through comparing the local situation with that of other countriesIn that sense social change is the effect of domesticationEvolutionary theories of change are legimitation strategies14Slide15

National

Reception

and

Implementation of Transnational

Environmental

Regulation

Elina Mikola

Case: The policy process and media debate concerning the

implementation of the

European Emission Trading Scheme (2002-2008)

Banal nationalism and European environmental governance:

While policy planning and decision making takes place at supranational level, in national context the emission trading scheme still is interpreted

within a nationalist

framework and intertwined

with national

field battles.

The focus of the analysis: Rhetorical strategies used to conceal controversies

e.g

between (national) economic and (global) environmental interest - >use of transnational ideas of “green growth” and cost-efficient climate policySlide16

Culture

of Higher Education Reform in Pakistan

Ali

Qadir

Institutional & thematic contours of “long march of modernity” in Pakistani higher education reform

globalism, English language, utilitarianism, Islam

Approach

anthropology of public policy

culture and social imaginaries (Charles Taylor)

Four key reforms (2001•1959•1904•1854)

Tangential modernity

TN institutionalisation in a context of powerSlide17

The Role of PISA in Finnish Education Policy

Marjaana Rautalin

Focus

of the

PhD

Thesis

on the uses of the OECD PISA

Studies

by

local

actors

in Finland

Why

interesting

?

The PISA

did

not

include

any

direct

suggestions

about how

to

improve

Finnish educationNational actors use and utilize the PISA and the results achieved

by

Finland in

it

to

further

their political interestsActors studied so far: Finnish teachers, government officials, and the Finnish quality mediaThese actors use the PISA for different purposesMain finding so far: good

results

good

for

those

who

want

to

keep

things

unchanged

but

a

threat

for

those

who

want

to

have

changes

.

Interpretations

of PISA

biased

in

the

sense

that

these

support

the

political

interests

of

the

interest

group

in

question

Slide18

Institutionalization of Ethical Policy Advice

Jukka Syväterä

The transnational model domesticated:

Idea of ’ethical policy advice’

Concept of ’national bioethics committee’

Empirical chapters of PhD Thesis:

Forming of global bioethics

Introducing the committee model in ethical policy advice to Finland

Ethical expertise of ethics advisory bodies

Turning the model of ethical advice into actual practiceSlide19

Inter/National Ideas and Agendas of Health Promotion Policy

Leena Tervonen-Gon

çalves

to study public health policies and their change in Finland and Portugal from interpretive policy analysis approach (e.g. Yanow, Hajer) paying special attention to role of international ideas and policies in the formation of national policy agendas

Local interpretation of global models

Policy strategies and programs as data

from mid 1970 to 2010

Diffusion of ideas and models approached from different perspectives in individual articles:

1. WHO Health for All-program - policy transfer

2. Health promotion and Churches (Fi, Pt, England) – intertextuality

3. EU’s / WHO’s comparative practices – use and interpretation of these practices in national agendas – imitation

4. “Domestication of evidence-based health promotion policy”Slide20

Isomorphic Change in European Science Policy and Funding Practices

Laura Valkeasuo

Dissertation’s thematic focus is on European science policy and research funding practices; especially on the formation of the European research area and one of its instruments, ERA-nets.

Theoretical framework consists of

neoinstitutionalism

, world culture and world polity theories; the ways to understand isomorphic change among nations.

Empirical case studies are aimed at e.g. producing knowledge about domestication of transnational models; local and situational actions as part of transnational isomorphic change.

The first article concentrates on the discourse of knowledge-based economy; how and why it is used in Finnish ministry documents during the past two decades.

Methodology of the first article consists of rhetorical and discourse analysis, mainly drawing on lessons by

Chaïm

Perelman and Maarten A.

Hajer

.

Object of the article is to produce knowledge on why world cultural models are appealing to local actors, aiming to make a contribution to the discussion on how one can understand the diffusion of world cultural models within and among nations.

Following articles will concentrate on for example values and practices of transnational research coordination and funding in Europe.