Niklas Altermark – författare

"Äntligen!" utropade socialförsäkringsminister Annika Strandhäll våren 2017. Nya siffror bekräftade att antalet sjukskrivna hade vänt nedåt, en trend som inleddes bara veckor efter att regeringen gett Försäkringskassan i uppdrag att minska sjuktalet. I Strandhälls värld var detta ett tecken på att den svenska befolkningen nu var friskare.

Samtidigt, i en annan del av verkligheten, börjar sjuka dela sina erfarenheter från det friskare Sverige, i facebookgrupper och på bloggar. Människor som fått ersättning under flera år för kroniska sjukdomar får plötsligt avslag. Många beskriver hur de blir tvungna att låna pengar eller sälja sina tillhörigheter. Det friskare Sverige verkar inte må riktigt bra.

Avslagsmaskinen är en unik granskning av hur det gick till när svenska folket plötsligt blev friskare över en natt. Vad händer med de som drabbas av Försäkringskassans hårdare bedömningar? Och vad händer med demokratin när sjukförsäkringspolitiken kan läggas om utan tydliga beslut eller lagändringar?

Niklas Altermark är fil.dr verksam vid Statsvetenskapliga institutionen vid Lunds universitet, där han forskar om funktionshinders- och välfärdspolitik. Boken bygger på hundratals berättelser från människor som blivit av med sin sjukförsäkring samt intervjuer med handläggare och centrala beslutsfattare på Försäkringskassan.

Det finns inget stöd hos den svenska befolkningen för en krympande välfärd. Ingen politiker har gått till val på en sådan politik, tvärtom pratar alla partier om satsningar på äldreomsorgen och skolan. Trots det står välfärden inför ständiga besparingskrav. Hur går det ihop?

I den här boken analyserar Niklas Altermark och Åsa Plesner de idéer, ramar och regler som påverkar beslut om välfärden, bortom valslogans och tv-debatter. Ideologi och institutioner bildar tillsammans ett åtstramningspolitiskt kretslopp som systematiskt utarmar välfärdssystemen.

Genom att förstå de mekanismer som ligger bakom nedskärningarna kan vi också hitta en väg ut ur fällan tillbaka till idén om en gemensam välfärd som bygger på insikten om vår delade sårbarhet.

What happens when a group traditionally defined as lacking the necessary capacities of citizenship is targeted by government programs that have made ‘citizenship inclusion’ their main goal? Combining theoretical perspectives of political philosophy, social theory, and disability studies, this book untangles the current state of Western intellectual disability politics following the replacement of state institutionalisation by independent and supported living, individual rights, and self-determination.

Taking its cue from Foucault’s conception of ‘biopolitics’, denoting the government of the individuals and the totality of the population, its overarching argument is that the ambiguous positioning of people with intellectual disabilities with respect to the ideals of citizenship results in a regime of government that simultaneously includes and excludes people of this group. On the one hand, its members are projected to become ideal-citizens via the cultivation of citizenship capacities. On the other, the right to live independently and by their own choices is curtailed as soon as they are seen as failing with respect to the ideals of reason and rationality. Therefore, coercion, restraints, and paternalism, which were all supposed to end with deinstitutionalisation, are still ingrained in services targeting the group.

In equal parts a theoretical work, advancing debates of critical disability theory, social theory, and post-structural philosophy, as well as an empirical engagement with the history of intellectual disability politics and the ways in which present day politics target the group, this book will be of interest to all students and scholars of disability studies, disability politics, and political theory.

What happens when a group traditionally defined as lacking the necessary capacities of citizenship is targeted by government programs that have made ‘citizenship inclusion’ their main goal? Combining theoretical perspectives of political philosophy, social theory, and disability studies, this book untangles the current state of Western intellectual disability politics following the replacement of state institutionalisation by independent and supported living, individual rights, and self-determination.

Taking its cue from Foucault’s conception of ‘biopolitics’, denoting the government of the individuals and the totality of the population, its overarching argument is that the ambiguous positioning of people with intellectual disabilities with respect to the ideals of citizenship results in a regime of government that simultaneously includes and excludes people of this group. On the one hand, its members are projected to become ideal-citizens via the cultivation of citizenship capacities. On the other, the right to live independently and by their own choices is curtailed as soon as they are seen as failing with respect to the ideals of reason and rationality. Therefore, coercion, restraints, and paternalism, which were all supposed to end with deinstitutionalisation, are still ingrained in services targeting the group.

In equal parts a theoretical work, advancing debates of critical disability theory, social theory, and post-structural philosophy, as well as an empirical engagement with the history of intellectual disability politics and the ways in which present day politics target the group, this book will be of interest to all students and scholars of disability studies, disability politics, and political theory.