This edited volume is about how we can approach methodologically the agency of being governed. It includes contributions by both junior and senior scholars who grapple with the rewards and difficulties of conducting grounded research about the agency of being governed from a governmentality/biopolitics perspective.

PART I, 1. Introduction, Maria Stern, Sofie Hellberg and Stina Hansson 2. Power, freedom and the agency of being governed, Stina Hansson and Sofie Hellberg 3. The artist of not being governed: The emergence of the political subject, Sergei Prozorov PART II 4. Studying provocations: the researcher's care for what exists, Vikki Bell 5. Avoiding the 'killing' of lives: representations in academia and fiction, Christine Sylvester, 6. Institutional validation and the agency of the researcher, Gayatri Spivak 7. How to study power and collective agency: social movements and the politics of international aid, Håkan Thörn PART III, 8. Studying reform of/in/by the National Armed Forces in the DRC, Maria Stern and Maria Eriksson Baaz 8. Analysing responsibilisation in the context of development cooperation, Stina Hansson 9. From 'Squaddie' to 'Bodyguard': Towards a Remilitarised Agency?, Paul Higate 10. Studying the governing of lives through bio-narratives, Sofie Hellberg 11. Conclusion, Stina Hansson and Sofie Hellberg

Stina Hansson is a University Lecturer in Peace and Development Research in the School of Global Studies, Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sofie Hellberg is a University Lecturer and a PhD candidate in Peace and Development Research in the School of Global Studies, Gothenburg University, Sweden

Maria Stern is Professor of Peace and Development Research in the School of Global Studies, Gothenburg University, Sweden