Upravljanje vsakdanjega življenja kmetov in kmetic skozi okvir politik ekološkega kmetovanja

In this dissertation, I examine the governance of organic farming in Slovenia, investigating how policies guide and shape farmers’ everyday lives and practices regarding organic farming as well as how farmers navigate the space of organic governance by moving between compliance and contestation. Thus, the aim of this dissertation is twofold: First, I analyse organic farming governance at both the EU and Slovenian levels, exploring how it is formulated, structured and designed to shape farmers’ understanding of and practices regarding organic farming. Second, recognising that farmers do not merely adhere to the prescribed rules and forms of organic farming or the subjectivities imposed by governing frameworks but, rather, actively negotiate and reinterpret them, I focus on analysing the ways in which farmers navigate these frameworks through diverse strategies of compliance, adaptation and resistance. The theoretical framework is rooted in Foucault’s concept of governmentality, allowing me to explore how multiple governmentalities—sovereign, disciplinary, neoliberal and truth—interact to regulate organic agriculture. Moreover, the theoretical underpinnings of Foucault’s ethical turn, particularly his focus on self-formation and technologies of the self, as well as counter-conduct and everyday resistance are employed to deepen the understanding of how farmers construct their ways of doing and being and engage with governance beyond passive compliance. Drawing on a policy analysis of 86 policy materials and semi-structured interviews with 33 farmers and three experts, this study reveals the intricate ways in which governance extends beyond formal regulations to include mechanisms of discipline, economic incentives and constructed truth discourses that reinforce compliance and self-discipline among farmers. At the same time, the analysis highlights farmers’ everyday counter-conducts, subtle forms of resistance, negotiation and reinterpretation of organic farming political framework. Rather than being passive subjects of governance, farmers actively engage with regulatory frameworks, selectively complying with, modifying or challenging governance in ways that align with their lived experiences and practical realities. This study contributes to sociological discussions of power, subject formation and everyday resistance within organic agricultural governance.