PowerPointPrsentation

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Ursula Naue Department of Political Science,
Life Science Governance Platform, University of
Vienna
Disability and ageing Towards New Strategies,
Spaces and Practices within an Emerging Complex
Political Field in Austria
Paper presented at the DSA conference
Lancaster Disability Studies Research and
Learning September 18-20, 2006 Session D 5
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Work in progress
on two topics a) disability and ageing
itself b) doing political science on the macro-
as well as on the micro-level Acknowledgement
Many thanks to Ingrid Metzler (Life Science
Governance Platform, University of Vienna) for
thrilling discussions on the question of doing
political science.
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Disability policy in Austria Formation of a
separate policy field
increasingly in new political spaces with new
actor groups who introduce new strategies
Development based on the well-established fact
that disability policy cannot solely be regulated
within health and social policy, but also
concerns several other policy fields
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Disability policy in Austria
When you look at the radical changes during the
last decades reaching from integration in
schools to direct payment in the sense of
attendance allowance, or now the discussion about
equality of opportunity these are all
discussions which developed bottom-up. Especially
in the disability policy field, the radical
changes towards self-determination and equality
of opportunity evolved bottom-up. Changes from
top-down always concerned services for care.
Without doubt, these are important, but I would
say these changes came decades ago. So, a radical
progress is perceivable. (Interview in 2005,
Bizeps, Center for Independent Living, Vienna
Translation Ursula Naue)
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Austrian disability policy Disabled people
still the others
Current practices of Austrian disability policy
work within a societal context which still mainly
perceives disabled people as the others which
need help and care Seven levels of attendance
allowance (so-called Pflegegeldstufen) medical
and individualizing criteria Federal attendance
allowance act from 1993 (Bundespflegegeldgesetz)
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European Union Policies with regard to ageing
Over the coming decades, the size and
age-profile of the population of EU Member States
will undergo substantial changes. ... These
demographic changes will lead to significant
pressure for increased spending on public
pensions and health care, . (EC 2006, Report
of the Directorate General of Economic and
Financial Affairs The economic and budgetary
consequences of ageing)
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Austria Thinking in dichotomies - Policies with
regard to ageing
Disabling aspect of ageing left out of
consideration, also aspect of ageing of disabled
people Austrian policy makers failed to
establish a more profound focus concerning the
interrelation between disability and ageing
(non-issue) Dichotomies young/healthy old/ill
? Disability understood as part of illness
(arguments of care and lack of independence)
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Building coalitions of argumentation Ageing and
disability
Disabled people point to several aspects of life
which do not only affect disabled people (e.g.
ramps), making non-disabled parts of society
aware of advantages and benefits TABS,
Temporarily Able-Bodieds (Wendell 1996) ?
Potentially, all people could be the others
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Forming coalitions of argumentation Ageing and
disability - Examples
Aim Barrier-free access to different spheres of
life Example Public Transport Talent, train
for local public transport barrier-free train
(?!)
Source ÖBB 2006
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Forming coalitions of argumentation Ageing and
disability - Examples
Example Public Transport Model Bad Aussee
level train access from platform (?!)

Source Private

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Austria Conference Ageing and disability
Beginning of June 2006 Conference Ageing and
disability in Austria, organized by the Austrian
EU Presidency ? Discussion of global aspects of
disability and ageing, at the beginning of a
learning process Declaration of Graz About
participation, empowerment and inclusion
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Example The current Pflegenotstand-debate (1)
Current debate about the crisis of care for
elderly people in Austria First Discussion
about nurses (payment, illegal nurses from
Eastern Europe) and shortage of nursing
staff Afterwards Discussion about questions of
health and possible strategies to enhance the
health situation among elderly people in Austria
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Example The current Pflegenotstand-debate (1)
No discussion about disability and disabled
people, no discussion about e.g. personal
assistance We are miles away from a
sustainable development of attendance allowance
towards personal assistance, one disability
rights activist argued already in December 2005
(Translation Ursula Naue)
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Example The current Pflegenotstand-debate (2)
Since August 2006 An expert group meets
(initiated and run by the Austrian Peoples
Party) on care of elderly people Hearing
Suggestions by the Austrian disability movement
for care and personal assistance as well as on
the issue of attendance allowance for elderly and
disabled people
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Example The current Pflegenotstand-debate (3)
But At the beginning of September 2006,
Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel (Austrian Peoples
Party) gave the following answer in a newspaper
to the question, when the next increase of
attendance allowance will take place A next
increase is to be negotiated. (Translation
Ursula Naue)
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Example The current Pflegenotstand-debate (4)
Working meeting on September 4, 2006 Austrian
Ministry for Social Security, Generations and
Consumer Protection announced a care-plan for
Austria because it is unclear who pays for
which services because a standardization of
caring profession is necessary ? Examination of
output and organizational structure is necessary
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The Austrian socio-political context One-sided
focus

• Term crisis of care Several dimensions
• Shortage of staff
• Shortcoming of quality
• Discontented staff
• Argument Ageing of society ? Demographic
  developments ? Increased need of care
• (Defined 2003 by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute
  for Medical and Health Sociology, Vienna)

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Governance New modes of policymaking

• Politics
• ? in new spaces
• ? with new actors
• ? about new issues
• ? with new strategies
• But Several practical restrictions and
  limitations of this theoretical
  political-scientific concept
• Twofold change necessary
• Actual changes in policymaking
• Changes in analyzing the relevant field

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Prospects Involving new actors Opening up new
possibilities
To involve disabled people in and to include
their knowledge into policymaking on the issue of
ageing may bring about an additional argument for
changing disability policy in Austria
Questioning the present politics of care and
subordination ? May lead to a more effective
politics of dialogue, participation and
involvement Actors People involved in
policymaking and implementation, recipients of
these policies (Gaventa 2004)
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Prospects Re-organizing policies
Focussing on ageing and disability in its
interrelation Shows the importance of bringing
together several policy fields for being able to
face the challenges of the future Goal of a
politics of ageing ? Elderly people as people
with equal rights or care concepts for ever
and ever? ? Possible feedback on the field of
disability policy
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Prospects Emerging policy field?
Senior citizens report 2000 by the Austrian
Institute for Family Studies Social Ministry
The 1st Austrian senior citizens report builds
a solid basis for future developments of an
Austrian politics of senior citizens and
generations which will - considering the shift
of population structure during the next years and
decades - develop as a very important policy
field. (Translation Ursula Naue)
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Prospects Phrases/Words used in this Senior
citizens report
? Care for sick persons, disabled persons or
other persons in need of care (connecting
illness and disability) ? Suitability for
disabled users (only at the end is the report
(660 pages) talking about barrier-free access) ?
Disability-free Life Expectancy (DFLE) ? Healthy
lifestyle
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Conclusion Disability and ageing
Considering advantages and disadvantages of
coalitions of argumentation between disabled
people and elderly people ? Efforts and goals of
disabled people must not be disregarded (e.g.
used by elderly people to pursue their own
purposes) ? Impact of certain arguments (e.g.
positive economic effects-argument)
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Conclusion Towards an emerging complex political
field in Austria?
Current discussion Just a campaign issue
(elections for the National Assembly on October
1, 2006) or trying to find long-term
approaches? Development of a new political field
or disrupting coalitions of argumentation (e.g.
in insisting on care aspects)?

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Conclusion What can be learned from this?

• Who is actually involved in policymaking?
• Who are the recipients of certain policies?
• Who is understood (by whom) as involved and
  affected?
• Introducing Disability Studies
• Political Science
• Change of perspective important and necessary for
• analysis
• policymaking itself
• 
  

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Conclusion (Political) science as intervention
into the field
Methods do not just describe social realities,
but also help to create them, as John Law (2006)
argues Importance of background/purpose ?
Different foci on a certain policy field ?
Influence on outcome