Micropolitics and Technoscience: Glimpsing the challenges of contemporary social and political theory

Abstract

Introduction: Contemporary techno-scientific transformations have modified fundamental concepts in social and political studies. In the face of these changes, the need arose to expand the theoretical and methodological tools for analyzing the influence of techno-science on the organization of society. The research focused on the limitations of traditional political theory and the need to consider new approaches such as micropolitics.
Development: Gilles Deleuze described the transition from disciplinary societies to societies of control, characterized by mechanisms of surveillance and continuous access to information. In this new context, technoscience emerged as a phenomenon that transformed the relationship between individuals, knowledge and power. Bruno Latour and Javier Echeverría identified different stages in the evolution of technoscience, from its links with military interests to its expansion into everyday life. Technoscience generated new spaces for interaction, promoted the development of communication networks and altered the way in which individuals relate to the digital environment. Given that these changes could not be explained with traditional tools, a distinction was proposed between macropolitics and micropolitics to address these complex dynamics.
Conclusion: Societies of control overwhelmed traditional structures of analysis, requiring new theoretical tools. Micropolitics allowed us to understand the influence of technoscience and digital devices in the construction of new subjectivities and power relations.