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Power and Contingency in Planning

Author

Listed:
  • Kristof Van Assche

    (Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta, 10230 Jasper Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4P6, Canada; and Communication Group, Wageningen University; and ZEF/Center for Development Research, Bonn University)

  • Martijn Duineveld

    (Cultural Geography Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Raoul Beunen

    (Faculty of Management, Science and Technology, Open University of the Netherlands, PO Box 2960, Heerlen, 6401 DL, The Netherlands; and Strategic Communication Group at Wageningen University)

Abstract

In this paper we analyse the role and reception of poststructuralist perspectives on power in planning since the 1990s, and then ask whether a renewed encounter with the works of poststructuralist theorists Foucault, Deleuze, and Luhmann could add something to the points that were already made. We make a distinction between the power of planning (the impact in society), power in planning (relations between players active in planning), and power on planning (the influence of broader society on the planning system), to refine the analysis of planning/power. It is argued that an interpretation of Deleuze, Luhmann, and Foucault, as thinkers of power in a theoretical framework that is based on the idea of contingency, can help to refine the analysis of power in planning. Planning then can be regarded as a system in other systems, with roles, values, procedures, and materialities in constant transformation, with the results of each operation serving as input for the next one. The different power relations constitute the possibilities, the forms, and the potential impact of planning.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristof Van Assche & Martijn Duineveld & Raoul Beunen, 2014. "Power and Contingency in Planning," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(10), pages 2385-2400, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:46:y:2014:i:10:p:2385-2400
    DOI: 10.1068/a130080p
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    References listed on IDEAS

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