Magic Numbers: Number Magic

<strong>CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE Jawaharlal Nehru University</strong> SEMINAR SERIES <strong>Prof Shirin M. Rai</strong> Professor, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick Visiting Professorial Fellow, CSLG, JNU on <strong>Magic Numbers: Number Magic </strong> How are numbers used in politics? How are they read? Why do numbers make for authoritative political statements? What do they reveal as well as obscure? And should we take numbers seriously? The 'knowledge-effect', the 'agenda-setting', 'the accountability-effect' are modes of governmentality that have been critically examined. But should we then entirely give up on numbers? In this paper I argue that numbers represent in three different modes: descriptive, substantive and symbolic. Numbers describe our everyday worlds; they are given substantive value when policy is made citing the evidence they provide; and they have symbolic and aesthetic value that impresses us with expertise, symmetry and even beauty. We need to understand all these three dimensions critically and openly to derive from numbers their real value – one that does not silence but reveals the complexity of politics. <strong>Friday, 19 February 2016</strong> <strong>ABOUT THE SPEAKER: </strong>Shirin M. Rai is Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick. Her current work has three strands: feminist international political economy, gender and political institutions, and politics and performance. Her latest books include New Frontiers in Feminist Political Economy (with Georgina Waylen), Democracy in Practice: Ceremony and Ritual in Parliament (ed. Palgrave, 2014) and The Grammar of Politics and Performance (eds. with Janelle Reinelt, Routledge, 2015). At present, Prof Shirin Rai is Visiting Professorial Fellow at CSLG, JNU.