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With austerity’s disproportionately heavy impact on women now apparent, this engaging book considers activism against it from a feminist perspective. Emma Craddock goes deep inside activist culture to explore the many cultural and emotional dimensions of political participation. She questions what motivates and sustains protest, considering the enabling aspects of solidarity and empathy, as well as the constraining factors of negative emotions and gendered barriers associated with activism, examining the role of gender and emotion within protest. This is a lived-in study that gets to the heart of what it means to be an anti-austerity activist and an important addition to social justice debate. The book is organised into four parts. The first part establishes the theoretical and empirical context; the second part explores the enabling and constraining factors of political participation (‘doing activism’); the third part discusses the two main activist identity constructions in the local anti-austerity activist culture and the ‘dark side’ of activist culture that these feed (‘being activist’); the fourth and final part provides concluding remarks about the ambivalence of anti-austerity activist culture and the difficulty of resisting such a pervasive force as neoliberal capitalism.

The main arguments in this book reflect the politics and social climate created by austerity in the early 21^st century and provide an analytical framework for examining the notion of ‘de-professionalisation’ and how it has emerged. The centrepiece offers a part- historical narrative for understanding an evolving process (of ‘de-professionalisation) and poses a question as to whether the direction and substantive nature of this process may have been altered by austerity, or whether this should be regarded as continuity rather than any radical change. Other policy questions include whether social investment as a means of increasing productivity has played a positive role in economic regulation and investment in human capital - training and education - and social programmes. The book sets out the main theoretical frameworks used to study the work of professions, contrasting disciplinary perspectives in the context of their application to different policy fields. Perspectives on professions and professionalism, taken from disciplines such as sociology, social policy, and public administration, are set against a contemporary and contrasting paradigm, for example managerialism or collaborative professionalism, with a purpose of ingraining new ways of deepening accountability towards more collectivist values.

Drawing on first person accounts and participant observation, this book looks in-depth at one of the UK government’s most controversial austerity policies, the ‘Bedroom Tax’. Focusing on the lives of 31 people in one neighbourhood, it explores the push and pull factors that structure tenants’ behaviour regarding downsizing to smaller properties within a residualised and stigmatised social housing sector. It highlights the meaning of home and the continuing relevance of community and the tensions created when tenants are faced with the threat of displacement and the concomitant loss of social networks and informal structures of welfare that operate in place. While this book focuses on one social policy, it speaks to broader concerns about the value and loss of social housing and how we care for and house our most vulnerable citizens in the midst of neoliberal restructuring. It reflects on the continuing loss of housing benefit support, on-going cuts to the welfare state and what this means for communities and their sense of security and belonging. More broadly, it reflects on how cuts to housing benefit support are undermining the capacity of low income households to secure and maintain housing within a social sector that faces new financial risks and a private rented sector in which the term ‘no DSS’ has made a resurgence. The central argument of this book is that policies such as the Bedroom Tax which undermine secure housing are divisive, heightening resentment about access to housing while leading to increasing housing inequality and urban marginality.

This book offers a powerful and distinctive analysis of how the politics of the UK and the lived experience of its citizens have been reframed in the first decades of the 21^st century. It does so by bringing together carefully articulated case studies with theoretically informed discussion of the relationship between austerity, Brexit and the rise of populist politics, as well as highlighting the emergence of a range of practices, institutions and politics that challenge the hegemony of austerity discourses. The book mobilises notions of agency to help understand the role of austerity (as politics and lived experience) as a fundamental cause of Brexit. Investigating the social, economic, political, and cultural constraints and opportunities arising from a person’s position in society allows us to explain the link between austerity politics and the vote for Brexit. In doing so, the book goes beyond traditional disciplinary approaches to develop more interdisciplinary engagements, based on broad understandings of cultural studies as well as drawing on insights from political science, sociology, economics, geography and law. It uses comparative material from the regions of England and from the devolved territories of the UK, and explores the profound differences of geography, generation, gender, ‘race’ and class.

This book examines some of the challenges facing older people, given a context of rising life expectancy, cuts to the welfare state, and widening economic and social inequalities. It explores precarity and ageing from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, critical perspectives, and contexts. Although cultural representations and policy discourses depict older people as a group healthier and more prosperous than ever, many older people experience ageing amid insecurities that emerge in later life or are carried forward as a consequence of earlier disadvantage. The collection of chapters develops a distinctive approach to understanding the changing cultural, economic and social circumstances that create precarity for different groups of older people. The aim of the book is to explore what insights the concept of precarity might bring to an understanding of ageing across the life course, especially in the context of the radical socio-political changes affecting the lives of older people. In doing so, it draws attention both to altered forms of ageing, but also to changing social and cultural contexts, and realities that challenge the assumption that older people will be protected by existing social programmes or whatever resources that can be marshalled privately.

The book critically engages with neo-liberal policies and media representations of youth austerity as a constructed social crisis but remaining the mechanism used by both government and media to exert control over young adults; It explores the diversity of intersections relating to youth marginality across social class, gender and racial boundaries; looking into contemporary theory of advanced youth marginality. It challenges the dominant notions of youth ‘underclass’ and marginalisation and the representation of ‘youth as trouble’ through participatory research methods to project young people’s ‘real’ experience and voice in spheres of leisure and recreation from street corners to open spaces in relation to surveillance and sanctions; It develops an understanding of the importance of personal, emotional, familial and collective experiences of poverty and austerity and the strategies of resistance and survival, or consent under social hardship and discrimination from the Police; It critically assesses the dynamics of social, cultural and educational policies in the shaping social life of young adults as refugees, looked after young people in Care, young mothers, working class youth and young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, with reference to contemporary debates on neo-liberalism.

This book presents new research on the extent to which parents and children participate in decision making when childcare social workers are involved and it considers two key meetings in depth: child protection conferences and child in care reviews. There is currently a great deal of interest in how social workers can work more effectively with families and in particular give children a voice. There is also considerable public and media interest in the child protection system, in particular relating to how children are safeguarded by social workers. This book will argue that unless we listen to (and act upon whenever possible) the views of children it is very difficult to safeguard and offer them an effective service. The unique selling point of the book will be that it is based on original solid empirical research following interviews with multiple stakeholders across two local authorities in England including children (n=75), parents (n=52), social workers (n=11, independent reviewing officers (n=8) and senior managers (n=7). This book will consider how 10 years of austerity has impacted on the child protection system and it will have a particular focus on how current practice leads to children and parents often feeling oppressed and excluded in decision making about their lives. The book promises to be authoritative and informed on issues on the ground and very relevant to both policy and practice.

This book examines local responses to political and economic crises in Germany and the UK. In Germany, the influx of refugees has thrown into question state capacity to cope with crisis and the acceptability of religious diversity. In the UK, policymakers have framed austerity measures as the most appropriate response to economic crisis, instigated initially by the financial crisis in 2007-8. However, in contrast to the far more visible, often rightwing, protests against the political establishment, local social activists have worked across different ethnic and religious groups to address social problems. The initiatives range from food banks to debt advice to helping some of the most vulnerable families and individuals overcome challenging life situations. Some are secular and others faith-based, though often, faith is related to individual motivation and possesses very little influence on the service itself. The emphasis instead is on collaborative activism, where organisations and individuals come to depend upon each other for mobilising resources and overcoming problems, an effort that in turn promotes trust and understanding across the diverse participants. This activism suggests new engagement with citizenship, which refers as much to participation in community-based, inclusive action to improve local quality of life as it does to individual rights. The volume brings together German and British academics to show how in both countries, concepts of individual, community, and citizenship are changing in an era of political and social division and persistent economic inequality.

Bringing together the voices of leading experts in the field, this edition offers an up-to-date and diverse review of the best in social policy scholarship over the past year. The book considers a range of current issues and critical debates in UK and international social policy. It contains vital research, including discussions on the changing landscape of welfare in the UK and Europe more widely since the 2008/09 crisis, the continuing impact of austerity on social policy areas such as the NHS, social care and disability, the financialisation of pensions and corporatisation of welfare as well as topical contributions on the ‘Air Jamaica generation’ and the Alt-Right from a social policy perspective. Published in association with the SPA, this comprehensive analysis of the current state of social policy will be of interest to students and academics in social policy, social welfare and related disciplines.

With an innovative focus on home and care, this book is an intervention into debates about social policy and welfare at a time of crisis, with a particular focus on the UK. Such a crisis involves austerity, economic restructuring, worsening inequality and resulting issues of resources, rationing and affordability. The book illuminates how these economic and political changes are re-shaping experiences of home and care for many households. By bringing together a unique set of interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on the topics of home, care, austerity and welfare crisis, the book develops conceptual and methodological resources for exploring these often hidden yet crucial aspects of everyday lives. Topics covered include the changing place of the home within social care policy, housing and inequality, researching family lives under austerity, and the restructuring of children’s services. Ultimately the book argues that the home needs to be understood as a site of political and economic contestation, and that forms of feminist research and analysis can enable new interventions into this terrain.

The aim of this book is to assess the quarter century of political competition in the Republic of Ireland from the time of the ending of recession of the 1980s up to the 2011 general election where Ireland was ruled by the Troika and austerity was a by-word for both policy making and how many people lived their lives. This book assesses in a thematic way the forces which shaped the decisions that political elites in Ireland took over the course of this crucial quarter century in modern Irish life. It examines the nature of electoral competition in modern Ireland by focusing on a number of key themes that shaped the decisions of Irish politicians. These include the nature of coalition politics in Ireland; the payments to politicians by developers and businessmen that led to a number of tribunals of inquiry; the culture wars over divorce and abortion; the process of the economic collapse to boom and back to collapse cycle that effected the lives of so many Irish people; and the collapse of Ireland's natural party of government, Fianna Fáil. It analyses why Irish citizens have been comfortable in continuing to vote for traditional political elites despite the failures of the Irish state and explains why it has been so difficult for new parties to emerge.

When Ed Miliband was elected leader of the Labour Party in 2010 he sought to turn the page on New Labour and use the global financial crisis as an opportunity to renew social democracy. With great intellectual and ideological gusto Miliband and his team searched, adopted and adapted new and old ideas that would address the policy puzzles left open by the global financial crisis. This book seeks to determine whether Ed Miliband was successful in his task by analysing the different ideas that were adopted and adapted by the Labour Party in the period 2010-15. Using discursive institutionalism and historical institutionalism, this book will map the political ideas and will identify the main ideational, institutional and political constraints that impacted and shaped the Labour Party’s political agenda. The book argues that the Labour Party under Ed Miliband tried but failed to renew social democracy. The timing, the prevalence of the neoliberalism in public discourse as well as Miliband’s inability to find a coalition of supporters for his transformative agenda and his own shortcomings as party leader led to a watered down political agenda that lacked boldness, clarity and definition. This lack of definition and clarity was one of the reasons why Milibandism was so overwhelmingly rejected by voters in May 2015.

The Right and the Recession considers the ways in which conservative activists, groupings, parties and interests in the US and Britain responded to the financial crisis and the “Great Recession” that followed in its wake. The book looks at the tensions and stresses between different ideas, interests and institutions and the ways in which they shaped the character of political outcomes. In Britain, these processes opened the way for leading Conservatives to redefine their commitment to fiscal retrenchment and austerity. Whereas public expenditure reductions had been portrayed as a necessary response to earlier “overspending” they were increasingly represented as a way of securing a permanently “leaner” state. The book assesses the character of this shift in thinking as well as the viability of these efforts to shrink the state and the parallel attempts in the US to cut federal government spending through mechanisms such as the budget sequester.

The book provides fresh perspectives on the link between welfare policy and employment relations. A central argument of the book is that austerity in the work first policies (including Universal Credit) play a key role in attacking both social and employment rights. The book analyses the role and strategies of trade unions and civil society organisations in contesting the reform agenda demonstrating the importance of union organisation and bargaining for welfare policies. The geographies of austerity play a central role in the politics of welfare, with the ‘left behind’ regions, bearing the brunt of public expenditure cuts. In the case studies of Greater Manchester, as England’s flagship Devolution initiative, and the Sheffield Needs a Pay Rise Campaign the book explores the role of trade unions and civil society organising against welfare reform and precarious work. The final two chapters are devoted to exploring alternatives including lessons which can be drawn from Denmark’s, more redistributive welfare and industrial relations system and the importance of challenging the austerity narrative. The author calls for a greater role for economic and welfare democracy involving strengthening employment rights through coordinated collective bargaining and investing in public services and local government as a basis of building a democratic and accountable labour market.

Demographic ageing is identified as a global challenge with significant social policy implications across local, national and international contexts. The 2008 economic crisis and related austerity policies further compound and complicate this challenge. Social policy pressures characterising ageing societies increasingly need to be understood within the context of the economic recession and the evolving circumstances of austerity. Yet, the extent to which the global economic crisis intensifies problems experienced in later life has been largely neglected as a research and policy topic. This book addresses this deficit by using Ireland as a site for unpacking social policy issues in ageing through austerity. The book interrogates whether or not the economic recession and austerity has in fact altered ageing experiences for older people in Ireland. A selection of internationally recognised policy issues for ageing societies are explored; demography; citizenship; participation and volunteering; work, gender and pensions; age-friendly communities and place; dementia care; and social exclusion. The book presents a critical analysis to contextualise and elaborate on international debates around these issues within the Irish austerity setting, and to identify future directions for research and policy that are relevant beyond Ireland. A central goal of contributors is to demonstrate linkages between the global, national and local levels that shape the experiences of ageing in a time of austerity. The emphasis, however, is as much on the capacity of the local to shape and manipulate global influence and forces, as it is about the power of globalisation over national and community contexts.