Emilie Rosenstein

Assessing integrated employment policies against the capability approach: A Swiss case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the current trend towards integrating employment policies against Amartya Sens capability approach. By contrast with the conventional efficiency measures, it focuses on two main issues: to what extent does the integration of policies result in more performing programs when it comes to empowering the beneficiaries? What is the impact of integrated programs in terms of freedom to choose and capability for voice? These issues are investigated against a Swiss case study, i.e. the CII‐MAMAC project.Design/methodology/approach – An investigation relying on qualitative interviews conducted with 25 local agents and managers belonging to the various institutions engaged in the CII‐MAMAC project and an in‐depth documentary survey of the official texts (laws, directives, etc.).Findings – Integrating employment policies is very ambivalent in terms of both empowerment and freedom to choose. On the one hand, it can certainly lead to an increased effort in ...

Towards a critical sociology of democracy: the potential of the capability approach

The aim of this article is to lay down the foundations of a critical sociology of democracy and participation. Based on Amartya Sen’s capability approach, we identify four major pitfalls of classical theories on justice and deliberative democracy: 1) an excessive emphasis on the procedural dimension of democracy at the expense of its substantial value; 2) an ideal of deliberation that does not sufficiently account for the inequalities that characterize actual participative practices; 3) an ideal approach to rationality which is inconsistent with the plurality of reasons to value and arguments that can be observed in social reality; and 4) a focus on official or institutionalized forms of deliberation that does not pay due attention to the many forms and dynamics of participation. We contend that, by contrast, Sen’s epistemology may be fruitful for the development of a critical sociology of democracy and suggest an agenda for empirical research on participation and deliberative practices.

Capabilities for Voice, Work and Education: Critical Analysis of Programmes for Disadvantaged Young People in Europe.

Additional co-authors: Bettina Haidinger, Ruth Kasper, Jan Duker, Thomas Ley, Gunilla Bergstrom