Audit Culture and the New World Order: Indicators, Rankings and Governing By Numbers

In a climate of increasing management and measurement of all aspects of social life, Cris Shore and Susan Wright provide a timely account of what they refer to as audit culture. This book examines the rise of the new industries of ranking and enumeration from an anthropological perspective, drawing on ethnographic observation and genealogical excavation.

While anthropologists have played an important role in initiating studies of audit culture, to date no systematic or comprehensive anthropological book has been written that documents or analyses these phenomena. This book aims to fill that gap by exploring a wide variety of fields, including health, higher education, the EU, NGOs and the military, while a critique of contemporary public sector management in an age of privatisation and outsourcing also runs throughout the book.

Ultimately, the book highlights the ways in which audit culture facilitates the emergence of new forms of power and governance, drawing attention to its impact and effects on ordinary workers and citizens.