Social Movements and Social Policy: New Research Horizons

Across the globe, movements are confronting states and elites, challenging inequalities and mobilising for greater justice, a stronger voice, and progressive policy changes. In this article, I bridge the divide between Social Policy and the interdisciplinary field of Social Movement Studies. I examine how and why social movements, as actors in policy fields and social movement theories, matter for social policy. I argue that research on social movements as actors and engagement with social movement theories can open new horizons in Social Policy research by advancing our understanding of the politics of policy from a global perspective and strengthening our analytical and explanatory frameworks of agency, ideas, and power in the study of continuity and change of policy.

The Development of Indonesian Marriage Law in Jakarta Governor Regulation No. 185 of 2017

The Governor of DKI Jakarta regulates that any prospective bride and groom who intend to get married shall follow guidance and health checks. This policy is a condition for the implementation of marriage. The health checks carried out are not only Tetanus Toxoid vaccination, but also other health tests. If necessary, the doctor can provide a referral for further examination of medically found indications. The prospective bride and groom will then receive a marriage-worthy certificate. This certificate is one of the requirements to obtain the N1 form. This policy is significant leap taken by the Governor of DKI Jakarta. This present study concerns with the perspective of progressive law on DKI Jakarta Governor Regulation No. 185 of 2017 in the context of the development of Islamic family law in Indonesia. The study utilized library research approach with the descriptive analysis method. The primary data included the DKI Jakarta Governor Regulation No. 185 of 2017, and the secondary data were related literature. This study used the progressive legal theory and the Islamic law approach. The analysis and conclusion drawing were done deductively. The study revealed that the DKI Jakarta Governor Regulation No. 185 of 2017 is a progressive policy in preventing the transmission of infectious diseases among prospective brides and grooms, and in reducing maternal and infant mortality. This regulation shall bring goodness and benefit into domestic life, especially for the bridal couples and their descendants, as well as the society and nation. Further, the regulation shall give a positive impact on the development of marriage law in Indonesia.

“We don’t have any answers within the current framework”: tensions within cannabis policy change in Ireland

Purpose International policy approaches to cannabis production and use are changing rapidly, and within the Irish context, alternatives to prohibition are being considered. This study aims to explore policymaker’s attitudes towards the decriminalisation and legal regulation of cannabis for recreational use in the midst of an unfolding policy process, examining the degree which a “policy window” might be open for the implementation of cannabis policy change. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were held with eight key informants within the policy field in Dublin, Ireland. Kingdon’s (2014) Multiple Streams framework was used to consider whether the problems, policy and political streams were aligning to support progressive policy change. Findings Irish policymakers indicated broad support for the decriminalisation of cannabis. The legal regulation of cannabis received more qualified support. Existing policy was heavily criticised with criminalisation identified as a clear failure. Of particular interest was the willingness of policymakers to offer opinions which contrasted with the policy positions of their organisations. While a policy window did open – and close – subsequent governmental commitments to examine the issue of drugs policy in a more deliberative process in the near future highlight the incremental nature of policy change. Originality/value This study provides unique insight into the opinions of policymakers in the midst of a prolonged period of policy evolution. A latent aspiration for historical policy change was situated within the realpolitik of more traditional approaches to policy development, demonstrating that the alignment of Kingdon’s (2014) problem, policy and political streams are essential for change in cannabis policy.

Local Integration as a Durable Solution? Negotiating Socioeconomic Spaces between Refugees and Host Communities in Rural Northern Uganda

With a growing number of displaced people, there is a need for robust approaches to coping with displacement. Uganda has a progressive refugee policy that promotes freedom of movement and the socioeconomic rights of the refugees. Specifically, refugees are often allocated land to settle and cultivate rural settlements, and the integrated social service provision facilitates interaction with host communities. However, there remain challenges in creating sustainable livelihoods for refugees in rural settlements. There exist significant tensions over shared resources such as land, water, woodlots, and grazing areas. Based on a survey of 416 households and key informant interviews with South Sudanese refugees in selected settlements in the Adjumani district, the paper highlights refugees’ access to social and economic spaces as critical pathways to sustainable livelihoods and integration. Uganda’s progressive policy expands the opportunity space; however, refugees still encounter significant barriers in accessing the socioeconomic spaces.

Granting the future? The temporality of cash transfers in the South African Countryside

In the past five years, anthropologists from the global South have come to consider public cash transfer programs as an alternative to both work-centered policies and national development projects. These studies suggest that grants today go beyond the domain of traditional social policies and government bureaucracy and point to a new future in view of the scarcity of work. This future has become even closer with the pandemic of COVID-19, and with governments, non-governmental entities and the political left reaffirming the importance of a basic universal income. Considering these discussions, my article focuses on an income transfer program in South Africa after the Apartheid period, placing an ethnographic account in relation to the design of a 'progressive' policy of social grants. I present a longer history of salaried work in relation to rural African households and show how the emancipatory promises of cash transfer projects were read as a risk to local traditions and morals. In addition to this reduction in political hopes invested in transfers, I examine the temporal aspect of cash transfers, as well as the possible futures they evoke. By considering the futures that grants enable, I conclude by suggesting that it is premature to affirm that they have overcome wage work and its attendant sociality.

A Decade of UNGPs in India: Progressive Policy Shifts, Contested Implementation

The decade of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) coincides with India’s National Voluntary Guidelines on businesses’ social, environmental, and economic responsibilities (NVGs) and the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) – an updated version of the NVGs. Human rights are one of the core principles in both guidelines and they draw upon the ‘Protect–Respect–Remedy’ framework of the UNGPs. The NVGs and NGRBC go beyond the UNGPs by requiring organizations not only to respect human rights, but also to promote them in their spheres of influence. Several factors, however, derailed the implementation of this progressive policy shift. This article explores the challenges in implementation and calls for the multiple actors involved to work together and shape a collaborative action plan for effective implementation of the NGRBC in the next decade. The authors reiterate the need for alternative lenses to frame the responsible business agenda within developing countries through positive obligations.

EXAMINING THE IDEOLOGY AND POLITICS OF NEW URBANISM

New Urbanism (NU) is an urban planning movement that values certain design principles in cities, such as walkability, mixed-use development, and accessible transit. Since its emergence and formalization as a movement in the late twentieth century, numerous North American communities have been built or renovated to adhere to New Urbanist principles, and a significant body of research studies the outcomes in these places. This essay reflects on the existing scholarship to identify recurring issues in New Urbanist communities; namely, these neighbourhoods consistently turn out to be unaffordable and economically exclusive, as well as to create tension or awkwardness between different social groups. As such, I find that rather than merely falling short of theoretical ideals like economic and social diversity, the NU physical design principles can backfire and produce the opposite outcome of their vision for optimal communities; this occurs as a function of environmental limitations like the nature of capitalist real estate markets and the complexities of integration in diverse communities. The essay moves on to interrogate the movement’s failure to advocate for policy changes that would support its social goals and, at a deeper level, their choice to refrain from any political stances. Underneath NU’s attempt at ideological impartiality, I find that their implicit ideal of “community” leads to pernicious tendencies such as embracing homogeneity and disregarding public life. Overall, I argue the movement must reorient from implicit to explicit politics and openly advocate for progressive policy in order for their theory to actually produce diverse, healthy communities.

Not a Country or a Stereotype: Latina LDS Experiences of Ethnic Homogenization and Racial Tokenism in the American West

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), also called Mormonism, has experienced rapid changes in its US demographics due to an influx of Latinx membership. The most recent growth in the US church body has been within Spanish-speaking congregations, and many of these congregant members are first or 1.5-generation immigrant Latinas. Using ethnographic data from 27 interviews with immigrant members living in Utah, Nevada, and California, LDS Latinas reported that while US Anglo members did seem to appreciate certain aspects of their cultural customs or practices, they also reported frequently experiencing ethnic homogenization or racial tokenization within US Church spaces and with White family members. Our findings indicate that the contemporary LDS church, despite some progressive policy implementations within its doctrinal parameters, still struggles in its ever-globalizing state to prioritize exposing White US members to the cultural heterogeneity of non-White, global LDS identities and perspectives. Latina LDS experiences and their religious adjacency to Whiteness provide a useful lens by which researchers can better understand the ways in which ethnic identity, gender, legal status, and language create both opportunities and challenges for immigrant incorporation and inclusion within US religious spaces and add to the existing body of scholarship on migration and religion.

Racial Equality Frames and Public Policy Support: Survey Experimental Evidence

How do racial attitudes shape policy preferences in the era of Black Lives Matter and increasingly liberal views on racial issues? A large body of research finds that highlighting the benefits of progressive policies for racial minorities undermines support for those policies. However, Democratic elites have started centering race in their messaging on progressive public policies. To explore this puzzle, in this paper we offer an empirical test that examines the effect of describing an ostensibly race-neutral progressive policy with racial framing, as used by Democratic elites, on support for that policy. To benchmark these effects, we compare a race policy frame with class, race and class, and neutral policy frames. We demonstrate that despite leftward shifts in public attitudes towards issues of racial equality, racial framing decreases support for race-neutral progressive policies. Generally, the class frame most successfully increases support for progressive policies across racial and political subgroups.

Developing health and wellbeing in prisons: an analysis of prison inspection reports in Scotland

Background The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has been long regarded for its progressive policy approach to health promotion in prison. It is one of the few countries with a strategic plan for health promotion implementation. Given the paucity of understanding in relation to the concept of a health promoting prison, this study assessed routinely collected prison inspection data to understand and distil learning in regard the practical implementation of health-promoting prisons. Methods Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) oversees the independent inspection of all prisons. This desk-based study analysed openly accessible inspection reports from a public repository. The sample was limited to inspection reports using the 2018 revised Standards to ensure comparability between reports. Eight unique inspection reports meeting this criterion were downloaded between January and October 2020. The prisons had their inspections undertaken between May 2018 and January 2020. Data from the reports which focused on ‘health and wellbeing’ were inductively coded using NVivo 12 to support thematic analysis. Results Results are presented against the values and principles outlined in the SPS’ own framework for promoting health in prison. All of the institution reports contained evidence of fairness and justice in their prison and understandings of health inequalities were recognised by staff. There were also examples of mutual (peer) support between people in prison; good relationships between staff and prisoners; and strong health promotion leadership. Conversely, some environmental conditions hindered the development of health promotion – this included staffing shortages and some practices fostering health inequity. Even where a prison was reported as having health promotion activities in place these were focused on a narrow range of individual risk factors such as smoking cessation or substance misuse. Far less attention was paid to wider health determinants. Conclusions Scotland has been at the forefront of attempts to embed a health promoting prison philosophy in their justice system. Inspection data focusing on ‘health and wellbeing’ were analysed, but the analysis suggests that more could be done to ensure a health promoting setting. The way prisons inspectors are assessing health and wellbeing in particular areas is very narrow, with the focus exclusively on healthcare without a wider appreciation of how other areas of prison life can impact.