Naar een nieuwe verbeelding van burgerschap in de bijstand
What can legal experts contribute to a new perspective on citizenship in social assistance?
Social assistance was once intended to guarantee subsistence: ensuring that people can meet their basic needs. In recent decades, however, the focus has increasingly shifted to activating people towards employment. This principle has become deeply entrenched in legislation, implementation, and case law, but in practice has proven largely ineffective. Moreover, it has led to growing distrust between the government and social assistance recipients.
In her plea for stronger integration of legal research into research on institutional stability and change, Anja Eleveld, professor of empirical legal research on precarious work and poverty, argues that change in social assistance requires a new conception of citizenship: relational citizenship, in which connectedness and responsibility are reimagined based on principles of sustainability, care, and interdependence.
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