Contextualising new modes of governance in activation policies
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 11 September 2007
Abstract
Purpose
The first part of the paper aimed to interpret the changes addressed by the concepts of governance and activation in their context, in order to grasp the larger picture of the societal transformation underlying them: the starting point is the assumption that new modes of governance in activation policies are a fruitful entry point for effectively understanding deep waves of change of contemporary society. The second part aims to briefly introduce the papers included in this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper insists on a perspective according to which there are two main dimension characterising the context of addressed transformations: the paradoxical torsion of the historical process of individualisation in the new spirit of capitalism; the profound redesign of the institutional programme, implying a new horizon for the instances of publicness.
Findings
Different and contradictory trends are pointed out in the actual pursuing of objectives of governance and activation, as far as the process of individualisation and the redesign of publicness are concerned. The impossibility of finding an abstract and universal evaluation of these transformations and the necessity of situated empirical inquiries are stressed.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates the relevance of deepening the normative underlying dimensions (with regard to individualisation and publicness) of social processes for a better understanding of concrete transformations (specifically: operational and substantive changes introduced by new modes of governance in activation policies).
Keywords
Citation
Borghi, V. and van Berkel, R. (2007), "Contextualising new modes of governance in activation policies", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 27 No. 9/10, pp. 353-363. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443330710822057
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited