The twists of a concept: the critique of "power" in Michel Foucault

Abstract

In this article, we will undertake a reflection on the analytics of power in Michel Foucault. Our intention is to cover Foucault's production from the mid-seventies to the beginning of the eighties, seeking to understand the shifts or “twists and turns” through which the concept of power has suffered over time. We will try to show that it is possible to identify three moments in Foucault's research. First, when trying to move away from the traditional legal-discursive understanding of power, he introduces an unprecedented analysis of the dynamics of disciplinary power and the micro-powers that make up the social field. This can be considered a shift, in general, in relation to the western political tradition. With the course Society must be defended we are faced with a change in the understanding of power, when identifying it as war or struggle. Finally, with the introduction of the concepts of biopower / biopolitics, Foucault is led to a great expansion of his research, focusing on concepts that were not part of his interest until then, such as, for example, the concept of State. It is in this context that the concept of government will enter Foucault's reflections. We understand that the concept of government is a refinement and, likewise, makes its analysis of power broader and more complex in order to account for the political present.