This study explores the Great Resignation—a mass wave of voluntary job departures during and after the COVID-19 pandemic— through a Foucauldian lens, exploring the intersections of neoliberal labor practices, worker subjectivities, and discursive power. Using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) 25 interviews with individuals who resigned during this period were analyzed to explore how workers engage with neoliberal discourses in making sense of their work-related attitudes, experiences, and decisions as well as the broader discursive constructions used to interpret the Great Resignation as a societal phenomenon. Participants’ narratives reveal varying degrees of alignment, negotiation, and resistance to neoliberal subjectivity, shaped by discourses of responsibilization, individualization, entrepreneurialism while also reflecting moments of critique and resistance. Beyond personal experiences, participants’ discussions revealed five discursive constructions of the Great Resignation —'The Lazy Worker,' 'Leveraging Opportunity,' 'Decentering Work,' 'Navigating Precarity,' and 'Empowered Workers'—reflecting a contested discursive site and exposing the interplay between neoliberal rationalities and workers’ attempts to navigate, critique, and reimagine the labor market. These findings situate the Great Resignation as a site of both discursive rupture and continuity, highlighting the complex interplay of governance and agency, where the neoliberal framework is simultaneously resisted, reproduced, and reimagined. This research advances sociological understandings of neoliberal power, discourse, and subjectivity, illustrating how governmentality shapes individual experiences and subjectivities and broader perceptions of labor, as the Great Resignation marks a contested reconfiguration of work, power, and identity under neoliberal capitalism.

<p>From a view of health strategies and techniques this thesis wants to throw a light on how the individual in its"health thinking"is governed. A thinking that, according to the author, can lead to a new way of governing as in municipal activity, an activity whose focus is on health and ill-health. The study is done whit a theoretical approach of power, with qualitative interviews as method and analysed from a perspective of Governmentality. The object for the study is Socsam and Rehabrådgivarna in Finspång. Socsam is a local project, and their main task is to create cooperation between health- and medical services, social services and social insurance. The health advisor in Finspång directs its activity towards sick-listed people and their main task is to help the sick-listed back to work as soon as possible. The analysis is done from both the perspective of what the individuals’ state about Rehabrådgivarnas treatment in relation to their own health and life of quality and how Socsam and Rehabrådgivarna can be analysed as health technologies and health strategies from Governmentality as theory. The author argues for the opinion, that from a specific way of thinking about health and how the individual have to act to achieve this health, this way of thinking creates a health technique. This health technique leads to a social demand on the individuals, a demand that the individuals have to achieve to be accepted in the community. They, whom not have the capacity or the will to achieve this health demand, will be regarded as maladjusted. Because of that, the individuals as well as the community need a self regulatory health strategy to persuade them self as well as others to become a healthy citizen. From this point of view the author argues for that Socsam can be regarded as a health strategy like this and that Rehabrådgivarna is the practical tool that is used to implement the health strategy and health technology to the people.</p>

Efter första världskriget var Sovjetunionen en av de första moderna stater som uttryckligen ägnade sig åt att övervaka och styra kulturen, vilket tog sig formen av en formaliserad och institutionaliserad statlig kulturpolitik. I denna övervakningsoch styrningsprocess försåg vetenskap och teknologi staten med konceptuella och materiella resurser vilka användes för att definiera såväl själva processen som föremålet för den. Efter andra världskriget gav utvecklingen inom naturvetenskap och teknik upphov till en ny vetenskap som behandlade frågor kring kontroll och kommunikation, Norbert Wieners cybernetik, vilken fick en bred tillämpning inte enbart inom ingenjörsvetenskapen utan även i frågor som rörde förståelsen av människor, maskiner och samhällen. Denna avhandling undersöker hur cybernetiken påverkade utformningen av den sovjetiska kulturpolitiken. Fokus ligger särskilt på sovjetiska Litauen. Det huvudsakliga argumentet är att en särskilt inflytelserik diskurs rörande cybernetisk styrning och övervakning utformades i Sovjetunionen från 50-talet och framåt. Som ett resultat av en överföring från tekniska och vetenskapliga diskurser var denna diskurs användbar inte bara som ett verktyg för att tjäna staten utan kunde även användas av kulturella aktörer för att kritisera själva sovjetsystemet. Genom att analysera organisatoriska praktiker och officiella och samhälleliga diskurser avslöjar denna studie komplexiteten i förhållandet mellan styrning och övervakning, kultur och vetenskap och teknologi. / After World War I, the Soviet Union was one of the first modern states to engage explicitly in the governance of culture, which was formalised and institutionalised as state cultural policy. In this process of governance, sciences and technologies provided the state with conceptual and material resources, which were used to define both the process and the object of governance. After World War II, scientific and technological progress gave birth to a new science of control and communication, Norbert Wiener’s cybernetics, which was widely used not only in engineering, but also in the conceptualisation of humans, machines and societies. This thesis explores how cybernetics influenced the construction of cultural policy in the Soviet Union. It focuses particularly on the Soviet republic of Lithuania. The main argument is that since the 1950s a particularly powerful discourse of cybernetic governance was formed in the Soviet Union. A result of translation from techno-science, this discourse not only served the purposes of authoritarian rule, but was also used as a resource by cultural operators to criticise the Soviet government itself. By analysing organisational practices and official and public discourses, the study reveals the complexity of the relationship between governance, culture and sciences and technologies.

The aim of this study has partly been to explore how social work students develop their conception of relevant competence during their bachelor education. This part of the study is based on qualitative interviews with a sample of twelve students from Lillehammer University College interviewed individually focusing on the relationship between theory and practice, competence learned at the university and college and in practice placement and on the personal aspect of professional action. The most significant research finding was the ways in which the students changed their view on relevance after a period of practice placement during the second year of the bachelor program. The students consider competence experienced in practice placement as the "real thing" and competence learned in college as a secondary, but necessary competence for passing the final exam. Competence learned in practice placement was taken for granted and critical reflection on knowledge systems, practices and the relationship between welfare politics and professional action was outside the limits of what the students deemed relevant competence. From these research findings and interpretations I derived new research questions which I have investigated in five articles. Article 1 scrutinizes the strong impact of practice placement, article 2 explores the purpose of ethics in a context where social work tries to mediate between social control and users participation, article 3 is concerned with the necessity of moral competence in order to make good judgements in the application of the mandate given from the welfare state, article 4 asks to what extent the concept of empowerment requires certain techniques of intervention in order to make conform clients to conventional ways of living, while article 5 explores the potentials in Buddhism applied to relevant social work issues. The articles are situated in three different theoretical traditions. I use the traditions partly to challenge core elements within the traditions themselves, partly to challenge conventional viewpoints concerning competences in social work like arguments in favour of scientific knowledge because it contributes to the elevation of the status of social workers The first one draws on the tradition from situated learning and explores learning as participation in two different contexts (college and workplace). I challenge the notion that development of competence is about negotiations between contexts. I contend that the institutionalised practices in social work have a very disciplinary impact on the concept of relevant competence which is rather underestimated by our educational system. Article 2, 3 and 4 profit from Michel Foucault's governmentality-concept. His perspective on the ways in which the population in modern societies is governed. is used to explore how the welfare state uses its professions to combine social control with freedom and self-governing. In my interpretation, ethics is a part of a soft and subtle intervention strategy to transform social and structural issues to individual troubles and make clients cooperative and responsible. I also contend that the mandate given to social workers requires good judgement in their application of individualized strategies which actualize their phronetic competence. I also interpret empowerment as a strategy for intervention that makes clients conform to conventional ideals in society. This interpretation challenges the notion of empowerment as liberation strategy defined by the clients themselves. Article 5 is entirely devoted to the question of moral character, drawing heavily on core values from Buddhism. Buddhism is used to identify and suggest ways to overcome ego-related problems which are frequently occurring in social work (such as the problem of "burn-out" and the ways bureaucratic distance is used as a shield against demanding clients). I also suggest that Buddhism can be used as a strategy for promoting personal social engagement in social work. My empirical study as well as my articles identifies "phronetic competences" in social work as the most important ones. This concept is derived from the aristotelian "phronesis" meaning personal, experienced-based competence for making morally right judgements according to particular situations. I argue that phronetic competence is highly relevant because it includes capacities for actualizing moral aspects of a situation, critical analytical reflection and for scrutinizing knowledge systems, practices and impacts of welfare goals which tend to be taken for granted.  I contend that the education of social workers must make a stronger effort to facilitate phronetic competences among social work students to prevent social work from being reduced to technical skills and social engineering.

The aim of this study was to examine in what way municipal guidelines affect care managers aid assessments process. The study also examined if it is possible for care managers to make aid assessment decisions that exceed references in municipal guidelines and whether there was a resistance from colleagues or managers when care managers make those decisions.   The method used for this study was a qualitative method and the empirical data was obtained by semistructured interviews with 5 care managers. The interviews were conducted in Sweden in a medium sized municipality in Skåne. The results from the study were then analyzed with the help of Michel Foucault's concept of Governmentality. The results were also analyzed with Michel Foucault's concept of the normalization process as well as power and knowledge with the help of Magnus Hörnqvists (2012) elaboration of Michel Foucault's original concepts.  The results of the study showed that there is a possibility for care managers to make aid decisions that exceed references in municipal guidelines because of their full delegation which results in autonomy. Furthermore, an individual assessment may result in an aid decision which requires the care managers to exceed references in municipal guidelines in order to meet the individual needs. The results also showed that municipal guidelines affect the care managers work in several ways. The guidelines can be just that, a guide for care managers in their aid decisions in both what the municipality can offer and at what frequency. The results show that municipal guidelines can be both beneficial and inhibitory for care managers. They can be used as support in cases that are complicated for the care managers and they can be used in a way to strengthen the customers position and their rights. Guidelines are also a way for the municipality to organise their organisation. But they can also be inhibitory if they are diffuse and doesn’t clearly describe the meaning of what is stated in the guidelines, which results in the aid officer having to define the guidelines themselves. Guidelines are also inhibitory if they don't correspond to customers specific needs. Lastly, the result of the essay shows that there is no resistance from colleagues or managers if care managers make aid decisions that exceed references in municipal guidelines, however there is resistance from the aid providers if they have to execute an aid decision which exceeds references in guidelines.

This thesis’s purpose was to study differences between the Scandinavian countries’ crisis management during the coronavirus pandemic based on theories of responsibilization and individualization. The thesis investigates how Sweden, Denmark, and Norway communicated individual and state responsibility during the pandemic and see if the discourse has changed from spring to fall in 2020. The design is comparative, where the method consists of a qualitative text analysis that is used to analyze the Scandinavian countries’ prime ministers’ introductory speech at press conferences regarding the pandemic. The thesis conclusions are that there are noticeable differences in the countries' communication. Sweden communicates a significant state responsibility throughout, but what is characteristic is the extensive individual responsibility. Denmark communicates extensive state responsibility with significant and partly mandatory measures throughout 2020. The individual responsibility is also significant but not as extensive. Norway also communicates a significant state responsibility, but the individual responsibility is communicated primarily in a collective way where everyone together must get through the crisis. There has also been a shift of responsibility from the state to the individual from spring to fall during 2020 in Norway and Sweden where the individual's responsibility increases over time, whereas the same shift cannot be discerned in Denmark. In Sweden the individual responsibility is thus more comprehensive than Denmark and Norway who show more state responsibility.

<p>The aim of this essay is to analyze how students are constituted as subjects in local curricula. The theoretical perspective is grounded in Michel Foucault’s notion of governmentality and power/knowledge and his critique of a sovereign subject. From this theoretical perspective I use Foucault’s concept of formation of objects and Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s idea of subject positioning as tools for a discourse analysis. The analyzed documents are local curricula from fourteen Swedish municipalities. The documents are divided in to two equally sized groups based on the political governing in the municipality.</p><p>The analysis presents five themes by which statements that constitute students as subjects can be categorized. These five themes are; lifelong learning, desire, essential traits, students responsibility and life and health. The differences between local curricula from political right wing and political left wing governed municipalities are rather small, but there can be seen differences in the technologies of liberal governing. The subject that is constituted in local curricula is primarily a self-governing subject who governs it self in relation to a expertise knowledge.</p>

Syftet med denna avhandling är att studera hur den vuxna studerande konstrueras genom olika styrningstekniker inom Vuxenutbildning, Folkbildning och Högre utbildning. Vidare är syftet att analysera vad för styrningsrationalitet som både skapas genom och som skapar dessa praktiker. Det teoretiska ramverket är baserat på Michel Foucaults begrepp styrningsrationalitet (governmentality) och genealogi. Styrningsrationalitet syftar på ett specifikt sätt att se på styrning där fokus är på de tankar/mentaliteter som skapas genom olika diskurser om hur styrning skall utövas. Centrala frågor är: vad är styrningsproblematiken, vad ska styras, hur skall styrning gå till och vad är målet med styrning? Genea-logi syftar på ett specifikt sätt att se på historien. Utgångspunkten är de tankefigurer som är del av dagen diskurser, i denna avhandling diskurserna om vuxenutbildning och livslångt lärande. Vad består dessa diskurser och vad för härkomsthistoria har vissa av dess tankefigurer? Historia ses här som icke-linjär beståendes av brott och oregelbundenheter där syftet inte är att berätta en historia om framsteg där kausala samband är centrala. Istället använder jag genealogi för att destabilisera det vi idag tar för givet gällandes den vuxna studerande. En diskursanalys har genomförts av offentliga utredningar (SOUs och Ds) från 1920-talet fram tills idag som handlar om de praktiker som nämnts ovan. Resul-taten pekar på att en neoliberal styrningsrationalitet dominerar dagens diskurser om vuxenutbildning och livslångt lärande. Enligt texterna måste Sverige och Europa se till att alla dess medborgare konstant lär sig nya saker som ett sätt att möta en osäker och ständigt föränderlig framtid. Därmed skapas den vuxna som ständigt lärandes och som ett kompetent subjekt. Alla medborgare måste bli autonoma, själreglerande människor som konstant lär sig och som konstant gör val i enlighet med sina önskningar. För att konstruera sådana subjekt skapas flera tekniker för styrning såsom vägledning, risk, målstyrning/granskning, bedömning, mångfald m.m. / The aim of this dissertation is to study how the adult learner is constructed through dif-ferent techniques of governing in the practice of adult, liberal adult, and higher educa-tion. Further, the aim is to analyse what rationality of governing such governing practices create and are created by. The theoretical framework is based on Michel Foucault’s concepts of governmentality and genealogy. Governmentality refers to a specific way of viewing questions of governance where the focus is on ideas concerning how governing should be practiced. These ideas are constructed through discourse. Central questions are: what is the problematic of government, what is to be governed, how is governing to be practiced and what is the teleos (the goal to be reached) of government? Genealogy refers to at specific way of viewing history. The starting point is the figures of thought that are part of the discourses of today. In this dissertation, these discourses are adult education and lifelong learning. What are these discourses made up of and what is the descent and emergence of some of its figures of thought? Here, history is seen as non-linear and containing ruptures and irregularities. The aim is not to tell the story of how it really was, where causality is central. Instead, genealogy is a way for me to destabilize the taken-for-granted ideas of the present concerning the adult learner. A discourse analysis has been conducted based on official documents produced since the 1920s and up to the present day concerning the practices mentioned above. The results point to neo-liberal governmentality dominating the discourses of adult education and lifelong learning today. According to the texts, Sweden and Europe need to make sure that all their citizens are constantly learning as a way of facing an uncertain and constantly changing future. Thus, the adult learner is constructed as a constantly learning and competent subject. All citizens have to become autonomous, self-regulating humans who are constantly learning and who constantly make choices according to their inner desires. Several techniques of governing such as guidance, risk, auditing, assessment, diversity, etc., are constructed as a way of constructing such a subject. / On the day of the public defence date of the doctoral thesis the status of article III was: Accepted; The status of article IV was: Submitted.

The aim of this essay is to analyze how students are constituted as subjects in local curricula. The theoretical perspective is grounded in Michel Foucault’s notion of governmentality and power/knowledge and his critique of a sovereign subject. From this theoretical perspective I use Foucault’s concept of formation of objects and Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s idea of subject positioning as tools for a discourse analysis. The analyzed documents are local curricula from fourteen Swedish municipalities. The documents are divided in to two equally sized groups based on the political governing in the municipality. The analysis presents five themes by which statements that constitute students as subjects can be categorized. These five themes are; lifelong learning, desire, essential traits, students responsibility and life and health. The differences between local curricula from political right wing and political left wing governed municipalities are rather small, but there can be seen differences in the technologies of liberal governing. The subject that is constituted in local curricula is primarily a self-governing subject who governs it self in relation to a expertise knowledge.

Uppsatsen behandlar styrningsverktyg i arbetet mot ett ekologiskt hållbart samhälle, av kommuner nyttjade styrmedel och de boendes uppfattning av dessa. Fokus ligger på de boendes respons på miljömål i uppbyggnaden av den ekologiska stadsdelen Hammarby Sjöstad i Stockholm. Med hjälp av kvalitativ metod och djupintervjuer med 14 boende studeras de styrmedel som används för att påverka och förändra de boendes miljöbeteende, de boendes inställning till dessa samt vilka drivkrafter som finns bland de boende för att agera miljövänligt. De aktuella styrmedlen; regleringar, ekonomiska styrmedel och informativa styrmedel presenteras med hjälp av citat från intervjuerna och redovisas utifrån strukturell, positionell samt individuell nivå. Dessutom redovisas meso-kontextens påverkan samt individens egna drivkrafter för miljöbeteende. Teorier som tas upp och relateras till det empirirska materialet är makt, governmentality samt relevant urban- och miljöforskning. I resultatet framkommer exempelvis att de boende efterfrågar inbyggda lösningar för ett miljövänligare samhälle. I diskussionen resoneras bland annat kring den krock som kan finnas mellan de olika diskurserna; miljövänlighet och senmodernitet.