Globalisation, Governmentality and Socio-Economic Development: Reflections from Tanzania

Abstract

In today’s world, it is most likely to hear a responsible politician, development worker, intellectual or economist speaking without mentioning globalisation. Hence, the concept of globalisation has over the past three decades grown to become one of the most recognized, widely defined and disputed phenomena in recent history. In this context, this paper examines the role of the state in socio-economic development endeavours in Tanzania in the contemporary globalisation milieu. Foucault’s notion of ‘Governmentality’ is applied in this paper to elucidate the changing nature and rationalities of the state in coping with the intensification of globalisation. The fundamental argument of this paper is that, while it is important to understand how changes in global arena have contributed significantly in changing roles of the state especially in developing nations, scholars and practitioners should as well see how globalization plays double roles in changing roles of the state. That is, while strong states may gain from it, the weak ones lose from the same. In conclusion, it is argued in this paper that by emulating this approach towards analysing the roles of the state in a globalized world, comparative scholars will become more inclusive and encompassing by representing the real world and give equal value of globalization to both developed (strong) and developing (weak) nations.