Governance, Governmentality, Police, and Justice: A New Science of Police

This article addresses governance structures and the concept of police in contemporary democratic societies. Hildebrandt explores the tension between traditional governance frameworks and emerging forms of social control, examining how technology and administrative practices reshape police functions. The author analyzes philosophical and historical dimensions of police, distinguishing between formal law enforcement and broader governmental mechanisms of social ordering. The piece engages with Michel Foucault's concept of governmentality to understand how power operates through administrative systems beyond traditional judicial structures. Hildebrandt examines the implications of these governance mechanisms for individual liberty, democratic accountability, and rule of law. The article proposes a new understanding of police that accounts for contemporary challenges of technological governance and surveillance. Hildebrandt's analysis suggests that traditional legal frameworks may inadequately address modern governance challenges requiring reimagined conceptions of justice and police in democratic societies.

Topics: Administrative Law · Constitutional Law

Keywords: governmentality · police power · administrative law · governance · democratic accountability