Addiction phobia: Foucault, abstract governance, and the fascination with materiality in contemporary critical studies of addiction

This article explores how the field of critical addiction studies – which can be traced back to late twentieth century has used Foucauldian social theory on governance challenge dominant biomedical and moralistic models account for ways in discourse practice reproduce purifying, essentialist singular assumptions about behaviour, bodies desire. Starting from Foucault’s critique neoliberalist phobia state, Dean Villadsen’s subsequent analysis this ironically appears haunt as well other versions poststructuralist theory, asks whether a similar phobic tendency identified accounts addiction, although case directed towards discursive centre. Analysing provided by several scholars, investigates more general relation is enacted structures number key points contemporary critiques addiction. Through detailed analyses critics have framed governmentality an epidemics will, related habit, dealt with tensions within raised issues materiality, aligned themselves heterogeneity bodies, behaviours, desires, claims that reduces abstract avoids seriously engaging structure dynamics decentred theoretical perspective.