Correction to: Language and imagined Gesellschaft: Émile Durkheim’s civil-linguistic nationalism and the consequences of universal human ideals

Theory and Society - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-021-09436-2     

The social dynamics of the “Nigerian Taliban”: fresh insights from the social identity theory

Although the ongoing terrorism of the “Nigerian Taliban”, widely known as “Boko Haram”, in northeastern Nigeria has elicited numerous works, there is yet to be an analysis that adequately accounts for the social dynamics of the group’s identity and belonging in the Nigerian polity. This paper is the first systematic attempt to draw on the social identity theory to develop a conceptual discourse that explains the relationship between religion in Nigeria as a force of mobilisation as well as an identity marker, and to show how its politics, practice and perception are implicated in the resilient insurgency of Boko Haram. Along the way, the paper considers the social dynamics of poverty and relative deprivation in northern, especially northeastern, Nigeria, and their contributions to the escalating terrorism of Boko Haram.     

Rise of the social?: Socialization of care and gendered social economy in South Korea

This paper sheds light on the recent increase in social enterprises and cooperatives in the care services sector, in particular, in the context of socializing care from the family in South Korea. This paper pays attention to the dynamics between marketization and social protection and the emancipatory efforts to build rich market relationship. In this paper, first I explore the changes in the care regime and the development of the care labor market with a focus on Long Term Care Insurance for the elderly in South Korea. Then I review the care provision through Social and Solidarity Economy and various attempts to build rich market relations. Finally, I evaluate the range of efforts for socialization of care with gender perspective by using the framework which is derived from Fraser's (2013) scenario for emancipation.     

Theorizing theory: Invitation to a broader conversation about ‘theory’ in sociology

‘Theory’ is a seminal term in sociology. Sociologists tend to ask that articles, chapters and monographs are ‘theoretical’, ‘develop theory’ or ‘make a theoretical contribution’. Yet, as demonstrated in Gabriel Abend’s 2008 article ‘The Meaning of ‘Theory’, it is generally unclear what sociologists mean when they talk about theory. Abend distinguishes seven different meanings sociologists tend to impute to ‘theory’ and argues that no single definition can usefully capture these substantively different meanings. Counter to Abend, we propose and defend a minimal and versatile theory of theory, which does capture the important common denominators in sociologists' various uses of the term theory. The major strengths of our proposal are that it enables informed and synthetic discussion and fosters reflexivity about differences and similarities between different types of theory. Our minimal theory of theory thus serves as an invitation to a broader conversation about theory in sociology.     

‘Social choice and welfare’ at 30: its role in the development of social choice theory and welfare economics

The number of papers published in Social Choice and Welfare has tremendously increased over the years. This paper is a subjective overview of the parallel development of the journal and the subjects it covers.     

The circle of social reform: the relationship social work—social policy in Addams and Richmond

This article presents some results of a broader purpose of research on the thought and work of Addams and Richmond, particularly about the relationship between social work and social policy. First, we aim to contribute to deeper knowledge on the thought of these two pioneers on this relevant subject for social work nowadays and, particularly, to remove a relative veil of ignorance Richmond's involvement in social reform activities and elaboration on social reform in the context of the public and social policies process. Second, our proposal is to support a revision of the orthodox account on the antagonistic or irreconcilable nature of the two major traditions—social casework (or psychosocial approach) and social reform (or socio-political approach)—founded by two of the most influential figures of social work. Based on secondary and primary sources, the article focuses on the inseparable relationship between social policy and social work, clearly present in the thought and intervention of these seminal authors, and sheds new light on on-going debates and the disputed role of social policy perspectives within professionalised social work and the articulation between direct intervention with individuals, groups and communities and policy practice.     

‘Only Connect’: Unifying the social in social work and social media

‘Only Connect…live in fragments no longer’

(E.M. Forster, Howards End).

This paper utilises ‘Only Connect’, the epigraph from Forster’s novel ‘Howards End’ as the starting point for exploring the challenges and opportunities of integrating social networking with relationship based social work practice. The paper discusses the more deleterious implications of social networking, whilst assuming a deliberately optimistic stance to uncover ways in which the opportunities afforded by online space can be utilised effectively within social work education and practice. Whilst recognising that social networking platforms are transforming constantly, the paper adopts Kaplan’s definition of social media as a ‘group of internet based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0’. Whilst much of the discussion within the paper relates to Twitter and Facebook, two of the most endemic international social networking platforms, it is also applicable to myriad forms of social networking. The paper begins with a discussion of UK professional conduct cases and explores these both within Klein’s concept of splitting and historical attitudes to new technologies. Drawing from emerging research data and other examples, the positive relational practices educed by social media within social work education and practice are emphasised and discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting Forster’s plea for connection and recommending that social work embraces the renewed opportunities provided by online networking.     

Organisational factors, individual characteristics and social support: what determines the level of social support?

A large body of research has linked social support to health, but there are fewer studies that have focused on factors that influence the level of social support available and/or perceived by employees in different organisations. This cross-sectional study therefore investigated the relationship between on the one hand, organisational, individual and socio-demographic factors and on the other, the level of social support at the workplace, i.e., the degree of supervisor support and a supportive work atmosphere. Organisational variables (job demands, job control, job content), individual (self-esteem, mistrust) and socio-demographic variables (type of employer, occupational position, age, gender and educational level) were used as independent variables in the analyses. The sample consisted of 16,144 individuals at a variety of different organisations in Sweden, who had responded to a questionnaire covering different psychosocial and psychological stress factors ("the Stress Profile"). Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed separately for each of the two dependent variables, which yielded almost identical results, and indicated that organisational determinants, particularly perceived job control, had the largest impact on the degree of social support.     

‘Globalisation’, Governance and social work: Some implications for theory and practice

Abstract

This article focuses cautiously on the implications of ‘globalisation’ for social work theory and practice. In drawing on recent debates it is argued that, despite its contested meaning, ‘globalisation’ points to a range of rapid and fundamental socioeconomic and political transformations that have impacted upon entire regions of the work. Some of these transformations are identified and analysed in terms of their consequences for transnational, national and local populations. It is proposed that the prevailing consequences of globalisation in terms of social inequality and allied modalities of governance are negative, and that this has important implications for the profession of social work. Effective strategies for confronting the challenges posed by ‘turbo capitalism’ may be found in alliances across global social movements and professional groups, including social workers. The challenges are profound.     

Back to the future? From pragmatic approaches in the social sciences to the development of the patchwork theory

The debate on the function of the social sciences in complex societies, and more generally of the role of knowledge, leads necessarily to a discussion on pragmatism. The gap between theoretical approaches and empirical research still exists and has even widened, in part as a result of the use and abuse of social science knowledge in politics and by the media. However, the academic system is equally to blame for this. Mutual ignorance and scholastic fights are barriers against openness, creative and imaginary thinking. The structures and the practices of the academic system reinforce this trend. Pragmatism aims at overcoming these cleavages by looking at commonalities between different approaches rather than by disputing their validity. It aims at a comprehensive understanding of the process of knowledge production and at the productive use of results. Defining itself in this tradition, the patchwork theory goes beyond the traditional pragmatic approaches: it catches part of the reality of social phenomena from a certain perspective that allows for an overview without having the full picture. Methodologicall, the approach guided by patchwork theory emphasizes the relevance of stakeholders’ knowledge and citizen science, and calls for public participation and democratic access to the production and use of knowledge in a discursive manner.     

Practices and rhetoric of migrants’ social exclusion in Italy: intermarriage,work and citizenship as devices for the production of social inequalities

The article aims to investigate the intersection of legislative dimensions, economic conditions and intimate life contributing to racialising and marginalising the poorest non-European migrants. First, this article focuses on the central role played by the private life in claiming citizenship rights and in building a sense of belonging within migratory contexts. As a result, mixed couples become a border zone through which the state disciplines immigrants according to their class, nationality and gender. On the other side, mixed couples and their intimate lives define resistance against the state’s biopolitical power to control people and become the space of intimate citizenship. Second, the article analyses the matrix for immigrants’ exclusion and differentiation embodied within the institutional and legislative system through immigration and citizenship laws. Therefore, the ‘coloniality power matrix’ becomes an active component of the naturalisation system of social differences at an institutional level.     

Is theory development essential for the social work dissertation?

Grounded theory methodology (GTM) is a popular methodology used in social work dissertation research. GTM entails the development of theory ‘grounded in’ and generated from data systematically gathered and analyzed through qualitative methods. But little is known of its theory development and relationship to social work education at the doctoral level. In this article, we reflect on contemporary usage of GTM with respect to the state of theory development in social work education by reviewing a sample of Canadian social work doctoral dissertations that utilize GTM, identifying if and how theory was developed. Our analysis draws from a broader review of GTM research published as social work doctoral dissertations in Canada using the Qualitative Research Quality Checklist (QRQC). The findings indicate that almost half of the dissertations in the sample did not contribute to theory development, and for many, theory development was not the intention. This raises a question about whether theory development when utilizing GTM is essential in social work dissertation research, and perhaps, whether the focus should be on exploring a social work issue rather than generating theory. The paper concludes with considerations for social work educators in regards to research methodology, epistemology, and theory.     

Who killed whom?: victimization and culpability in the social construction of murder

Based on in-depth interviews with relatives of people convicted of murder, this article examines the ways in which everyday understandings of 'murder' are socially constructed, as revealed by the narratives of murderers' relatives. To this end, interviewees' explanations of the killings are analysed and a distinction is drawn between interviewees who understood the killings committed by their relatives as manslaughter and those who accepted the murder verdict. In defining the offences in this way, interviewee s identified the significance of victimization and culpability to understandings of interpersonal violence. Through the analysis of interview data, it is possible to examine the ways in which 'murder' is seen to have occurred only when particular criteria of victimization and culpability are met.     

The particularity of the universal: critical reflections on Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic power and the state

A critical review of Bourdieu’s theory of the state is developed here against the backdrop of both his wider theoretical project and empirical studies. Elaborating the concepts of symbolic capital, symbolic violence, and symbolic domination, the centrality that Bourdieu accords to symbolic forms is compared to benchmark Weberian accounts that start with the state monopoly of violence. Reviewing also some of the burgeoning secondary literature discussing his theory of the state, Bourdieu’s writings, which encompass various antinomies, are shown to vacillate between two distinct perspectives—a strong and a weak theory of the state. His rejection of the “physicalist” approaches of Marx, Elias, and Tilly is elaborated and subject to a counter-critique, particularly in relation to the notion of symbolic “violence.” Bourdieu’s account of the state is shown to be as much a political as theoretical intervention. His antagonism towards Marxist accounts in particular is shown to be rooted in a pragmatic interest in the role of the “left hand of the state” in progressive reform; and this perspective is traced back to the twin influences of Durkheim and Hegel, French republicanism, and in particular the potential of the state to express a universal interest. At the same time, compared with sophisticated Marxist and Weberian accounts and the work of Norbert Elias and Gramsci, Bourdieu’s theory is shown to be severely lacking in the way that he deals with violence and coercion. His “expanded materialism,” particularly with the “strong theory,” bends the stick too far and overplays the symbolic basis of consent. Nevertheless, Bourdieu’s insights with regard to the pervasive influences of state practices of classification, taxonomy, delegation, and naming are shown to have real utility with regard to focused empirical investigations of the state in modern societies.     

Armchair detectives and the social construction of falsehoods: an actor–network approach

ABSTRACT

This paper examines two large-scale cases ? the 2013 Boston bombing and the 2015 Bangkok bombing, each of which spurred an online investigation conducted by concerned citizens to find the bombers. While both bombing cases had different cultural discourses, the processes and outcomes of the online investigation were similar: there were rampant speculation and rumor-mongering, as well as false accusations and harassment of innocent suspects. The aim of the paper is to understand how such acts of mob justice happened. Using actor–network theory, a theoretical and methodological tool for mapping out the networks human and non-human interactions, I discuss two types of networks found in both investigations. The two network types demonstrate how a claim can be construed as fact or fiction through such networks of interaction. In light of debates on the proliferation of fake news and alternative facts, the findings have implications for the current and precarious state of truth in today’s society.     

Changing times: Migrants’ social network analysis and the challenges of longitudinal research

Focusing on migrant social networks, this paper draws upon the sociology of time to incorporate complex notions of temporality into the research process. In so doing, we consider firstly, the challenge of going ‘beyond the snapshot’ in data collection to capture dynamism through time. Secondly, we apply the concepts of timescapes to explore ways of addressing the wider context and the interplay between spatiality, temporality and relationality in migration research. We argue that integrating a mixed methods approach to SNA, crucially including visualisation, can provide a useful methodological and analytical framework to understand dynamics.SNA can also be helpful in bridging the personal and structural dimensions in migration research, by providing a meso level of analysis. However, it is also important to connect the investigation of local and transnational networks with an analysis of the broader social, economic and political contexts in which these take shape; in other words, connecting the micro and the meso with the wider macro level. Drawing upon reflections from our migration research studies, we argue that different combinations of quantitative, qualitative and visual methods do not just provide richer sets of data and insights, but can allow us to better connect conceptualisations – and ontologies – of social networks with specific methodological frameworks.     

The intellectual and social organization of ASA 1990– 1997: Exploring the interface between the discipline of sociology and its practitioners

This article examines patterns of joint membership in ASA sections and analyzes the resulting section clusters in order to ultimately assess the present state of the disci-pline and unearth the organizational structure underlying intellectual and profes-sional currents. Previous empirical findings regarding the structure of sociology in the 1980s are largely confirmed for sociology in the 1990s. Despite a 41 percent increase in the number of ASA sections between 1990 and 1997, I find remarkable stability in the interpretation of clusters of sections, a fact that provides an updated empirical basis for the assessment of internal debates within the discipline and sug-gests future structural trends.