1 The active turn(s)
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Magnus Paulsen Hansen
Abstract
The introduction argues for the relevance of looking into the moral repertoire of ALMP reforms in public debates. The chapter argues for why the study of ideas and morality is pivotal to understand (and criticize) the political implications of ALMP reforms. Hereafter, the chapter engages critically with two sets of literatures. Firstly, scholars that have tried to theorize the varieties within the active turn, and secondly, with existing conceptualisations of the role of ideas and morality in relation to political and institutional changes. The last part of the chapter outlines a non-normative, but critical, approach (Hansen 2016) which deliberately refuses to evaluate the performance or judge the normative standards of ALMP in order to map the plurality of ideas related to ALMPs, as well as how these sediment into the everyday governing of the unemployed.
Abstract
The introduction argues for the relevance of looking into the moral repertoire of ALMP reforms in public debates. The chapter argues for why the study of ideas and morality is pivotal to understand (and criticize) the political implications of ALMP reforms. Hereafter, the chapter engages critically with two sets of literatures. Firstly, scholars that have tried to theorize the varieties within the active turn, and secondly, with existing conceptualisations of the role of ideas and morality in relation to political and institutional changes. The last part of the chapter outlines a non-normative, but critical, approach (Hansen 2016) which deliberately refuses to evaluate the performance or judge the normative standards of ALMP in order to map the plurality of ideas related to ALMPs, as well as how these sediment into the everyday governing of the unemployed.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of tables and figures vi
- List of abbreviations vii
- Series preface ix
- Preface xi
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Modelling
- The active turn(s) 3
- Tests, compromises and policy change 21
- Cities of unemployment 35
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Activation reforms
- From looking backwards to forwards: unemployment insurance, France, 2000 65
- Turning solutions into ‘structural’ problems: unemployment insurance, Denmark, 1992–93 91
- Testing thresholds: social assistance, France, 2007–08 119
- Intimate scandals: social assistance, Denmark, 2011–13 143
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Patterns
- Chemotherapy: the content of the moral economy of activation 173
- Infinite testing: tests and critique in and below the public 187
- References 201
- Index 227
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of tables and figures vi
- List of abbreviations vii
- Series preface ix
- Preface xi
-
Modelling
- The active turn(s) 3
- Tests, compromises and policy change 21
- Cities of unemployment 35
-
Activation reforms
- From looking backwards to forwards: unemployment insurance, France, 2000 65
- Turning solutions into ‘structural’ problems: unemployment insurance, Denmark, 1992–93 91
- Testing thresholds: social assistance, France, 2007–08 119
- Intimate scandals: social assistance, Denmark, 2011–13 143
-
Patterns
- Chemotherapy: the content of the moral economy of activation 173
- Infinite testing: tests and critique in and below the public 187
- References 201
- Index 227
