Neoliberalism as Exception: Mutations in Citizenship and Sovereignty

by Aihwa Ong

Neoliberalism is commonly viewed as an economic doctrine that seeks to limit the scope of government. Some consider it a form of predatory capitalism with adverse effects on the Global South. In this groundbreaking work, Aihwa Ong offers an alternative view of neoliberalism as an extraordinarily malleable technology of governing that is taken up in different ways by different regimes, be they authoritarian, democratic, or communist. Ong shows how East and Southeast Asian states are making exceptions to their usual practices of governing in order to position themselves to compete in the global economy. As she demonstrates, a variety of neoliberal strategies of governing are re-engineering political spaces and populations. Ong’s ethnographic case studies illuminate experiments and developments such as China’s creation of special market zones within its socialist economy; pro-capitalist Islam and women’s rights in Malaysia; Singapore’s repositioning as a hub of scientific expertise; and flexible labor and knowledge regimes that span the Pacific.

Ong traces how these and other neoliberal exceptions to business as usual are reconfiguring relationships between governing and the governed, power and knowledge, and sovereignty and territoriality. She argues that an interactive mode of citizenship is emerging, one that organizes people—and distributes rights and benefits to them—according to their marketable skills rather than according to their membership within nation-states. Those whose knowledge and skills are not assigned significant market value—such as migrant women working as domestic maids in many Asian cities—are denied citizenship. Nevertheless, Ong suggests that as the seam between sovereignty and citizenship is pried apart, a new space is emerging for NGOs to advocate for the human rights of those excluded by neoliberal measures of human worthiness.

Genres: Anthropology, Politics, Nonfiction, Academic, Sociology, Theory, Political Science

304 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2006

About the author

Aihwa Ong is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Neoliberalism as Exception: Mutations in Citizenship and Sovereignty and Flexible Citizenship: The Cultural Logics of Transnationality.

Reviews

[风花 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“新自由主义在中国”的读法？
虽然王爱华老师写的很学院，甚至很多都在重复“新自由主义批判的老一套”，以及很多地方笔力有所不逮，不过还是可以发现很多有意思的东西。chapter5 and chapter7 基本上讲述了秦晖“中国低人权和平演变美国“的故事的美国一面。也许更深的深意是chapter 5 讲述美国穷白人与中国低人权劳工的竞争，chapter7讲述的是美国中产阶级与亚洲低成本中产阶级的竞争。Aihwa老师依然把这种变化归结为美国新自由主义的结果。强调“自由面对市场风险与自由的不要社会保障”的新自由主义伦理建立在对美国人的“排除”之上，全球化的美国梦建立在把大部分无法实现全球流动的美国人排除在外的基础上（P174）。忽略了中美之间的互动，以及中国的“社会主义（不那么美好的）过去的历史动态”。最有意思的当属最后一章，王爱华老师90年代末在上海访问外企的洋人hr，这些新自由主义大本营出身的洋人总嫌中国人太“自利”，只顾自己捞钱，不懂“团队合作”和“（自己或公司的）长远目标”，而老太太访问搞企业管理的中国人，中国人嫌洋人太“功利”，只问结果好坏，不懂“拉关系”的重要性。虽然老太太自己写的雾里看花力，不过里面透出了这种矛盾很有意思。所以回到标题，“新自由主义在中国”的读法究竟应该如何？是从“新自由主义在中国”读出“美国的新自由主义全球化”还是“中国的不那么新自由主义的新自由主义？”

[Jim Rossi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Academic snoozefest... I read this book for a graduate seminar at UC Berkeley. Important subject, but it was so opaque and academically written it was painful to read. And I love to read. I love to read so much I haven't had a TV since childhood. I read almost every day.

[aerialxav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduction, chapter 4, 5, 8

[Ines · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Neoliberalism as Exception" offers a view from the global south on how neoliberalism as a malleable technology of governing is taken up in different political regimes, by communist, democratic or authoritarian countries in order to position themselves in the global market. Ong's work can also be understood as a critique of Agamben's concept of the state of exception, which however is very much focussed on the paradigm of the nation state. I have previously used Ong's work in a law thesis I wrote on the breaches of the rights of workers on container ships in international waters, flying flags of convenience; critiquing in this specific legal case a conceptualisation of the state of exception producing bare life exclusively within the framework of the nation state. Ong stipulates that neoliberalism as such / as an economic system creates the "exception". Therefore it also creates "bare life" as Arendt described it: humans deprived of their rights as humans and ultimately their humanity. As the question of sovereignty is something very intriguing for me, Ong not only in this book has helped me broaden my understanding on how economy shapes zones of sovereignty, providing also a basis for understanding how within the current economic system, the coming technological disruption / AI revolution, sovereignty and structures of citizenship closely tied to how the market operates will change (although this is not what she specifically speaks about in her book). Within the neoliberal logic, those whose skills and knowledge are not "assigned significant market value" are denied citizenship and this structure will certainly increase with the increasing irrelevance of certain forms of human labour and lack of negotiating power of a "working class" which might one day no longer struggle against its oppression but irrelevance to the ruling class (if we do not propose alternative ways of managing our economy, for example by shifting power away from the private sector, creating a federal job guarantee program, strengthening the monetary and economic sovereignty of countries in the global south, focussing on sustainable prosperity as it is e.g. recently proposed in several drafts of a Green New Deal etc).

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

read the introduction/first part for one of the better discussions/lit reviews re: neoliberalism (that slippery term we all love to (mis)-use

[EmpressKoh]

Read the intro for a paper I was writing; had interesting theories and I would reccomend reading the introduction for anyone who might want to view another side of neoliberalism. I did not read the rest of the book, but from what I skimmed through, it appeared to be heavily academic which, is to say, appeared quite boring, unless you have an unparalleled interest in the subject.

[Kathleen McRae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Book but will have to read more to really understand what the author is expressing.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intro, 1,3,4,5

[Sara Salem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book that challenges the view that neoliberalism is an overarching framework that defines everyone and everything within it. Rather she argues that many states use neoliberalism in some instances and not in others.

[Mills College Library]

323.601 O5884 2006