Governing through standards – rather than through law and regulation – is one of the central trends that has emerged in industrialized countries since the 1980s. This collection, edited by Stefano Ponte , Peter Gibbon and Jakob Vestergaard , explains how and why standards are used as governance tools, how they are internally governed, and what effects they have in the real world. An interdisciplinary group of scholars examines standards in banking and accounting, quality management and organizational social responsibility, and sustainability standards. Applying theoretical frameworks within political economy and governmentality studies, the contributors analyze how governing through standards differs from other types of regulation. Finally, they shed light on the origins and drivers behind standards and the limitations of using standards as a governance tool.

Lasse Folke Henriksen and Peter Gibbons contribution traces the emergence of quality management standards as a governmental technology, and discusses their important impact on the history of neo-liberalism.

Stefano Ponte, Peter Gibbon and Jakob Vestergaard (eds) (2011) Governing through Standards: Origins, Drivers and Limitations . Palgrave Macmillan