Governing at a distance: Social marketing and the (bio) politics of responsibility

► Foucault's Birth of Bio-politics analyses neo-liberalism as a form of bio-political governmentality. ► Newer forms of health governance such as social marketing reflect dominant neo-liberal modes of governance. ► Health governance represents a form of governmentality, attempting to bring about behavioural change from a distance. ► Qualitative interviews with unemployed men reveal describes resistance to behavioural interventions and emphasises the social determinants of health.