THIS VOLUME SUMMARIZES the initial findings of a research project on social exclusion that is intended to serve as a reference point for policy makers, practitioners and academics in answering the “challenges posed by economic transformation for social equity, political stability and democratic citizenship.” Over 30 researchers have contributed to the book which is structured in three parts dealing with concepts, empirical studies and policies. The term “social exclusion” was coined in France in 1974 and refers to the process of “how and why individuals and groups fail to have access to or benefit from the possibilities offered by societies and economies.” The approach aims to reconceptualize social disadvantage to offer a multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary, process- oriented view that focuses on social actors and agents. In the introduction, a synthesis of the ideas in the book is situated in relation to the existing literature on the analysis of social disadvantage. The first part of the book deals with the conceptual issues arising from the social exclusion approach to the inter-relationships between poverty, employment and social integration. In seeking a framework spanning both the material and non-material aspects of deprivation, notions of citizenship, social justice and equality, Eurocentrism and “Latin Americanization” are considered.
The paradoxical nature of development is examined in the light of the implications globalization has for social status. If poverty is perceived as relational rather than distributional, the question is raised “exclusion from what?” The nine country studies that form the second part of the book report the results of case studies undertaken to explore the potential of the social exclusion approach. Special attention is paid, in the cases of Russia, Thailand, Tanzania and Yemen, to the macro-economic context of exclusionary processes and to the micro-dynamics of exclusion in relation to specific excluded groups. The Tunisian case study focuses on the subjective aspects of exclusion and translates the issues raised into wide-ranging policy suggestions. The remaining four country studies are issue oriented: the relationship between social exclusion and social inequality (Peru); relationships between economic restructuring and social exclusion (Mexico); ethnic solidarity and employment opportunities (Cameroon); and social exclusion with respect to basic needs deprivation (India). The final part of the book reviews policies that have sought to address social exclusion in Europe. In conclusion, a framework for developing policy against exclusion is proposed. Affirmative action and fairer institutional frameworks, promotion of dialogue and consensus building, and the identification of common interests among different excluded social groups are all ways in which the power of the socially excluded may be enhanced.