How do influential social ideas contribute to global governance? This book takes an original approach to international relations by looking at the way social ideas help to portray the world in a particular way. Jonathan Joseph begins by analysing the role of important concepts such as globalisation, global civil society, social capital, networks and risk; then examines the role these concepts play in the discourse of international organisations. Using the concept of governmentality, he argues that contemporary social theories help justify contemporary forms of governance. By comparing organisations like the EU and the World Bank, Joseph investigates the extent to which these ideas are influential in theory and in practice.

‘In this outstanding monograph Jonathan Joseph employs a Marxist reading of Foucault’s notion of governmentality to interrogate notions of global governance, civil society, networks, social capital and other recent imports into international relations from social theory. Apart from the clear and thoughtful exposition of these theoretical notions, what distinguishes this book is the very insightful application of these notions to actual institutions, the European Union and the World Bank. Very highly recommended!’

Chris Brown - London School of Economics and Political Science

‘Joseph has produced a remarkable book which will surely be at the centre of governmentality studies in international relations. Highly readable, theoretically adept (in his uses of social theory, drawing upon Gramsci, Foucault and Marx) and empirically rich (especially in the analysis of the EU and World Bank), this is a major contribution to research in this area.’

David Chandler - Research Director, Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster

‘Is governmentality an indicative feature of the global? Philosophically aware and theoretically sure-footed, Jonathan Joseph’s thorough assessment shows how this hallmark of modernity is anything but monolithic in an unevenly developed world.’

Nicholas Onuf - Florida International University, Miami and Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Rio de Janeiro

'Clear, well written and with careful ‘case-studies’ on the modes of governance of the European Union and the World Bank, the book is … a very good read.'

Richard Beardsworth Source: International Affairs