Work, boundaries and the accomplishment of governing

• Authors: H.K. Colebatch
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article addresses the practices of governing, and the way in which the concepts of “work” and “social boundary” can be applied to make sense of them. It shows how a constitutional/normative account depicts the work of governing, and the social boundaries within which it is carried out, and shows the significance of specialisation, clustering and involvement in the work of governing. It examines the range of activities in governing, the extent to which they become “work-like”, and the tension between involvement and professionalisation. It explores the significance of the concept of boundaries and alternative theorisations of the existence of multiple social formations with accompanying framings of practice. In conclusion, it discusses the significance of multiple accounts in the framing and validation of practice in governing, the way in which collective accomplishments are attributed to the practices of particular actors, and the place of the concepts of “work” and “boundary” in this process.

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wroclawskiego
• Journal: Forum Socjologiczne
• Year: 2015
• Volume: Special Issue 1: Social boundaries and meanings of work in the 21st-century capitalism
• Pages: 35 - 46

Contributors

author

H.K. Colebatch

• University of New South Wales