Shaping Justice : Defining the disability benefit category in Swedish social policy
(2004) In Lund Dissertations in Sociology 58.- Abstract
- This thesis is about what qualifies to be characterised as disability in Swedish social security legislation and which principles are used to decide who is entitled to social security benefit as disabled. The thesis brings into focus which definitions of needs and criteria that are found 'worthy' and acceptable to include in a disability category in Swedish social policy. In other words are social classifications, public considerations about the categorising in focus. Through empirical 'case' analyses this thesis shows that very different conclusions can demark a disability category in welfare policy. The analysis uncovers that the definitions of this category are not always as clear or sharp in Swedish social policy. Formal administrative... (More)
- This thesis is about what qualifies to be characterised as disability in Swedish social security legislation and which principles are used to decide who is entitled to social security benefit as disabled. The thesis brings into focus which definitions of needs and criteria that are found 'worthy' and acceptable to include in a disability category in Swedish social policy. In other words are social classifications, public considerations about the categorising in focus. Through empirical 'case' analyses this thesis shows that very different conclusions can demark a disability category in welfare policy. The analysis uncovers that the definitions of this category are not always as clear or sharp in Swedish social policy. Formal administrative principles and different underlying conceptions define a disability category in particular ways that again brings different outcomes and demarcation lines of this category in Swedish welfare policy. The definition of a disability category is an outcome of contextual social processes and interpretations. Disability as social political and administrative category is a result of particular social constructs and based on defined normative premises and cultural interpretations.
The thesis presents which principles and criteria are used to distinguish worthiness to a category of disability and illustrate how these categorising rely on certain understandings of the welfare politics for persons with disabilities. The thesis demonstrates that disability in social policy is a changeable category, and that changing criteria are used to determine eligibility. The definition of disability is an outcome of cultural consensus made between contradictory principles for distribution social justice in welfare policy to persons with disabilities. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Denna avhandling behandlar vad som kvalificerar att karakteriseras som handikapp i svensk socialförsäkringslagstiftning och vilka principer som användes för att avgöra vem som har rätt till stöd som funktionshindrad. Avhandlingen fokuserar på de behov/kriterier som i socialpolitiken befinns värdiga och acceptabla att utgöra kategorien handikappade. I centrum för uppmärksamheten står alltså sociala klassificeringar och offentligt kategoritänkande runt kategorien handikappade. Genom empiriska case-analyser visar avhandlingen att det är möjligt att dra helt olika slutsatser om vad som definerar handikapp som välfärdspolitisk kategori. Analysen avslöjar också att definitionerna som rör kategorien... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Denna avhandling behandlar vad som kvalificerar att karakteriseras som handikapp i svensk socialförsäkringslagstiftning och vilka principer som användes för att avgöra vem som har rätt till stöd som funktionshindrad. Avhandlingen fokuserar på de behov/kriterier som i socialpolitiken befinns värdiga och acceptabla att utgöra kategorien handikappade. I centrum för uppmärksamheten står alltså sociala klassificeringar och offentligt kategoritänkande runt kategorien handikappade. Genom empiriska case-analyser visar avhandlingen att det är möjligt att dra helt olika slutsatser om vad som definerar handikapp som välfärdspolitisk kategori. Analysen avslöjar också att definitionerna som rör kategorien inte alltid är tydliga och klara i svensk socialpolitik. Formella administrativa principer och olika underliggande begrepp definierar handikapp var och en på sitt sätt och detta får konsekvenser för hur kategorien blir avgränsad. Definitionen av kategorien handikappade blir därmed ett utfall av kontextuella sociala processer och tolkningar. Detta medför i sin tur att handikapp som socialpolitisk och administrativ kategori blir ett resultat av sociala konstruktioner, som baseras på bestämda normativa förutsättningar och kulturella tolkningar.
Avhandlingen visar vilka principer och kriterier som används för att karakterisera värdighet till handikappkategorien samt visar hur kategoriseringarna hänger samman med förståelsen av välfärdspolitiken för funktionshindrade.
Avhandlingen visar också att begreppet handikapp i socialpolitiken är ett föränderligt begrepp och att gränserna är otydliga och flytande. Definitionerna av handikapp blir ett resultat av slutsatser om kulturell koncensus mellan motstridiga principer för fördelning av sociala rättigheter till människor med funktionshinder. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/21615
- author
- Hedlund, Marianne LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Lindqvist, Rafael, Umeå university, Sweden
- organization
- publishing date
- 2004
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- social policy, disability, Sweden, welfare state, cultural intepretations, social constructs, discourse analysis, impairment, sickness, Care and help to handicapped, health, Social problems and welfare, national insurance, vård och rehabilitering, Handikappade, Social Policy, Sociala problem, social välfärd, socialförsäkring
- in
- Lund Dissertations in Sociology
- volume
- 58
- pages
- 223 pages
- publisher
- Department of Sociology, Lund University
- defense location
- Carolinasalen, Kungshuset, Lund
- defense date
- 2004-03-11 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:ISRN: LUSADG/SASO--04/1159--SE
- ISSN
- 1102-4712
- ISBN
- 91-7267-167-X
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 124f9ed7-44e3-46de-ac97-ed2d67bb08a9 (old id 21615)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 16:25:51
- date last changed
- 2021-12-20 08:53:06
@phdthesis{124f9ed7-44e3-46de-ac97-ed2d67bb08a9,
abstract = {{This thesis is about what qualifies to be characterised as disability in Swedish social security legislation and which principles are used to decide who is entitled to social security benefit as disabled. The thesis brings into focus which definitions of needs and criteria that are found 'worthy' and acceptable to include in a disability category in Swedish social policy. In other words are social classifications, public considerations about the categorising in focus. Through empirical 'case' analyses this thesis shows that very different conclusions can demark a disability category in welfare policy. The analysis uncovers that the definitions of this category are not always as clear or sharp in Swedish social policy. Formal administrative principles and different underlying conceptions define a disability category in particular ways that again brings different outcomes and demarcation lines of this category in Swedish welfare policy. The definition of a disability category is an outcome of contextual social processes and interpretations. Disability as social political and administrative category is a result of particular social constructs and based on defined normative premises and cultural interpretations.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The thesis presents which principles and criteria are used to distinguish worthiness to a category of disability and illustrate how these categorising rely on certain understandings of the welfare politics for persons with disabilities. The thesis demonstrates that disability in social policy is a changeable category, and that changing criteria are used to determine eligibility. The definition of disability is an outcome of cultural consensus made between contradictory principles for distribution social justice in welfare policy to persons with disabilities.}},
author = {{Hedlund, Marianne}},
isbn = {{91-7267-167-X}},
issn = {{1102-4712}},
keywords = {{social policy; disability; Sweden; welfare state; cultural intepretations; social constructs; discourse analysis; impairment; sickness; Care and help to handicapped; health; Social problems and welfare; national insurance; vård och rehabilitering; Handikappade; Social Policy; Sociala problem; social välfärd; socialförsäkring}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Department of Sociology, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Dissertations in Sociology}},
title = {{Shaping Justice : Defining the disability benefit category in Swedish social policy}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4670896/1693294.pdf}},
volume = {{58}},
year = {{2004}},
}