ABSTRACT
This chapter proceeds on the assumption that macro level theories and analyses are important to the debate about the transformation of governance, not least with respect to the rise of the politics of self-governance. There is a large body of scholarly, social science literature on large-scale social trends and developments which has important things to say about the politics of self-governance. Although the authors recognize the relevance of this literature, they have chosen to limit their discussion in this chapter to the contributions of Michel Foucault and Niklas Luhmann. The chapter discusses the contribution of Foucault's and Luhmann's writings to our understanding of the emergence, character and efficacy of the politics of self-governance. It also examines some of the ways in which the writings of the two authors have contributed to the production of the current governance imagery. Nevertheless, Foucault's analysis of self-governance in Ancient Greece and Rome clearly focuses on the reflections and actions of individual persons.
