The Disabling State of an Active Society

Mikael Holmqvist

Apr 2016 · Routledge

About this ebook

Across the traditional welfare states of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada there has been increasing emphasis on 'activation' by the unemployed as a tool for fighting unemployment. The core idea of activation programmes is the integration and empowerment of jobseekers through active work-related measures rather than passive income support. However, the empirical evidence of the efficacy of activation programmes is far from conclusive and there have been no systematic studies of the effects of activation programmes on the lives of the unemployed people who come into contact with them. This book is based on a detailed ethnographic study of the highly praised Swedish rehabilitation organization Samhall. The result is a key volume for those working and studying within welfare, poverty, disability and special needs.

About the author

Mikael Holmqvist is Associate Professor in the School of Business at Stockholm University. He previously taught at Uppsala University and has been Visiting Fellow at Stanford and Cornell Universities. He is the author of two previous monographs in English, most recently The Institutionalization of Social Welfare (2008), and numerous articles and book chapters.