About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

36 Critical Soc. Pol'y 3 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/critsplcy36 and id is 1 raw text is: 






Article


Policies and discourses of poverty
during a time of recession and
austerity


CHRISTINA PANTAZIS
University of Bristol, England





Abstract
This article introduces this themed issue which challenges government
policies and discourses using evidence  from  the UK 2012  Poverty  and
Social Exclusion Study. Policies and discourses prioritising the role of
individual deficiencies and highlighting the structural problems of the
welfare state in poverty causation are nothing new.  However,  they re-
emerged  vigorously in the UK following the 2007-8 global financial crisis
and ensuing economic   recession. The articles forming this themed issue
seek to challenge in different ways this prevailing discourse. This intro-
ductory article draws upon Bacchi's 'what is the problem represented to
be' ('WPR')  approach to examine  the ways  in which poverty was  prob-
lematised  by the Conservative- Liberal Democrat  Coalition government
(2010-15). It argues that this problematisation silenced structural pro-
cesses associated with the government's commitment to   neo-liberalism,
resulting in devastating, socially harmful consequences.

Key words
poverty, recession austerity, social harm



Corresponding author:
Christina Pantazis, School for Policy Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, University of Bristol,
8 Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TZ, England.
Email: c.pantazis@bristol.ac.uk

Critical Social Policy 2016, Vol. 36(1): 3-20
© The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0261018315620377 csp.sagepub.com
OSAGE

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most