Political Play with Boundaries

Abstract

Creation games imply that organizational elements are created through play. What happens if play does not only apply to individual elements in organizations but also their constitutive boundaries? That is the question addressed in this chapter. The place where play with boundaries can be seen in the most radical form and with the greatest implications is the political system. Over the past 10 years, a wealth of games has emerged within the political systems based precisely on the effort to put boundaries into play, to gamble boundaries. These boundaries do not just include boundaries between organizations and environments but also boundaries that are considered constitutive for the constitutional state. This creates a shift in our point of observation. Whereas Chapter 2 explored the semantic history of management games and focused in particular on play and games in the private sector, this chapter focuses on games that have politically regulatory objectives. I do not change my point of observation in order to establish a new subject. The subject remains creation games. The only reason for changing the point of observation is because play with boundaries can be seen to take place most radically in the political system. In this chapter I explore the way in which political organizations and public administrations make use of creation games.