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Gritty citizens? Exploring the logic and limits of resilience in UK social policy during times of socio-material insecurity.

Authors :
Donoghue, Matthew
Edmiston, Daniel
Source :
Critical Social Policy. Feb2020, Vol. 40 Issue 1, p7-29. 23p.
Publication Year :
2020

Abstract

In recent years, resilience has been invoked as both a pre-emptive and responsive strategy to tackling socio-material insecurity. This article outlines a number of discursive and administrative features that distinguish the rise of resilience from longer-term shifts towards 'active citizenship' in British social policy. We use data from two studies of financial hardship to examine how the fetishised ideal of resilience is reified and negotiated in the everyday experiences of low-income citizens. We argue that resilience is practised as 'a way of being', but in contorted ways that reflect restrictions to agency, resources and autonomy. This article makes an original contribution by exposing a current paradox within resilience as a governing agenda: it is principally pursued in ways that compromise the material and ontological security necessary for its productive potential. The article concludes by reflecting on what conceptual and applied agendas this presents for policymakers, practitioners and academics in the UK and further afield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
02610183
Volume :
40
Issue :
1
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Critical Social Policy
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
140579992
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018319825547