Brown, Kate orcid.org/0000-0002-4391-756X (2017) The governance of vulnerability. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. pp. 667-682. ISSN 0144-333X
Abstract
Diverse narratives and practices concerned with ‘vulnerability’ increasingly inform how a range of social issues are understood and addressed, yet the subtle creep of the notion into various governance arenas has tended to slip by unnoticed. This paper explores the role of vulnerability in responding to longstanding and on-going dilemmas about social precariousness and harm. Drawing on in-depth qualitative research into how vulnerability was operationalised in services for ‘vulnerable’ young people in an English city, prominent narratives of vulnerability are traced, which operate in relation to a variety of often-dissonant service user responses. The paper shows the governance of vulnerability as a dynamic process; informed by policy developments and wider beliefs about the behaviours of ‘problem’ populations, interpreted and modified by interactions between practitioners and young people, and in turn shaping lived experiences of vulnerability. Patterns in this process illuminate how vulnerability narratives reshape long-running tensions at the heart of social welfare interventions between a drive to provide services that might mitigate social precariousness and an impetus towards regulating behaviour. The paper argues that although gesturing to inclusivity, the governance of vulnerability elaborates power dynamics and social divisions in new ways. Resulting outcomes are evidently varied and fluid, holding the promise of further social change.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Emerald Publishing Limited 2017. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Social Policy and Social Work (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 03 Dec 2018 12:40 |
Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2024 13:26 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-04-2016-0049 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1108/IJSSP-04-2016-0049 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:139502 |
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Description: The governance of vulnerability