Move Out of Babylon: An Exploration of the Emergence of Securitisation Theory in Social Work and Social Policy

Abstract

This thesis provides an exploratory investigation of the impact of securitisation theory on the development and implementation of policies that relate to the profession of social work. Securitisation theory is a social construct that sees powerful societal actors deploying speech acts that name an issue as an existential threat. Once this has been established in the eyes of the public the state can act out with its normal democratic powers to lessen or eradicate the threat. The thesis pays particular attention to the ways in which policies and actions that are developed to combat this threat have the potential to erode hard fought for human rights and can mobilise the authoritarian and punitive dimensions of state powers. The thesis will demonstrate how this authoritarian turn is symptomatic of a growing trend that sees social work stripped of its role as a service that offers a potential for change and a vision of a fairer and more equitable settlement for those people who use social work services. It is argued that this is a disfigurement of the social work profession and constitutes a deliberate attempt to position social workers as agents of the state and not as agents of change. In doing so the writer will illustrate how this is entangled with a broader neoliberal project that seeks to emphasise individual responsibility over wider structural concerns such as poverty, discrimination and inequality. These entanglements are described through a personal reflective account of how regulation and inspection regimes, with their strong managerialist focus on means end rationality, restrict opportunities for social workers to support people in recognising oppression and discrimination. This account demonstrates the ways in which the writer’s positionality has developed and been influenced by theorists such as Mark Neocleous, Loic Wacquant, Pierre Bourdieu, David Graeber and Jurgen Habermas. An eclectic range of theory is deployed, much of which is being used in relation to social work for the first time, this provides an original and innovative lens to view social work through. The tensions between theory, policy and social work practice are teased out in the papers that make up the submission and the implications of this authoritarian turn are considered. The thesis provides an original and considered contribution to the academic discipline of social work.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Glasgow Caledonian University
Supervisor	Sharon Jackson (Supervisor) & Stephen Webb (Supervisor)