TY - JOUR

T1 - Inversion of the 'Duty of Care': Diplomacy and the Protection of Citizens Abroad, from Pastoral Care to Neoliberal Governmentality

AU - Tsinovoi, Alexei

AU - Adler-Nissen, Rebecca

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - The concept of ‘duty of care’ for citizens abroad is grounded in a political rationality where the population is seen as an object for protection by the state. In today’s globalised world, however, this rationality is challenged by increased citizen mobility, budget cuts, new information technologies and the proliferation of new security threats. In recent years the state’s duty of care has received fresh political and scholarly attention, but Diplomatic Studies have so far overlooked how the recent waves of neoliberal reforms have introduced a new political rationality into policy-making circles, where the population is not seen only as an object for protection, but also as a resource for mobilisation. Developing insights from studies of governmentality, this article argues that when this neoliberal political rationality becomes predominant in diplomatic circles, it leads to inversion of the duty of care through new citizen-based practices, steered at a distance by the state.

AB - The concept of ‘duty of care’ for citizens abroad is grounded in a political rationality where the population is seen as an object for protection by the state. In today’s globalised world, however, this rationality is challenged by increased citizen mobility, budget cuts, new information technologies and the proliferation of new security threats. In recent years the state’s duty of care has received fresh political and scholarly attention, but Diplomatic Studies have so far overlooked how the recent waves of neoliberal reforms have introduced a new political rationality into policy-making circles, where the population is not seen only as an object for protection, but also as a resource for mobilisation. Developing insights from studies of governmentality, this article argues that when this neoliberal political rationality becomes predominant in diplomatic circles, it leads to inversion of the duty of care through new citizen-based practices, steered at a distance by the state.

KW - Consular assistance

KW - duty of care

KW - political rationality

KW - Foucault

KW - governmentality

KW - neoliberalism

KW - citizen diplomacy

KW - diplomacy

KW - care

KW - Public Diplomacy

U2 - 10.1163/1871191X-11302017

DO - 10.1163/1871191X-11302017

M3 - Journal article

VL - 13

SP - 211

EP - 232

JO - The Hague Journal of Diplomacy

JF - The Hague Journal of Diplomacy

SN - 1871-1901

IS - 2

ER -