Risk And Citizenship

Contemporary welfare provision poses serious challenges for social policy. Large and rapid changes are said to be taking place in the way we live, work and relate to each other, characterised by anxiety and insecurity.Risk and Citizenship explores how new and diffrent forms of citizenship are evolving in the context of this 'risk society' and the implications for the development of social policy at both the macro and micro level. This spirited and informed collection of papers by leading analysts addresses key questions related to welfare, citizenship and risk including: the nature of insecurity and social protection; the balance between inequality and egalitarianism; the relationship between governments and citizens; the parameters of citizenship; and the impact of risk assessment and risk management. Risk and Citizenship offers a thought-provoking reading for student, practitioner or policy-maker. It provides: * a review of current debates about risk, citizenship and welfare * in-depth analysis of specific policy initiatives in social security and community care * a new typology of welfare citizenship.

This spirited and informed collection of papers by leading analysts addresses key questions related to welfare, citizenship and risk.

The triple disaster that struck Japan in March 2011 forced people living there to confront new risks in their lives. Despite the Japanese government’s reassurance that radiation exposure would be small and unlikely to affect the health of the general population, many questioned the government’s commitment to protecting their health. The disaster prompted them to become vigilant about limiting their risk exposure, and food emerged as a key area where citizens could determine their own levels of acceptable risk. Food Safety after Fukushima examines the process by which notions about what is safe to eat were formulated after the nuclear meltdown. Its central argument is that as citizens informed themselves about potential risks, they also became savvier in their assessment of the government’s handling of the crisis. The author terms this “Scientific Citizenship,” and he shows that the acquisition of scientific knowledge on the part of citizens resulted in a transformed relationship between individuals and the state. Groups of citizens turned to existing and newly formed organizations where food was sourced from areas far away from the nuclear accident or screened to stricter standards than those required by the state. These organizations enabled citizens to exchange information about the disaster, meet food producers, and work to establish networks of trust where food they considered safe could circulate. Based on extensive fieldwork and interviews with citizens groups, mothers’ associations, farmers, government officials, and retailers, Food Safety after Fukushima reflects on how social relations were affected by the accident. The author vividly depicts an environment where trust between food producers and consumers had been shaken, where people felt uneasy about their food choices and the consequences they might have for their children, and where farmers were forced to deal with the consequences of pollution that was not of their making. Most poignantly, the book conveys the heavy burden now attached to the name “Fukushima” in the popular imagination and explores efforts to resurrect it.

Exploring a broad range of case studies - including young women in conflict with the law, child soldiers, welfare recipients, genetic testing, biotechnology and new technologies - the contributors explore whether the concept of risk has undermined our sense of trust in society, effectively eroding the definition of citizenship, marginalizing particular people and groups, needlessly heightening societal fears and rendering invisible social inequalities.

Cyber-risks are moving targets and societal responses to combat cyber-victimization are often met by the distrust of young people. Drawing on original research, this book explores how young people define, perceive, and experience cyber-risks, how they respond to both the messages they are receiving from society regarding their safety online, and the various strategies and practices employed by society in regulating their online access and activities. This book complements existing quantitative examinations of cyberbullying assessing its extent and frequency, but also aims to critique and extend knowledge of how cyber-risks such as cyberbullying are perceived and responded to. Following a discussion of their methodology and their experiences of conducting research with teens, the authors discuss the social network services that teens are using and what they find appealing about them, and address teens' experiences with and views towards parental and school-based surveillance. The authors then turn directly to areas of concern expressed by their participants, such as relational aggression, cyberhacking, privacy, and privacy management, as well as sexting. The authors conclude by making recommendations for policy makers, educators and teens - not only by drawing from their own theoretical and sociological interpretations of their findings, but also from the responses and recommendations given by their participants about going online and tackling cyber-risk. One of the first texts to explore how young people respond to attempts to regulate online activity, this book will be key reading for those involved in research and study surrounding youth crime, cybercrime, youth culture, media and crime, and victimology - and will inform those interested in addressing youth safety online how to best approach what is often perceived as a sensitive and volatile social problem.

Engin F. Isin and the volume's contributors explore the social sites that have become objects of government, and considers how these subjects are sites of contestation, resistance, differentiation and identification.

'Housing, Citizenship, and Communities for People with Serious Mental Illness' provides a comprehensive overview of the field. The work covers theory, research, practice, and policy issues related to the provision of housing and the supports that people rely on to get and keep their housing.

Securitizations of Citizenship critically assesses the fate of citizenship in relation to securitized practices of surveillance and control that have emerged in the post-9/11 period.