Neoliberal Conceptions Research Articles

Critical considerations of career enrolment data: Challenges, limitations, and possibilities

The advent of Career Enrolment Data (CED) in Higher Education is an important development for graduate employability practitioners and other stakeholders seeking to understand, analyse and enhance students’ career readiness. CED, collected annually from all students in participating universities, requires students to self-report on their own career readiness, and is described as having ‘the potential to be a component of a standardised measure of learning gain in relation to student employability’ (Cobb, 2019, p.23). Reflections are offered by two graduate employability practitioners currently tasked with introducing CED to educators and recommending its use to support careers-focused components of their curricula. Drawing on different disciplinary backgrounds to inform their approaches, both practitioners are keen to explore opportunities to capitalise on the strengths of data insights. However, they advocate for a carefully nuanced and contextualised approach, openly acknowledging relevant limitations and risks when presenting the data to educators and other stakeholders. Drawing on one author’s background in psychology, it considers the process of self-reporting on which the data wholly relies, noting potential influences and biases that may be relevant. The second author offers a sociological perspective, using the concept of neoliberalism as a framework for engaging with concerns about an employability agenda driven by corporate and economic interests, and a culture of auditing sometimes associated with hardship for academics and a detrimental effect on pedagogy. While it should be noted that experts in CED such as Gilworth and Cobb take care to acknowledge limitations and risks (Cobb, 2019; Gilworth, 2023) this reflective account grapples with the challenge of ensuring that these important nuances are not lost as the context shifts from theory to practice.

Intersectional transformation or ‘gender equality+’? Intersectionality in European Union policies on research and science

This article investigates the emergence of intersectionality in EU policy discourses on gender equality in science and research, focusing on how it transforms existing equality politics. Based on critical policy analysis, we identify both limitations and potentials of this development. First, we find that, while documents often focus on the individual dimension of intersectionality, they do not necessarily neglect the structural dimension, as individuals’ experiences are sometimes used to illustrate structural aspects at work. Second, despite increasing mentions of intersectionality, we find that policy discourses remain dominated by a strong focus on gender. Third, we argue that the emergence of intersectionality reflects a shift from striving for sameness between men and women towards a neoliberal conception of valuing differences equally. This shift, while promising greater inclusivity, also risks depoliticizing and commodifying diversity. Our findings underscore the need for policies that genuinely address intersecting inequalities, advancing beyond individualistic and gender-centric approaches.

The spatiality of a military base as urban geographical entity: the case of ‘The Pikkud’ in Beersheba, Israel

Urban studies have increasingly engaged in understanding the role of the military in co-producing the city. Yet, the spatial role of an individual military base within a particular city has largely been overlooked. This deficiency is particularly acute as, due to contradictory governance regimes, a military base constitutes a contradictory non-democratic interface with a liberal urban civil space. This deficiency is due primarily to failure to view a military base as a concrete ‘geographical entity’ with a geographical agency. The Lefebvrian spatial trialectic (perceived conceived and lived spaces) is employed here as a framework for analyzing the relationships between the base and the city. We bind it theoretically and analytically with the concept of a geographical entity carrying a geographical agency. Based primarily on a qualitative methodology, we studied the spatiality of an urban military base in Beersheba, Israel, analyzing the three facets of spaces. The analysis reveals that neoliberal concepts held by urban planning professionals regarding urban space as conditioned by the presence of the military base (conceived space) are not necessarily congruent with those of the public which routinely lives and experiences (lived space) the concrete materiality of the base (perceived space). Thus, as a geographical entity within the city, a military base exists apart yet concurrently there are overlapping relations and entanglements with community life, suggesting a spatiality that extends beyond its physical territory. With these conceptual and methodological approaches and insights this study adds to the recently growing field of urban military geographies which hitherto overlooked these spatial perspectives of the military.

“You’re like my twin soul”: postfeminist neoliberalism in Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian

ABSTRACT Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian premiered in 2017, adding a makeover show to the Kardashians’ already extensive media portfolio. This article contextualises the series in feminist media scholarship on postfeminism, neoliberalism and makeover TV. It argues that Revenge Body’s depiction of “experts” as potential sites of intimacy that facilitate inner and outer transformation furthers a postfeminist over-relation between bodily change and emotional wellbeing. By considering the show’s presentation of “experts” – both Kardashian and otherwise—this article contends that the bespoke matching of trainer and trainee plays into neoliberal conceptions of contemporary citizenship where subjects are instructed to transform and manage their own body in relation to the hegemonic expectations of their immediate social circle. Through various means, the series presents holistic lifestyle change as achievable through obedience, self-surveillance, and constant performative resilience.

Feeling rules in artificial intelligence: norms for anger management

The rapid spread of conversational AI, as well as the potential for personal conversations with chatbots, makes it relevant to examine what norms and values underlie chatbot responses. This article examines the feeling rules for anger implicitly communicated by a recent chatbot (ChatGPT). Querying the chatbot about appropriate and inappropriate anger, the study shows how specific feeling rules are articulated by AI. The chatbot communicates norms of productive, respectful, constructive, controlled and calm expression of anger through talk and, as such, relies on communication as a pervasive cultural repertoire. Based on a rereading of Boltanski and Thévenot’s (2006) economies of worth focusing on feeling rules, it is argued that different moral repertoires have implications for feeling rules. Using this theoretical framework to analyse the responses of the chatbot, it is evident that it primarily relies on both the industrial and the domestic orders of worth to assess anger. The chatbot articulates the problem of anger as unproductiveness and disrespect. The feeling rules implied in the responses of the chatbot reflect a neoliberal conception of self as individually responsible, productive, self-regulating, emotionally competent and able to find solutions. The seemingly neutral advice of the chatbot potentially depoliticises anger, disciplines people to remain productive and respectful and narrows the scope of anger expressions that are deemed acceptable.

Normalizing capitalism: East Germans experiencing the market economy during the 1990s

ABSTRACT This article examines the experiences of East Germans and their adaptation to economic transformations before, during, and after 1989/90. It re-uses social science interviews from the 1990s as historical sources to show how notions of normalization, economic change, and subjectivity were intertwined. Unlike previous research on the history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the article conceptualizes “normalization” not as a specific period, but as a way of organizing social and economic change. The concept of normalization, as used in this article, allows experiences of both the socialist planned economy in East Germany and the capitalist market economy that emerged after reunification to be connected as a coherent period. Taking a bottom-up perspective, the article argues that East Germans framed their self-normalization as a process of catching up with Western economic normality, thereby aligning themselves with highly contested theories of modernization. From the subjects’ standpoint, there is little to no mention of ideas or concepts of neoliberalism playing a significant role in this process.

Neoliberalism, institutional change and the new culture of the university professoriate: the Spanish case

ABSTRACT Neoliberalism has pervaded almost everywhere in the world, bringing about major changes in institutional frameworks and social relations. Science and university research have not escaped the effects of the neoliberal conception of university knowledge as a commodity and of Higher Education as a factor of economic growth. This research offers a provisional assessment of the effects of the profound institutional change produced in the Spanish university sphere instigated European and national directives. As will be seen, the implementation of the operational criteria of evaluation is shaping a new culture of university teaching staff. This paper ties together a Institutionnal Political Economy explanation of the transformation of Spanish academia with research evidence of the outcomes of a neoliberal regime, honing in or activities resembling or constituting malpractice, and complicity of staff in their governance, alongside the more commonly discussed issues of workplace stress, overwork, and mental health issues. This research analyses the discursive devices and strategies used for the construction of the new neoliberal subjectivity, by means of an exhaustive review of the literature and empirical studies carried out in Spain. Next, the institutional effects of the disproportionate use of metrics are presented. Thirdly, the socialisation processes of Spanish academics and their adaptation to evaluation methods are described. The text ends with a brief conclusion and a series of proposals aimed at configuring another way of generating knowledge in a model designed more for development than for economic growth.

Development of social worker critical reflexivity through integration of lived experience into further education

ABSTRACT Social work education is not completed by graduation from school, and further education is becoming increasingly important. It has been co-opted by neoliberal concepts, even though it should help to solve serious social problems and defend the interests of social groups threatened by current development. Learning from lived experience is key to further education in reaching the critical reflexivity of social workers. Few research studies deal with the involvement of experts by experience in further education. We are interested in learning about the factors contributing to social workers’ learning from lived experience. Our research interest is to deepen our knowledge of the involvement of lived experience in further education of social workers; specifically, we are asking what factors influence social worker learning from lived experience. We are using the research of further education of social workers in chosen municipalities in the Czech Republic and suggest critical aspects of learning modules when working with lived experience.

Revisiting the Rise and Decline of Authoritarian Neoliberalism: A Political Economy Analysis of Akp’s Initial Decade

This paper offers a fresh and nuanced perspective by re-examining the concept of authoritarian neoliberalism in the context of the first decade of the AKP’s rule in Turkey. The study addresses two main research questions: Firstly, it explores the factors that transformed the 2000s, often seen as a period of democratization, into an era of authoritarianism. Secondly, it investigates how the AKP effectively established an authoritarian neoliberal state during this time. To tackle these questions, the paper argues that the AKP’s authoritarian neoliberal project rests on two key pillars. The first pillar involves creating a depoliticized technocratic state structure that allows for the implementation of policies aligning with the interests of the dominant capital faction. The second element involves weakening labor opposition, which plays a crucial role in shaping the authoritarian neoliberal state. The paper suggests that the waning influence of the labor movement played a central role in driving the shift toward authoritarianism in the 2000s, granting the government more flexibility in shaping policies. This paper enhances our understanding of the political and economic transformation in Turkey during this significant period, shedding light on the development of the authoritarian neoliberal state and its crisis after 2013.

DESTRUKTIVNI PROCESI PRIVATIZACIJE – EKONOMSKI I SOCIJALNI SUNOVRAT

In the world economy the historical conflict between labor and capital is intensifying in the process of the dominance of speculative financial capital. The rise of unemployment in the new global crisis leads to the spread of fear for the existence of the masses. There is a general decline in the share of employees' income in the national income, along with a real decline in salaries and wages. The functioning of globalized capitalism and the creation of the precariat are investigated. The aggravation of the conflict between labor and large speculative capital is the path to a permanent crisis. The relationship between private capital, profit and the welfare state are the basis of new crises in capitalism. A critical finding of the process of privatization and its destructive action in society is needed. A special part of the paper refers to the creation of a dependent and indebted economy, along with the discovery of the mechanism of creation of the debt burden. Finally, it investigates where modern economies and society have led to the devastating concept of neoliberalism, privatization and the separation of labor from capital and the results of development. Key words: economy, privatization, capital, debt economy.

Corporate social responsibility in relation to the economic dimension of socio-economic policy

ObjectivesCorporate social responsibility is a concept that allows organizing economic life both at the level of the organization and at the level of the state taking into account the broader interests of the social environment of a contemporary enterprise and stimulating inclusive growth in the quality of economic relations. Entrepreneurs are aware that they are expected not only to generate profits, but also to fairly shape relations with the entire socio-economic environment. CSR can be defined as a concept through which companies voluntarily take into account social and environmental interests at the stage of strategy building, as well as relations with various stakeholder groups. Being responsible does not just mean meeting all formal and legal requirements, but in addition to increased investment in human resources, environmental protection and stakeholder relations.Material and methodsThe purpose of the article is to theoretically analyze the role and importance of corporate social responsibility in the process of creating an inclusive and integrative role for economics and business in the economy. The article shows that neo-liberal concepts focusing on profit maximization at all costs and the "invisible" hand of the market have significantly devalued.ResultsIt is therefore possible to identify specific benefits of implementing corporate social responsibility principles. In the area of economic benefits, social environment and environmental.ConclusionsSocial responsibility benefits not only the company itself and its direct beneficiaries, but also the economy and the environment. Responsible selling allows to build loyalty and trust of employees, and consequently supports sustainable economic development based on social participation and equitable distribution of national income.

Educational equity in England: the shortcomings of the UK Government’s COVID-19 response

The UK Government sought to respond to lockdowns and lost learning during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in multiple ways, including replacing cancelled examinations and compensating for lost learning through a National Tutoring Programme. In the case of the former, the system failed to realise the demands of equity by privileging wealthier students and beating a path back to a flawed ‘normality.’ In the case of the latter, while the idea of providing targeted, high quality small group and one on one tutoring to the most in-need students was well-conceived, implementation was a failure - particularly following its contracting out to a large outsourcing company. These two cases demonstrate that English education policy is adherent to a neoliberal conception of education equity, and that attempts to address inequalities are constrained, backfire, or both.

Progresywny cykl peruwiańskiej polityki kulturowej

PROGRESSIVE CYCLE OF PERUVIAN CULTURAL POLICY: PARTICIPATION AND THE RIGHT OF PRIOR CONSULTATION REGARDING THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES The aim of the article is to analyse the rights of Indigenous Peoples to the protection, preservation, and management of their cultural heritage. The second element of the research is the analysis of the politicisation of the cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples in the context of their right to participation andconsultation. Considerations on this subject are presented in the context of the phenomenon of ethnic revival and empowerment of indigenous communities (both in Latin America and on a global scale), which has been developing for several decades, in line with the slogans of democratisation and decolonisation.These phenomena coincided in the first decades of the 21st century with an unprecedented moment in the political history of Latin America – the so-called progressive cycle of public policies, according to which the governments of subsequent countries rejected neoliberal concepts in favour of greater involvement of the authorities in building egalitarian societies, and in the field of cultural policies, the pursuit of ‘democratisation of culture’. As a case study of the discussed phenomena, the article presents the progressive cycle of cultural policy in the Republic of Peru and an example of the activity of the interdisciplinary program Proyecto Qhapaq Ñan, established in 2001 by the authorities of the Republic for the purpose of inventory, documentation and safeguarding the remains of the Andean Qhapaq Ñan Trail. Its trajectory reflects both the variables of Peru’s cultural policy, shaped in relation to the operational guidelines and international standards of the UN system, and the evolution of Peruvian ethnopolitics toward indigenous peoples in the last two decades.

Contemporary Transformations of the Historic Urban Landscape of Sarajevo and Social Inclusion as a Traditional Value of a Multicultural Society

The main research question of this paper focuses on the impact of contemporary interventions on the protection of architectural heritage and the transformation of the unique historic urban landscape of Sarajevo, which symbolizes social tolerance. This study examines the tendencies that have been destroying the essence of such a landscape since the beginning of the 21st century. This research primarily relies on the method of direct observation to analyze the ongoing transformation of the urban landscape over the past 25 years. Additionally, previous research findings and relevant documentation regarding the ongoing urban metamorphosis were considered. The historical urban landscape of Sarajevo is the result of complex urban development that began in the mid-15th century. This urban form, still partially recognizable today, reflected prevailing social relationships, particularly the inclusion of different groups instead of their exclusion, which demonstrated tolerance. However, this research shows the incompatibility of today’s neoliberal concept with the preservation of an urban landscape that embodies tolerance and excludes social marginalization.

Rationalization and Marketization: A Look at the Debate on Neoliberalism in Higher Education

This article tackles the ongoing debate surrounding the concept of neoliberalism and its application  within the realm of higher education studies. It contends that a sociological perspective can provide valuable tools to address this ambiguity and contribute to the process of conceptualization in this field. To achieve this, the article proposes a reinterpretation of the notion of neoliberalism in the context of higher education, drawing from insights derived from the sociological theory of Weber and Foucault.The article suggests, first, that the concepts of marketization and economic rationalization in higher education can help us better comprehend the transformation occurring within higher education systems. Using the case of Chile as an example, these concepts shed light on the privatization of the education system and the intensified  competition brought about by the 2018 reform. Notably, this reform paradoxically expanded the scope of State intervention while seeking to reduce the influence of market forces. Consequently, the notion of neoliberalism is positioned within a dynamic interplay between markets and the State, all under the influence of inherent dynamics of higher education.

Вплив міжнародних економічних суб’єктів на державне регулювання економіки

Based on the concept of jointly-divided activities, the paper reveals the essence of the government’s regulation of economy as a sub-function of state’s economic functions, where the government is a bearer of society’s general economic interests. The work substantiates the positive and negative sides of the influence of international economic entities on economic policy by splitting up state’s own functions and state’s applied functions, so that the latter may contradict the former and be not corresponding to the essence of state. The author reveals the main interests of the triad of globalizers – TNCs, international organizations and developed countries. The study shows the asymmetric nature of the interaction between the open economies and the main international economic entities – international organizations and TNCs, which is due to the difference in their interests and opportunities to influence each other. The paper outlines the main causes and consequences of the negative influence of international organizations and TNCs on the government’s economic regulation in developed countries and other open economies. Revealed the problems of imposing unified rules on economic policy in transition economies by international organizations, of setting requirements for crediting, and of promoting the neoliberal concept and the austerity policy. The work analyzes the negative consequences of the influence of TNCs on state economic regulation, namely: the weakening of employees’ bargaining power and the fall of their incomes, the growth of inequality, the reduction of the tax burden on corporations, offshorization, the hypertrophied development of the financial sphere, etc. The study shows various methods to mitigate the consequences of the negative influence of TNCs on open economies. The paper highlights the main mechanisms of influence of international economic entities on state economic regulation. Revealed the main challenges of state economic regulation caused by the increasing influence of international economic entities and globalization in general. Based on these challenges, the paper highlights the following main necessary transformations of state economic regulation: (1) increasing the level of subjectivity of the state as a bearer of national interests, (2) ensuring institutional foundations for inclusive global development based on the principles of equality, justice and transparency, and (3) neutralizing the negative impact on national socio-economic security exerted by international actors.

The rise of military capital in Pakistan: Military neoliberalism, authoritarianism and urbanization

This article develops the concept of military neoliberalism that allows us to trace the historical development of Pakistani military capital with the expansion of market-led reforms and its mode of operation in the urban domain. Military neoliberalism signifies the double role of the military; firstly, using authoritarianism, the military has extended neoliberal reforms in collaboration with local and foreign capitalist classes over the decades. Secondly, the military has expanded its reach and operations in the economy at a large scale, transitioning into a sovereign capitalist power that operates independently from the rest of the state apparatuses and utilizes its powers for economic, political, and territorial objectives. Such dynamics are leading to new class transformations and producing seismic shifts within the state apparatuses because, along with a revitalized capitalist class, a class of military capitalists has emerged in different sectors of the economy, most prominently in industrial production, urban real estate, and infrastructure development. The category of sovereign capitalist power gestures towards the twin dynamics; firstly, the military can use violence for its strategic political and economic goals. Secondly, the military can operate above the law for the advantage of military capital. As a result, the increasing militarization of the economy, and the corporatization of the military, have produced a new system of socioeconomic and political control that relies upon repeated interventions of the military in politics to resolve class antagonisms, strengthen the power of local capital, and intensify the reach of global financial capital in different markets of Pakistan.

Beyond the institution versus home care dichotomy: Lessons from a feeding‐tube medical home

AbstractDecades of rights‐based advocacy for people with disabilities have transitioned long‐term care in the United States from institutional settings to home‐based care provided by interdependent care networks. This paper argues that policies and practices within these home‐based care systems unintentionally produce and often perpetuate unrecognized structural violence on the recipients of care and the caregivers. Understanding the caregivers' experiences through a case study of a Facebook feeding tube family support group exposes the geographic realities and ableist underpinnings of the home‐based care model that undergird this violence. Further, I illustrate the contradictions of “home is best” ideology by focusing on three interwoven themes: structural dependency on unpaid mother‐experts, spatio‐temporal erasure through decentralization, and invasive surveillance structures. This research attends to how home‐based care, as a practice and a place, reflects broader patriarchal, gendered, and neoliberal concepts of autonomy and individual rights as expressed through policies like “person‐centered” care and the medical home model. While this analysis has theoretical, methodological, and policy implications, more important is the contextualization of family experiences that sometimes impacts life and death.

The Stone of the Iron Road – A Forgotten Legacy

While the twenty-first century is moving into its third decade and the whistle of the steam locomotive rumbles with the longing of the youth of Generation X into final oblivion, except for rare performances of railway romance or nostalgia, exclusively commercial impulses, stone, as an omitted element of the industrial revolution, deserves a specific review. The aim of the paper is to point out the inevitable changes initiated by new technologies and the neoliberal concept. Historical method, descriptive analysis and secondary sources are used in the paper. The locomotive brought together more people than all the poets, writers, philosophers of earlier centuries, it “carries the industrial revolution”, gets its place of honor, often synonymous with economic progress locomotion mobile; in the case of the poet, he even breathes, breathes tensely, as if he has been waiting for a long time to leave, he often exudes brilliance even when he stops (standing) still. At the same time, the stone that carries it, without which there can be neither it, nor its railway, industry, economy, world, neoliberal paradigm... a complete two centuries carries an ordinary, non-sacred, almost unsightly, contemporary stone, which is like Andrić's symbolism the stone in the bridge, instead of someone else, sacrificed himself here.

Educational equity in England: the shortcomings of the UK Government’s COVID-19 response

The UK Government sought to respond to lockdowns and lost learning during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in multiple ways, including replacing cancelled examinations and compensating for lost learning through a National Tutoring Programme. In the case of the former, the system failed to realise the demands of equity by privileging wealthier students and beating a path back to a flawed ‘normality.’ In the case of the latter, while the idea of providing targeted, high quality small group and one on one tutoring to the most in-need students was well-conceived, implementation was a failure - particularly following its contracting out to a large outsourcing company. These two cases demonstrate that English education policy is adherent to a neoliberal conception of education equity, and that attempts to address inequalities are constrained, backfire, or both.