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Risk, Social Inclusion and the Life Course – Review of Developments in Policy and Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2013

Jens O. Zinn*
Affiliation:
School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne E-mail: jzinn@unimelb.edu.au

Abstract

‘Risk’, ‘social inclusion’ and the ‘life course’ have become key notions in social policy after the Golden Age of welfare capitalism. This article reviews some of the key debates and developments in Australian social policy and research that underpin the contributions to this themed section. From ‘new social risks’ to ‘the great risk shift’ and the broader debates about the ‘risk society’ and ‘governmentality’, it reviews debates about social inclusion and the individualisation of risk, the risk shift in service delivery and the understanding and researching of the new life course. It concludes with suggestions for more community based research to inform social policy.

Type
Themed Section on Risk, Social Inclusion and the Life Course
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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