1 Race and social policy: challenges and obstacles
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Nasar Meer
Abstract
This chapter asks what the pressing racial inequalities are in contemporary British society and to what extent is social policy as a discipline equipped to analyse and respond to these. It provides an overview of some contemporary outcomes in the key areas of labour market participation, education, and criminal justice, summarising some prevailing features and patterns, before going on to explore in more detail whether social solicy as it is presently configured, focusing as it does on the concern with a redistributive notion of equality, is sufficiently well placed to grasp these. The chapter then develops a fascinating argument based on the observation of the need to fully incorporate an account of institutional racism and ‘everyday bordering’, as well as a critical understanding of the so-called ‘progressives dilemma’ set out by David Goodhart. The history of social policy as a disciplinary practice may stymie the kinds of foci that are needed. This analysis demands a recognition that mainstream social policy inquiry is parochial, but also that the object of inquiry is shaped by historical racism.
Abstract
This chapter asks what the pressing racial inequalities are in contemporary British society and to what extent is social policy as a discipline equipped to analyse and respond to these. It provides an overview of some contemporary outcomes in the key areas of labour market participation, education, and criminal justice, summarising some prevailing features and patterns, before going on to explore in more detail whether social solicy as it is presently configured, focusing as it does on the concern with a redistributive notion of equality, is sufficiently well placed to grasp these. The chapter then develops a fascinating argument based on the observation of the need to fully incorporate an account of institutional racism and ‘everyday bordering’, as well as a critical understanding of the so-called ‘progressives dilemma’ set out by David Goodhart. The history of social policy as a disciplinary practice may stymie the kinds of foci that are needed. This analysis demands a recognition that mainstream social policy inquiry is parochial, but also that the object of inquiry is shaped by historical racism.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures and tables v
- Notes on contributors vii
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Race, racism and social policy
- Race and social policy: challenges and obstacles 5
- ‘Race’: the missing dimension in social policy higher education? 25
- Young people as cultural critics of the monocultural landscapes that fail them 51
- Returnees: unwanted citizens or cherished countrymen 71
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Social policy and young people
- The family welfare source and inequality in liberal welfare states: evidence from cohort studies 97
- Economic hardship in young adulthood: a cause for concern or a matter of course while settling into the Swedish labour market? 135
- Cultural education and the good citizen: a systematic analysis of a neoliberal communitarian policy trend 163
- How geographical and ideological proximity impact community youth justice (in)accessibility in England and Wales 183
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Austerity
- After a decade of austerity, does the UK have an income safety net worth its name? 211
- A new page? The public library in austerity 227
- No way home: the challenges of exiting homelessness in austere times 249
- ‘Everywhere and nowhere’: interventions and services under austerity 271
- Index 291
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures and tables v
- Notes on contributors vii
-
Race, racism and social policy
- Race and social policy: challenges and obstacles 5
- ‘Race’: the missing dimension in social policy higher education? 25
- Young people as cultural critics of the monocultural landscapes that fail them 51
- Returnees: unwanted citizens or cherished countrymen 71
-
Social policy and young people
- The family welfare source and inequality in liberal welfare states: evidence from cohort studies 97
- Economic hardship in young adulthood: a cause for concern or a matter of course while settling into the Swedish labour market? 135
- Cultural education and the good citizen: a systematic analysis of a neoliberal communitarian policy trend 163
- How geographical and ideological proximity impact community youth justice (in)accessibility in England and Wales 183
-
Austerity
- After a decade of austerity, does the UK have an income safety net worth its name? 211
- A new page? The public library in austerity 227
- No way home: the challenges of exiting homelessness in austere times 249
- ‘Everywhere and nowhere’: interventions and services under austerity 271
- Index 291
