The politics and power effects of garbage recycling in Halifax, Canada
- 1 February 1996
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Local Environment
- Vol. 1 (1) , 63-86
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839608725481
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.Keywords
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- Governing conduct: Locke on the reform of thought and behaviourPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,1993
- The Social Creation of NaturePublished by Project MUSE ,1992
- Factors Influencing Household Recycling BehaviorEnvironment and Behavior, 1991
- What Makes a Recycler?Environment and Behavior, 1990
- Some Psychological Aspects of RecyclingEnvironment and Behavior, 1986
- Increasing Community Recycling with Persuasive Communication and Public CommitmentJournal of Applied Social Psychology, 1986
- The Subject and PowerCritical Inquiry, 1982