problematization

Open Journal of Political Science
2012. Vol.2, No.1, 1-8
Published Online April 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ojps)

http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojps.2012.21001

Why Study Problematizations? Making Politics Visible
Carol Bacchi
University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
Email: [e-mail]
Received October 27th, 2011; revised December 8th, 2011; accepted January 2nd, 2012

This paper introduces the theoretical concept, problematization, as it is developed in Foucauldian-inspired poststructural analysis. The objective is two-fold: first, to show how a study of problematizations politicizes taken-for-granted “truths”; and second, to illustrate how this analytic approach opens up novel ways of approaching the study of public policy, politics and comparative politics. The study of problematizations, it suggests, directs attention to the heterogenous strategic relations – the politics – that shape lives.
It simultaneously alerts researchers to their unavoidable participation in these relations, opening up a much-needed conversation about the role of theory in politics.
Keywords: Problematization; Poststructuralism; Foucault; Public Policy; Comparative Politics; Ethics

Introduction
At a time when concerns about the knowledge status of research and the role of the researcher are paramount, problematizations provide a fertile field of study. To support this claim I explore the place of problematization in Foucauldian-inspired poststructural analysis. The paper lays out the goals and hopes of this form of inquiry in two parts: first, examining what it means to take problematizations as a focus of analysis; and, second, considering how a study of problematizations translates into research in the fields of public policy, politics and comparative politics. The paper concludes by drawing out the ethical implications of this analytic approach for researchers.
Throughout, the intent is to direct attention to the ways in

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