China's Governmentalities

China's Governmentalities is a book that discusses the changes in Chinese society since the late 1970s, when the Chinese Communist Party implemented a program of reform and openness. The book focuses on the shift from socialist planning to market socialism and how this has affected the way government is understood and practiced in China. It also explores the influence of neoliberal discourses on various aspects of Chinese society, such as governance, development, education, and health. The book aims to contribute to the study of governmentality in non-western and non-liberal settings and will be of interest to scholars interested in Michel Foucault, neoliberal strategies, and contemporary China.

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) embarked on a programme of 'reform and openness' in the late 1970s, Chinese society has undergone a series of dramatic transformations in almost all realms of social, cultural, economic and political life and the People's Republic of China (PRC) has emerged as a global power. China's post-1978 transition from 'socialist plan' to 'market socialism' has also been accompanied by significant shifts in how the practice and objects of government are understood and acted upon. China's Governmentalities outlines the nature of these shifts, and contributes to emerging studies of governmentality in non-western and non-liberal settings, by showing how neoliberal discourses on governance, development, education, the environment, community, religion, and sexual health, have been raised in other contexts. In doing so, it opens discussions of governmentality to 'other worlds' and the glocal politics of the present. The book will appeal to scholars from a wide range of disciplines interested in the work of Michel Foucault, neo-liberal strategies of governance, and governmental rationalities in contemporary China. Review: 'China's Governmentalities presents a set of important essays critically examining reform and the role of changing conditions of state and society in the People's Republic of China (PRC)' - Newsroom, University of Technology, Sydney, 2009