Governing through freedom and responsibility: A qualitative study examining the expression of neoliberal governmentality in strategies concerning Swedish foreign development aid

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to investigate exercises of power in Swedish foreign development aid, ultimately answering the question of how aid is governed. This is done by conducting an abductive qualitative content analysis exploring four actor-focused aid strategies guiding The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). By utilising Micheal Foucault’s theory of governmentality in general, and the theory development of neoliberal governmentality in particular, governmental rationalities, techniques and subjectifications are deciphered and analysed to increase the comprehension of how neoliberal governing is expressed in Swedish aid. The analysis finds that the strategies to a high extent motivate a moralisation of market principles and freedom as an operational space for agency and choice, using a pluralistic arena of agents to govern from a distance, with an intention to shape the conduct of subjects into responsible and self-governing people. Finally, it is concluded that although a reducing legitimacy of neoliberal ideology in contemporary aid policy, it remains ascertain that neoliberalism has continued to influence as an art of government.