Social Exclusion: Constructions, Practices and Resistance in West Haifa

Background and purpose:

Social exclusion (SE) is a central concept in social work research and social policy discourse. Exclusion of individuals and communities continues to be a salient expressions of inequality, especially in times of global increasing disparities.  Despite extensive research of SE and its consequences, critics point to the fact that much of it is based on quantitative macro level analysis, and caution that disregarding voices of individuals and communities facing exclusion in defining the problem and its possible solutions may in itself be a form of exclusion. This qualitative study focuses on the social construction of SE as perceived by individuals and communities that face it. The research purpose is threefold: to examine how participants define and perceive their lives in conditions of SE; to identify excluding practices as reflected in participants' narratives of SE; and to analyze the ways in which participants confront and resist SE.

 

Methods:

This qualitative study was based on critical constructivist perspective and carried out in Israel which is currently one of the most unequal societies among developed countries. The study was geographically situated in four neighborhoods in the west part of the city of Haifa, in North Israel. Applying purposive sampling, data was collected throughout 2012-2016 using multiple sources: 30 semi-structured interviews; 6 focus groups totaling 63 residents; textual analyses of protocols and records; participatory observations; and walking tours. Participants are local residents and the professionals working with them. They represent the diverse make-up of these neighborhoods including Israeli born and immigrant Jews, as well as Muslim and Christian Arabs. Data was recorded, transcribed and analyzed according to the principles of Grounded Theory data analysis.

 

Findings:

Findings show that participants hold multiple constructs of SE. The diversity in meaning corresponds with literature demonstrating SE as an entangled web of class, ethnicity, gender and space inequalities as manifested at the local level. Findings unfold five main excluding systemic practices which increase and reproduce SE. These practices generate patterns that divide and disintegrate local organizing endeavors, community leadership and neighborhood cohesion, while enhancing their isolation and further exclusion. Lastly, the study found manifestations of community resistance to face exclusion, which emerged mainly as organizing efforts at the local and regional level.

 

Conclusion and implications:

The study contributes to grounded theoretical conceptualization of SE whilst linking relationships between ethnic groups, physical space and community at the micro, mezzo and macro level. Findings highlight the devastating effects of inequality in neighborhoods in post-industrial, global context. In contrast to widely accepted definitions of SE as a failure of integrative social mechanisms, the study suggests that SE can be understood as a policy in itself. By identifying spatial manifestations of SE, the study shows that excluding practices are explicitly used as a means for subordination of struggling communities to priorities of social economic elites. Thus transforming communities by making use of the spatial sphere, as part of a political project for urban renewal in neo-liberal times. Implications emphasize the role of local agency and social work professional involvement in resisting such policies.