Patients' use of medicines is widely recognised as sub-optimal with a high proportion of patients with a long-term condition not taking their medicines as prescribed. Research and policy guidance emphasise the importance of partnership within the patient-prescriber encounter in enhancing patients' use of medicines. There is however considerable evidence that this is not usually achieved by medical prescribers, limiting the extent to which shared decision-making occurs about prescribed medicines. There is a general assumption that nurse prescribers, who within the United Kingdom have comparable prescribing rights to medical doctors, demonstrate greater abilities in collaborative working with patients leading to an enhanced use of medicines. Research evidence is however limited, particularly in relation to the ways in which patients' use of medicines is discussed and negotiated within the patient-nurse prescriber encounter. This study focused on the management of patients' use of medicines within the patient-nurse prescriber encounter. Seven nurse prescribers, working within a number of clinical specialities in both primary and secondary care settings, were recruited to the study together with their patients who were living with one or more long-term conditions (n=21). Data collection involved the non-participant observation of out-patient consultations to examine the management of patients' use of medicines within the encounter and semi-structured interviews with both patients and prescribers. Discourse analysis was undertaken to examine underpinning assumptions, views and beliefs regarding the management of patients' use of medicines. Asymmetry was evident within the encounters with prescribers controlling the agenda for discussion and interrupting patients' attempts to demonstrate their knowledge. Patient accounts of the moral approach adopted in managing their condition in the context of their everyday lives were also ignored. Biomedical and contrasting moral discourses are examined. An interpretive framework derived from the work of Michel Foucault is used to explain the operation of disciplinary, pastoral and bio-political power within the encounter and the extent to which subjugation of patients' knowledge and resistance were evident. Foucault's concept of technologies of the self is examined to explore its potential application in enhancing patients' medicines use.

In this thesis I am concernced with a Foucauldian analysis of neoliberal government and application of this concept in the Petr Nečas's government. The Foucauldian analysis of power is a constant critical process that is supposed to modify according to changing terms. Foucault argues that the core of the art of government is a conflict. He doesn't understand the modern history as a history of law and peace. From the Foucauldian point of view the modern history has always been the history of conflict of two races. The winnig race determines law and rules of the whole society. It means that law and freedom are tools of governance. The basis of Foucault's concept is a relationship between power, knowledge and subject. This relationship constitutes technologies of governance. Foucault talks about three techniques - pastoral power, disciplinary power and bio-power. The bio-power is especially in the modern age. The modern art of government uses knowledge of experts (statistics, analyses, reports) for conduct of conduct. The inidividuals are not only the recepients of effects of power, but also they are distributors of power. The identity of subjects is formed by family, teachers and co- workers and they are also formed by their milieu. The consequence of this process is mentality of a modern person. The...

A presente tese parte da afirmação reiterada e desconcertante desse filósofo francês de que ele não seria, de modo algum, um \"teórico do poder\", para mostrar que, para além das discussões em torno de se o primeiro Foucault (da arqueologia dos saberes), o segundo (da genealogia do poder), ou o terceiro (da ética e das condutas individuas), seria o mais importante, o \"melhor\", é possível falar numa unidade no que diz respeito à trajetória do seu pensamento e que essa unidade se dá em torno das relações políticas entre os homens, o que faz com que ele seja, eminentemente, um pensador da política, ou melhor, do político. Só que a política tal qual ele a entende não tem nada a ver com a aquela dos teóricos da política ou do poder e, sim, com a relação que ele passou a perseguir em um determinado momento dessa trajetória: a relação entre governantes e governados. Essa relação, cuja percepção se tornou possível por meio do conceito de governamentalidade, gestado no ano de 1978, constitui-se numa nova \"grade de leitura\" para a política, que permite: 1) dar um basta à idéia de que haja, nesse âmbito, modelos universais que possam dar respostas a todos os tipos de questões--modelos esses que legitimam a existência de \"intelectuais universais\", incumbidos de conceber esses modelos e apresentá-los aos \"explorados\" e \"ignorantes\", prometendo-lhes a sua libertação, bem como da \"vida política\" nas atuais democracias representativas--; 2) conceber uma noção de liberdade--enquanto uma relação entre governantes e governados que não possui limites a priori--que escapa à da tradição liberal que, gestada nos séculos XVII-XVIII, se tornou hegemônica no Ocidente a partir do século XIX, não só no plano discursivo, mas enquanto realidade sócio-econômica global. Onde quer que existam essas relações--e elas sempre existirão, para Foucault, do micro ao macro--é necessário que seja possível, sempre, pô-las sob questão; o que só acontece quando o pensamento é deixado solto para ser capaz de levantar o maior número de conflitos possível--e não de consensos--; para, crítico, apontar o maior número de problemas a serem resolvidos dentro do âmbito dessas. Algumas dessas relações irão, então, se sustentar, conseguir se justificar; outras, não, terão que ser revistas, num interminável trabalho de extensão dos limites da liberdade humana. Essa nova noção de liberdade, por sua vez, traz consigo a possibilidade de interrogação do fenômeno da subjetividade, na medida em que são sujeitos, sempre, os que participam dessas relações entre governantes e governados. Por isso, o presente trabalho se esforça em mostrar percursos intelectuais que, tendo sido percebidos e diretamente abordados por Foucault (caso de Kant e de Platão) ou não (segunda clínica lacaniana e perspectivismo ameríndio), mantêm, na ênfase que dão ao sujeito, uma visada em comum com a empreitada foucaultiana. / This thesis initiates itself by the reiterated and astonishing declaration by this French philosopher that he would not be, under any circumstance, a \"power theoretician\", in order to show that, beyond the debates on whether it would be the first Foucault (the archeology of knowledge one), the second (genealogy of power one), or the third (the ethics and the individual conduct one), the most important one, the \"best\", it is possible to talk about a unity in what concerns the trajectory of his thought and that such unity concerns the political relations between men, which results in that he is, eminently, a thinker of politics, or rather, of the political. Except that politics as he understands it has nothing to do with that of the theorists of politics or of power but with a relationship that he began to pursue somewhere along such a trajectory: the relationship that exists between the governing and the governed. Such a relationship, whose perception became possible by means of the concept of governmentality, conceived in the year of 1978, constitutes itself as a \"grid of understanding\" for politics, which allows to: 1) declare that we\'ve had enough of the idea that there shall exist, in such domain, universal models that may answer all kinds of questions--models which legitimate the existence of \"universal intellectuals\", held responsible for conceiving such models and for presenting them to the \"exploited\" and \"ignorant\", promising their liberation, as well as of \"political life\" in current representative democracies--; 2) to conceive a notion of liberty--as a relationship between the governing and the governed which has no a priori limits--that escapes from the liberal tradition one which, created along the XVII/XVIIIth century, became hegemonic in the West since the XIXth century, not only on the discursive level, but as socio-economic global reality. Wherever such relations exist--and they will always do, for Foucault, from micro to macro--it is necessary that it be possible, always, to put them open to question; that which only occurs when thought is left free to be able to raise the highest number possible of conflicts--and not consensuses--, in order to, critic as it is, point out the highest number of problems to be solved in such domain. Some of those relationships will be able, then, to sustain themselves, to justify themselves; others, won\'t, they will have to be modified, in an interminable labor of extending the limits of human liberty. This new notion of liberty, by its turn, carries along with itself the possibility of the inquiry of the phenomenon of subjectivity, as it is that it is always subjects that participate in such relations between the governing and the governed. For this reason, this thesis makes an effort to present intellectual paths which, having been noticed and approached by Foucault (the case of Kant and Plato) or not (second Lacanian clinic and Amerindian perspectivism), maintain, in the emphasis they give to the subject, a common viewpoint with the Foucauldian enterprise.

Text in English with abstracts in English, Afrikaans and isiZulu / There has been considerable debate amongst feminist scholars as to whether the normalization of cosmetic surgery positively impacts women, empowers women by promoting agency and choice (Gimlin 2002, Kuczynski 2006), or oppresses women by propagating patriarchal ideologies that confine women’s bodies and consequently inhibit their voice (Blum 2003, Blood 2005, Heinricy 2006, Clarke and Griffin 2007, Tait, 2007). Rather than entering this debate my argument proceeds from a premise that the normalization of cosmetic surgery is a form of implicit and exclusive violence. Using a selection of post‐structuralist, feminist, and psychoanalytic theories, I analyze the manner in which this form of violence confines women’s bodies and structures the psyche. Using Jacques Lacan, Judith Butler, and Michel Foucault’s argument on pastoral power, I deconstruct the formation of the normalized self, the conscience, and the act of confession as it translates in the context of the cosmetic surgical body itself. Furthermore, I highlight liberal feminism’s role in this form of oppression. In so doing, I theoretically show the continual and effective functioning of pastoral power in the context of an individualization technique that oppresses women in the second decade of the twenty‐first century. I argue that the normalization of cosmetic surgery provokes a silencing of woman’s voices, an exploitation and oppression of the individual’s psyche, and an invalidation of the living body by a less visible, less explicit, mode of incarceration that is concealed by an aesthetic and moral veil. It is in this context that I present a counter discourse to the oppression that underlies the normalizing discourses promoted by the cosmetic surgical industry, a destabilization of patriarchal norms embedded within cosmetic surgical discourses, and a theoretical reconstruction that involves an inscription of what I refer to as an authentic feminist voice in contemporary consumer culture – a mode of intimate unconscious insurgence. I advocate a return to Julia Kristeva’s theory and the intimate revolt promoted by her ethical approach. Furthermore, I present a voice that demonstrates an intimate revolt – a voice that challenges patriarchal norms and is not exclusively confined by the mechanisms of normalization that shape the twenty‐first century woman with emphasis on the cosmetic surgical industry and its superincumbent discourses – the South African poet Antjie Krog. It is Krog’s skillfully structured poetic texts that facilitate my theoretical reconstruction. Applying Kristeva’s theory on semanalysis, I theoretically show that Krog’s work fabricates an excess to the confines of the law of the Father and the mechanisms of normalization itself. In addition, I present an “originary attachment” as an adaption of Kristeva’s argument on the chora and my proposal of an “originary ideal” challenges Kristeva’s emphasis on phonetic grams in the context of that which underlies the realm of the paternal metaphor. Using Louise Viljoen’s analysis of Krog’s work and Bridget Garnham’s research on emerging designer cosmetic surgical discourses as support, I then present Krog’s poetic texts as a counter discourse to the “moral” cosmetic surgical discourses that exploit the ageing individual in the second decade of the twenty‐first century. In addition, applying Kristeva’s theory on paragrams to Krog’s poetic text(s), I present a destabilization of the patriarchal norms implicit within cosmetic surgical discourses. Furthermore, I extend Kristeva’s theory on the principle of negativity to present a re‐translation of the act‐of‐confession in Krog’s poetic text(s), an extension of Foucault’s pastoral power and Butler’s argument on the exclusivity of normalization, and a reclamation of her ageing body in Verweersrkrif/Body Bereft (Krog 2006). / Feministiese geleerdes voer al geruime tyd 'n warm debat oor die kwessie of die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie vroue positief beïnvloed, vroue bemagtig deurdat dit volmag en keuse vir hulle in die hand werk (Gimlin 2002; Kuczynski 2006), of vroue onderdruk deurdat dit patriargale ideologieë voorstaan wat die vroueliggaam inperk en gevolglik die vrou inhibeer om haar stem te laat hoor (Blood 2005; Blum 2005; Clarke en Griffin 2007; Heinricy 2006; Tait 2007). In plaas daarvan om by hierdie debat betrokke te raak, gaan ek van die veronderstelling uit dat die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie 'n vorm van implisiete en eksklusiewe geweld is. Aan die hand van post-strukturalistiese, feministiese en psigoanalitiese teorieë ontleed ek die manier waarop hierdie vorm van geweld vroue se liggaam onderwerp en hul psige vorm. Ek dekonstrueer die vorming van die genormaliseerde self, die bewussyn en die daad van belydenis, soos dit in die konteks oorgebring word, aan die hand van Jacques Lacan, Judith Butler en Michel Foucault se beskouings van herderlike oftewel pastorale mag. Hierbenewens onderstreep ek die rol wat liberale feminisme in hierdie vorm van onderwerping speel. Sodoende demonstreer ek teoreties hoe die voortdurende en effektiewe funksionering van pastorale mag in die konteks van ’n individualiseringstegniek vroue in die tweede dekade van die een-en-twintigste eeu onderdruk. Ek maak die aanname dat die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie daartoe bydra dat vroue die swye opgelê word, die individu se psige uitgebuit en onderdruk word en die lewende liggaam ontkragtig word deur middel van ’n inkerkering wat minder sigbaar en minder eksplisiet is en agter ’n estetiese en morele sluier verdoesel word. In hierdie konteks bied ek ’n teendiskoers aan vir die onderwerping wat onderliggend is aan die normaliseringsdiskoerse wat die kosmetiesechirurgiebedryf ondersteun, en ek bepleit dat die patriargale norme wat in diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie vassit, gedestabiliseer word. Ek demonstreer verder ’n teoretiese rekonstruksie wat ’n inskripsie insluit van wat ek ’n geloofwaardige feministiese stem in die eietydse verbruikerskultuur noem – ’n modus van intieme, onbewuste opstandigheid. Ek bepleit 'n terugkeer na Julia Kristeva se teorie en die intieme oproer wat deur haar etiese benadering voorgestaan word. Afgesien hiervan stel ek ’n stem voor wat ’n intieme opstand demonstreer – ’n stem wat patriargale norme uitdaag en nie uitsluitlik onderdruk word deur die normaliseringsmeganismes wat vorm gee aan die vrou van die een-entwintigste eeu nie, waar die klem op die kosmetiesechirurgiebedryf en die boliggende diskoerse daarvan val – Antjie Krog, Suid-Afrikaanse digter. Dit is juis Krog se kunstig gestruktureerde digterlike tekste wat my teoretiese rekonstruksie fasiliteer. Aan die hand van Kristeva se teorie oor semanalise toon ek teoreties dat Krog se werk ’n ruimte daarstel wat "uitstyg" bo die grense wat die wet van die Vader en die normaliseringsmeganismes stel. Hierbenewens stel ek ’n "originêre gehegtheid" as aanpassing van Kristeva se beskouing van die chora voor, en my voorstel van ’n "originêre ideaal" daag Kristeva se opvating oor paragramme uit in die konteks van dit wat ten grondslag lê aan die gebied van die paternalistiese metafoor. Op grond van Louise Viljoen se ontleding van Krog se werk en Bridget Garnham se navorsing oor opkomende diskoerse oor ontwerpers- kosmetiese chirurgie bied ek Krog se digterlike tekste aan as ’n teendiskoers vir die "morele" diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie wat die verouderende individu in die tweede dekade van die een-en-twintigste eeu uitbuit. Daarby, deur Kristeva se teorie oor paragramme op Krog se digterlike teks(te) toe te pas, demonstreer ek 'n destabilisering van die patriargale norme wat implisiet in diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie teenwoordig is. Hierbenewens brei ek Kristeva se teorie oor die negatiwiteitsbeginsel uit deur middel van ’n heroorsetting van die belydenisdaad in Krog se digwerk(e), ’n uitbreiding van Foucault se pastorale mag en Butler se opvatting oor die eksklusiwiteit van normalisering, en ’n opeising van Krog se verouderende liggaam in Verweerskrif/Body Bereft (Krog 2006). / Sekubekhona izingxoxo-mpikiswano eziningi kwizifundiswa zama-feminist ukuthi ngabe ukwenza isurgery yohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka ngokwemvelo (cosmetic plastic surgery) kunomphumela omuhle yini kwabesimame, ngabe kuhlinzeka ngamandla kwabesimame ngokuphakamisela phezulu ukuthi umuntu azenzele akufunayo kanye nokuzikhethela (Grimlin 2002, Kuczynski 2006) noma kuyinto ecindezela abesimame ngokuqhubela phambili indlela nama-idiyoloji abekwa ngabesilisa ukuthi imizimba yabesimame kumele ibukeke kanjani, kanti lokhu kucindezela izwi labesimame (Blum 2003, Blood 2005, Heinricy 2006, Clarke and Griffin 2007, Tait, 2007). Kunokuthi iphuzu nami ngingenele kule ngxoxo-mpikiswano, elami iphuzu lona liqhubeka ukusukela kwisimo sokuthi ukwamukela uhlujzo olungajulile lokuzitshintsha ukubukeka kwabesimame (cosmetic surgery) kuyindlela yodlame olungaqondile ngqo kanye nolukhipha inyumbazane abesimame. Ngokusebenzisa amathiyori epost-structuralist, awe-feminist kanye nawepsychoanalytical, ngihlaziya indlela le nhlobo yalolu dlame ecindezela ngayo imizimba yabesimame kanye nokuhlela indlela okumele bacabange nokuzibona ngayo. Ngokusebenzisa iphuzu likaJacques Lacan, Judith Buttle kanye noMichel Foucault lamandla okukhokhela ngokomoya, ngiqhaqha indlela okubumbeka ngayo isithombe sokuzibona, unembeza kanye nomoya wokuhlambulula ngokuzidalula (confession) lapho kubhekwa izinto ngaphansi kwesimo somzimba wokuhlinzwa okungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka ngokwakho. Nangaphezu kwalokho, ngigqamisa indima ye-liberal feminism ngokwayo kule nhlobo yencindezelo. Ngokwenza lokho, ngikhombisa ngokwethiyori ukuqhubeka nokusebenza kwamandla esikhokhelo ngokomoya ngaphansi kwethekniki yokuzazi komuntu eyedwa okucindezela abesimame kwiminyaka elishumi yesibili, yesenshuri yamashumi amabili nanye . Ngiqhubela phambili iphuzu lokuthi ukwenziwa kohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka kuqala umoya wokucindezela izwi labesimame, ukuxhashazwa kwabo, kanye nendlela umuntu azibona ngayo ngokwengqondo, kanye nokucindezela umzimba ophilayo ngezindlela ezingazibonakalisi obala, ezifihlekile, indlela yokubopha efihlwa yindlela yokubukeka kanye nokwembozwa umoya. Kungaphansi kwalesi simo lapho ngethula khona i-discourse yencindezelo eyenza ukuthi imboni yohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka kwabesimame kube yinto ephakanyiswayo nokubonwa iyinhle, ukuphazamiseka kwama-norm endlela yengcindezi yabesilisa, ngaphansi kwama-discourse okuhlinzwa okungajulile ukushintsha ukubukeka, kanye nokwakha ithiyori ebandakanya ukubona izinto ngendlela ethize, engikuchaza njengezwi okuyilo elifanele le-feminism, kwisimo sosiko esiphila ngaphansi kwaso samanje - okuyindlela abantu abazibuka ngayo ezingqondweni ngendlela engekho obala. Ngigcizelela ukubuyela kwithiyori kaKristeva, kanye nokuthi abantu babhoke indlobana ngezindlela eziphansi, okuyinto ayiphakamisayo yenkambiso yokwazi okulungile nokungalunganga (ethical approach). Naphezu kwalokho, ngiveza izwi elibonisa ukubhoka indlobana kwabesimame ngendlela engekho sobala - izwi elifaka inselele kuma-norm okubhozomelwa ngumqondo wokulawula kwabesilisa, kanti futhi leli zwi aligcinanga nje kuphela umumo wabesimame ngendlela ejwayelekile njengowesimame wesenshuri yamashumi amabili-nanye ngokugcizelela kwimboni yohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka, kanye nendlela lokhu okuyisihibe ngayo – ngokusho kukasonkondlo waseNingizimu Afrika, u-Antjie Krog. Imibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog ezinobungcweti yiyo eyenze ukwakha kwami kabusha ithiyori. Ngokusebenzisa ithiyori kaKristeva ye-semanalysis, ngibonisa ngokwethiyori ukuthi umsebenzi kaKrog uqambe okweqele ngaleya kwizihibe zomthetho kubaba kanye nezindlela zokwenza izinto zibukeke ngendlela evamile noma zingavamile. Nangaphezu kwalokho, ngifakela i-"originary attachment" njengokwenza ukuthi kube kwesinye isimo, iphuzu likaKristeva ku-chora kanti isiphakamiso sami se-"originary ideal" sifaka inselele kusigcizelelo sikaKristeva ngamagremu efonethiki ngaphansi kwesimo esigcizelela umfanekiso ngasohlangothini lobaba. Ngokusebenzisa ukuhlaziya kukaLouise Viljoen kumsebenzi kaKrog kanye nocwaningo lukaBridget Garnham ngokuvela kwama-discourse ohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka njengesisekelo, ngase ngethula imibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog njenge-discourse yokuphikisa ama-discourse e-"moral" yama-discourse ohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka, elixhaphaza abantu abagugayo ngeminyaka eyishumi yesibili kwisenshuri yamashumi amabili-nanye. Naphezu kwalokho, ngisebenzise ithiyori kaKristeva kumapharagramu kwimibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog, ngaphazamisa imibono yokuphatha kwabesilisa equkethwe kuma-discourse ohlinzo ulungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka. Ukuqhubekela phambili, nginwebe ithiyori kaKristeva ngesimiso se-negativity ukwethula ukuhumusha kabusha umoya wokuzihlambulula ngokuzidalula otholakala kwizinkondlozikaKrog, ukuwukunweba amandla umbono kaFaucault wamandla okuthi abantu bazibone ngenye indlela kanye nephuzu likaButler wlkuthi into engavamile engaphandle ibonwe njengento efanele, kanye nokwamukela umzimba ogugayo kwinkondlo ye- Verweerskrif/Body Bereft (Krog 2006). / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil.(Theory of Literature)

A presente tese parte da afirmação reiterada e desconcertante desse filósofo francês de que ele não seria, de modo algum, um \"teórico do poder\", para mostrar que, para além das discussões em torno de se o primeiro Foucault (da arqueologia dos saberes), o segundo (da genealogia do poder), ou o terceiro (da ética e das condutas individuas), seria o mais importante, o \"melhor\", é possível falar numa unidade no que diz respeito à trajetória do seu pensamento e que essa unidade se dá em torno das relações políticas entre os homens, o que faz com que ele seja, eminentemente, um pensador da política, ou melhor, do político. Só que a política tal qual ele a entende não tem nada a ver com a aquela dos teóricos da política ou do poder e, sim, com a relação que ele passou a perseguir em um determinado momento dessa trajetória: a relação entre governantes e governados. Essa relação, cuja percepção se tornou possível por meio do conceito de governamentalidade, gestado no ano de 1978, constitui-se numa nova \"grade de leitura\" para a política, que permite: 1) dar um basta à idéia de que haja, nesse âmbito, modelos universais que possam dar respostas a todos os tipos de questões--modelos esses que legitimam a existência de \"intelectuais universais\", incumbidos de conceber esses modelos e apresentá-los aos \"explorados\" e \"ignorantes\", prometendo-lhes a sua libertação, bem como da \"vida política\" nas atuais democracias representativas--; 2) conceber uma noção de liberdade--enquanto uma relação entre governantes e governados que não possui limites a priori--que escapa à da tradição liberal que, gestada nos séculos XVII-XVIII, se tornou hegemônica no Ocidente a partir do século XIX, não só no plano discursivo, mas enquanto realidade sócio-econômica global. Onde quer que existam essas relações--e elas sempre existirão, para Foucault, do micro ao macro--é necessário que seja possível, sempre, pô-las sob questão; o que só acontece quando o pensamento é deixado solto para ser capaz de levantar o maior número de conflitos possível--e não de consensos--; para, crítico, apontar o maior número de problemas a serem resolvidos dentro do âmbito dessas. Algumas dessas relações irão, então, se sustentar, conseguir se justificar; outras, não, terão que ser revistas, num interminável trabalho de extensão dos limites da liberdade humana. Essa nova noção de liberdade, por sua vez, traz consigo a possibilidade de interrogação do fenômeno da subjetividade, na medida em que são sujeitos, sempre, os que participam dessas relações entre governantes e governados. Por isso, o presente trabalho se esforça em mostrar percursos intelectuais que, tendo sido percebidos e diretamente abordados por Foucault (caso de Kant e de Platão) ou não (segunda clínica lacaniana e perspectivismo ameríndio), mantêm, na ênfase que dão ao sujeito, uma visada em comum com a empreitada foucaultiana. / This thesis initiates itself by the reiterated and astonishing declaration by this French philosopher that he would not be, under any circumstance, a \"power theoretician\", in order to show that, beyond the debates on whether it would be the first Foucault (the archeology of knowledge one), the second (genealogy of power one), or the third (the ethics and the individual conduct one), the most important one, the \"best\", it is possible to talk about a unity in what concerns the trajectory of his thought and that such unity concerns the political relations between men, which results in that he is, eminently, a thinker of politics, or rather, of the political. Except that politics as he understands it has nothing to do with that of the theorists of politics or of power but with a relationship that he began to pursue somewhere along such a trajectory: the relationship that exists between the governing and the governed. Such a relationship, whose perception became possible by means of the concept of governmentality, conceived in the year of 1978, constitutes itself as a \"grid of understanding\" for politics, which allows to: 1) declare that we\'ve had enough of the idea that there shall exist, in such domain, universal models that may answer all kinds of questions--models which legitimate the existence of \"universal intellectuals\", held responsible for conceiving such models and for presenting them to the \"exploited\" and \"ignorant\", promising their liberation, as well as of \"political life\" in current representative democracies--; 2) to conceive a notion of liberty--as a relationship between the governing and the governed which has no a priori limits--that escapes from the liberal tradition one which, created along the XVII/XVIIIth century, became hegemonic in the West since the XIXth century, not only on the discursive level, but as socio-economic global reality. Wherever such relations exist--and they will always do, for Foucault, from micro to macro--it is necessary that it be possible, always, to put them open to question; that which only occurs when thought is left free to be able to raise the highest number possible of conflicts--and not consensuses--, in order to, critic as it is, point out the highest number of problems to be solved in such domain. Some of those relationships will be able, then, to sustain themselves, to justify themselves; others, won\'t, they will have to be modified, in an interminable labor of extending the limits of human liberty. This new notion of liberty, by its turn, carries along with itself the possibility of the inquiry of the phenomenon of subjectivity, as it is that it is always subjects that participate in such relations between the governing and the governed. For this reason, this thesis makes an effort to present intellectual paths which, having been noticed and approached by Foucault (the case of Kant and Plato) or not (second Lacanian clinic and Amerindian perspectivism), maintain, in the emphasis they give to the subject, a common viewpoint with the Foucauldian enterprise.