(In)formalization and the Civilizing Process: Applying the Work of Norbert Elias to Housing‐Based Anti‐Social Behaviour Interventions in the UK

Abstract

This paper utilises Norbert Elias' theory of the civilising process to examine trends in social conduct in the UK and to identify how problematic 'anti-social' behaviour is conceptualised and governed through housing-based mechanisms of intervention.The paper describes how Elias' concepts of the formalisation and informalisation of conduct and the construction of established and outsider groups provide an analytical framework for understanding social relations. It continues by discussing how de-civilising processes are also evident in contemporary society, and are applied to current policy discourse around Respect and anti-social behaviour. The paper utilises the governance of 'anti-social' conduct through housing mechanisms in the UK to critique the work of Elias and concludes by arguing that a revised concept of the civilising process provides a useful analytical framework for future studies.

Supportive housing and surveillance

“…Such urban housing environments have received increasing international attention as spaces that can benefit health as well as produce harm (e.g. Bullen, 2015; Flanagan, 2015; Knight et al, 2014; Nethercote, 2015; Powell and Flint, 2009). For example, harm reduction as a key component of social housing has been advocated to reduce risk and promote social inclusion (Pauly et al, 2013).…”

Gypsy-Travellers and Welfare Professional Discourse: On Individualization and Social Integration

“…‘Civilizing’ was what they were after: lifting fellow human beings to a new level of existence” (Bauman 1985:7). This civilizing project, however, has been shown to be inherently ambivalent in relation to other marginalized populations with accounts emphasizing the way in which civilizing offensives (and indeed civilization) can themselves exhibit a decivilized character (Burkitt 1996; Powell and Flint 2009; van Krieken 1999). The contention of this paper is that such a civilizing project is evident in welfare professional discourse on Gypsy‐Travellers; a discourse constructed around the watchwords of civilization, individualization and social integration.…”

Individualization and Social Dis/integration in Contemporary Society: A Comparative Note on Zygmunt Bauman and Norbert Elias

“…such breaches are always possible and can lead to new consolidations" (Elias 2000, 106). Indeed, he observed, in the postscript to he Civilizing Process, that "several types of change, even in opposite directions, can be observed simultaneously in the same society" (Elias 2000, 450;see Fletcher 1997;Mennell 1990;Powell and Flint 2009). …”