ABSTRACT
This chapter contextualises the concept of affective governmentality within two developments, the transformation towards service societies and the formation of an 'embodied capitalism', and the parallel conversion of state bureaucracies into public services. It argues that these transformations constitute 'neoliberal governmentality' from a Foucauldian perspective. The chapter discusses some methodological implications of such a Foucauldian framework and the methods of empirical research. It focuses on two empirical studies of state transformation that have conducted over the past few years: a case study on postal services in Austria and the marketisation of former bureaucratic work; and a comparative examination of employment agencies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland as part of the current activation paradigm. The chapter also discusses the gendered dimension of the affective governmentality by presenting the results of research projects. Based on these results, the chapter concludes with some remarks on the significance of Foucault's concept of governmentality for a feminist analysis.
