The politics and power effects of garbage recycling in Halifax,Canada |
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| Authors: | Éric Darier |
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| Institution: | Environmental Policy Unit, School of Policy Studies , Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , K7L 3N6 , Canada E-mail: ed2?post.queensu.ca or edarier@montreal.com |
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| Abstract: | Abstract The theoretical concept of ‘governmentality’, as developed by French political theorist Michel Foucault, presents three aspects: (a) an analysis of knowledge, (b) a study of the power effects of normalisation and resistance and (c) the possibility of a non‐essentialist ethic. Governmentality has not yet been applied to environmental issues. First, the concept of governmentality is explained briefly. Then, a detailed case study of the controversy surrounding a proposed municipal incinerator in metropolitan Halifax (Canada) provides an evaluation of the relevance and pertinence of the concept. The case study confirms: (1) the importance of discursive categories in the legitimisation process of local environmental policy; (2) the centrality of the tension between attempts by local authorities to normalise the conduct of the population and resistance presented by environmental groups and individuals; (3) the possibility for groups and individuals to articulate an alternative identity—a Green self—which goes beyond the existing boundaries. |
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