Neoliberalism's friends, foes and fellow travellers

What can radical feminist and disability perspectives bring to the policy mobilities approach

Bibliographic Data

ID4142702
AuthorsGeorgia Van Toorn (0000-0002-6660-8479, UNSW Sydney, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume53
Issue4
Pages723-740
Publication date2021-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironment and Planning A Economy and Space (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-518X • E-ISSN: 1472-3409
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0308518x20969419
OpenAlexW3109873370
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited50

How and why neoliberal policies spread across political jurisdictions is a fundamental question for economic geographers and critical policy scholars. Many accounts inspired by the policy mobility approach point to neoliberalism as having a conditioning effect on the ease and speed with which policies transverse the globe. Yet the role that social movements and transnational advocacy networks play in shaping and at times facilitating neoliberal policy diffusion has been under-examined. In this article, I bring a new perspective to the policy mobilities literature, by incorporating insights from radical feminist and critical disability theorising. Drawing on the work of Nancy Fraser, I argue that in their haste to scrutinise and theorise neoliberalism as a project of the Right, policy mobility scholars have neglected the mobilising role of the transnational left. Elements of the Left have leant critical support to market-based models of state restructuring, out of concern for minority rights and the welfare state's denial of individual agency and choice. To illustrate my argument, I use a case study of the disability movement and the policy model of individualised funding, which is driving the current trend towards greater marketisation in the provision of disability services

Disadvantaged · Mobilities · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Restructuring · Social science · Sociology · Welfare state · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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Open DOIOpen Access