Calculative governmentality for agreement: Politics of urban redevelopment in Chengdu, China

Abstract

Recently, the role of the state in urban redevelopment has drawn increasing scholarly attention. However, insufficient efforts have been made to determine how the state intervenes in and legitimizes the processes of urban redevelopment. Existing theoretical angles have also not provided convincing explanations for the democratization of urban redevelopment in some traditionally authoritarian regimes. Hence, this study attempts to narrow these gaps by examining the politics of urban redevelopment in Chengdu, China, from a Foucauldian governmentality perspective. A series of calculative tactics was adopted to promote the processes of reaching an agreement and legitimizing the demolition of old communities. These tactics enabled the local state to maintain its dominance in the participatory politics of urban redevelopment. This study contributes to the literature on urban redevelopment by elaborating the processes and roles of the state and governmentality and clarifying the calculative foundation of democratized urban politics in authoritarian regimes.