Socio-Economic Mobility and Neo-Liberal Governmentality in Post-Socialist Europe

Activation and the Dehumanisation of the Roma

Bibliographic Data

ID7843463
AuthorsHuub Van Baar (0000-0001-6632-5885, University of Amsterdam, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume38
Issue8
Pages1289-1304
Publication date2012-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Community (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-9586 • E-ISSN: 1469-9451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1369183x.2012.689189
OpenAlexW2123332137
LanguageEN
Citations received62
References cited15

This paper discusses recent profound transformations in the post-socialist governance of welfare states and their impact on the Roma, Europe's most marginalised and vulnerable minority. Discussing the consequences of the recent transition of social policy in East Central Europe from the angle of a shift from Communist welfare societies to post-1989 active societies shows how these changes have simultaneously inaugurated new approaches to the region's Romani minorities. Through an analysis of how neo-liberal forms of governmentality have ambiguously been cross-fertilised with new and renewed patterns and techniques of welfare governance in Slovakia, this paper calls into question the current emphasis on activating supposedly ‘inactive’ Roma. This examination reveals that the introduction of allegedly politically neutral technologies and forms of expertise to improve the Roma's socio-economic mobility has actually resulted in disputable forms of Romani minority governance, including the dehumanisation of some of the most marginalised members of this minority. To challenge these practices, this paper advocates a break with the persistent policy-centric trend in Roma-related research. Redirecting research beyond the dominant focus on discrepancies between policies and their implementation, it is argued, potentially offers valuable insights into our understanding of the complex relationship between policy failures and the revitalisation of marginalising practices

Communism · Corporate governance · Dehumanization · Economics · Governmentality · Modernization theory · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Welfare · Law · Romani and Gypsy Studies

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