A Critical Analysis of Approaches to the Concept of Social Identity in Social Policy

Abstract

This article seeks both to highlight a current imbalance in approaches to social identity in social policy, and to make suggestions as to how this might be redressed in future work employing the concept.The concept of identity and specifically social identity is increasingly employed in the discipline of social policy as a theoretical device with which to bridge the individual/social divide. The argument presented here suggests that the concept is however, unevenly deployed in policy analysis and, therefore lacks the force of impact it might otherwise have had. The predominant focus of current analysis lies in policy change precipitated by groups of 'new,' active welfare constituents organised around differentiated and fragmented social identities, whereas the identities of welfare professionals also involved in policy making process have disappeared from analytical view. The current emphasis on the discursive context for policy formulation, perpetuates an unacknowledged misconception concerning the asociality of those involved in policy making, where their principal role is perceived as the maintenance of the status quo in terms of social policy responses to welfare constituents needs. Redressing this false dichotomy between those developing and those using welfare services might be avoided by further exploring the concept of relational identity.

Women Asylum Seekers and Refugees: Opportunities, Constraints and the Role of Agency

“…Service providers were also, to some extent, involved in this process as well. Indeed, it has been suggested that there is a need to focus on the agency of professionals and not just the welfare user (Hunter, 2003). It appeared that many service providers had seen their roles develop since dispersal began, often taking on multiple roles, in terms of advising and supporting around issues that perhaps were not part of their original remit.…”

Empowering interventions in health and social care: Recognition through ‘ecologies of practice’

“…Some research has implicitly or explicitly viewed health and social care practitioners as rather uni-dimensional in their adherence to dominant policy discourses (see Hunter, 2003 for an in depth discussion of this point). In contrast, we draw on research suggesting that practitioners often work within a space of creative tension that respects managerially-based demands, whilst also incorporating alternative understandings shaped by experiential knowledge and by social identities within the 'private' sphere (Hoggett, Mayo & Miller, 2006).…”

Violent and victimized bodies: Sexual violence policy in England and Wales

“…For Bensimon and Marshall (2003), policy science can never uncover power dynamics or the gendered, classed, and 'raced' impact of supposedly neutral policies. Furthermore, Hunter (2003) argues, there is a need to focus on the identities and social locations of policymakers alongside the subjects/objects of policy.…”