In this article, we explore populist politics, discourses and social practices regarding the ethnic Roma in the rural regions of eastern Slovakia. Our approach was guided by a theoretical discussion of right-wing populism and social inequalities. Methodologically, we relied on Bourdieu's conceptual apparatus as a useful scholastic device to translate very practical data from interviews and observations into structured analytical information. The article is based on field research, in which we explored waste management practices in the municipality of Laborov. We came to the conclusion that essential components of right-wing populism in Laborov rest on what we characterised as ongoing racialised stigmatisation, reconfiguring previously racially uncategorised issues into ethnic problems and thus, reinforcing the stigmatisation and oppression of the disempowered Roma minority groups.
The reform of the assistance in material need in Slovakia has demonstrated a marked tendency towards a more "workfare" type of benefit system. Under "workfare," recipients have to meet certain participation requirements to continue to receive their welfare benefits. These requirements are a combination of activities that are intended to improve the recipient's job prospects and to generate a "net contribution" to society from welfare recipients. Despite a significant drop in the number of the assistance in material need recipients and a decline in unemployment rate based on statistical data, we cannot conclude that there is a direct causality between these trends and changes in the system of the assistance. Testimonies from in-depth interviews with stakeholders in districts indicate that the inclusion of recipients of assistance in material need in the labour market was only mildly successful. Fieldwork has also shown that the obligation to work for the benefit in material need has a "punitive" character. The fieldwork also showed that there are barriers and obstacles that prevent better results regarding the return of the long-term unemployed into the labour market due to a workfare design that was focused only on work integration e.g. strengthening of skills, work habits and motivation to work and does not consistently incorporate other forms of social integration support.Boj proti chudobe a sociálna politika v tomto kontexte tradične spočíva na dvoch veľkých pilieroch, ktorými sú finančné dávky a sociálne služby. Tieto dva piliere sú však dopĺňané aktivitami smerom k vzdelávaciemu systému a k trhu práce s cieľom tvorby opatrení, ktoré pôsobia preventívne. Približne v poslednom desaťročí možno pozorovať určitú zmenu v charaktere sociálnych politík v oblasti boja proti chudobe a sociálnemu vylúčeniu, ktorý sa dá nazvať ako príklon k aktivácii. Aktivácia predstavuje zmenu opatrení sociálnej ochrany a politík trhu práce smerom k intenzívnejšej zainteresovanosti klientov sociálnych politík na riešení ich vlastnej sociálnej situácie. Z toho vyplýva zároveň posun k zvýšeniu šancí klientov plnohodnotne participovať na trhu práce, ale aj na iných dimenziách života spoločnosti. "Aktívne" politiky sú vnímané ako opozitum ku tzv. "pasívnym" politikám, ktoré sú charakteristické poskytovaním transferov a služieb bez požiadavky reciprocity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.