Foucault and the Political

This is an exploration of Michel Foucault's politics and ideas about the political across the whole body of his writing, including his most recently published work. Foucault's impassioned critique of the limitations of contemporary society and his affirmation of new forms of subjectivity have made his work vital to many areas of important new political thinking, often taking place outside of conventional political categories. Simons places Foucault's work in the context of contemporary political theory (including that of Michael Walzer, Charles Taylor and Jurgen Habermas) and in relation to the rise of alternative models for politics, such as those found in the work of William Connolly and Judith Butler. The political ramifications of Foucault's thought and the question of his personal politics have recently shaken up the way in which his work is understood. His concern with limits, as both constraining and enabling emerges and the possibility of transgression, both as a theoretical and personal project, is seen by Simons to be ever present for Foucault both in his work and his life.