Neighbourhoods Mobilise the Troops - Community Organising, Violence and Governmentality

The article reflects on the difficult relation between community work against domestic violence and local crime prevention under the conditions of the neoliberal state that cuts down on social benefits and promotes self-help, active citizenship and self-responsibility instead while at the same t...

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Main Author: Sabine Stövesand
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Social Work & Society 2007-01-01
Series:Social Work and Society
Online Access:http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1258
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author Sabine Stövesand
author_facet Sabine Stövesand
author_sort Sabine Stövesand
collection DOAJ
description The article reflects on the difficult relation between community work against domestic violence and local crime prevention under the conditions of the neoliberal state that cuts down on social benefits and promotes self-help, active citizenship and self-responsibility instead while at the same time restoring the punishing state with its strict regime of law-and-order. The author describes a project Tarantula - she started herself while being a social worker in Hamburg, Germany. Tarantula was aimed at strengthening social networks and the neighbours' willingness to get involved in favour of affected women. Although conceptualized as an emancipatory approach referring to community organizing in the tradition of social movements it is questionable whether and how this can really work in the current situation. At present, the field of crime control is being reconfigured as a result of political and administrative decisions, which, for their part, are based on a new structure of social relations and cultural attitudes. The demolition of the 'welfare state' means the re-coding of the security policy that facilitates the development of interventionist techniques that govern and control individuals through their own ability to act.
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spelling doaj-art-a1df471a9cd44d018dde5bb85de828382025-08-20T03:32:57ZengSocial Work & SocietySocial Work and Society1613-89532007-01-0151Neighbourhoods Mobilise the Troops - Community Organising, Violence and GovernmentalitySabine StövesandThe article reflects on the difficult relation between community work against domestic violence and local crime prevention under the conditions of the neoliberal state that cuts down on social benefits and promotes self-help, active citizenship and self-responsibility instead while at the same time restoring the punishing state with its strict regime of law-and-order. The author describes a project Tarantula - she started herself while being a social worker in Hamburg, Germany. Tarantula was aimed at strengthening social networks and the neighbours' willingness to get involved in favour of affected women. Although conceptualized as an emancipatory approach referring to community organizing in the tradition of social movements it is questionable whether and how this can really work in the current situation. At present, the field of crime control is being reconfigured as a result of political and administrative decisions, which, for their part, are based on a new structure of social relations and cultural attitudes. The demolition of the 'welfare state' means the re-coding of the security policy that facilitates the development of interventionist techniques that govern and control individuals through their own ability to act.http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1258
spellingShingle Sabine Stövesand
Neighbourhoods Mobilise the Troops - Community Organising, Violence and Governmentality
Social Work and Society
title Neighbourhoods Mobilise the Troops - Community Organising, Violence and Governmentality
title_full Neighbourhoods Mobilise the Troops - Community Organising, Violence and Governmentality
title_fullStr Neighbourhoods Mobilise the Troops - Community Organising, Violence and Governmentality
title_full_unstemmed Neighbourhoods Mobilise the Troops - Community Organising, Violence and Governmentality
title_short Neighbourhoods Mobilise the Troops - Community Organising, Violence and Governmentality
title_sort neighbourhoods mobilise the troops community organising violence and governmentality
url http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1258
work_keys_str_mv AT sabinestovesand neighbourhoodsmobilisethetroopscommunityorganisingviolenceandgovernmentality