Ursula NaueDepartment 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 LancasterDisability Studies: Research and Learning September 18-20, 2006Session D 5

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.

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

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)

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)

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)

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)

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“

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

Forming coalitions of argumentation: Ageing and disability - Examples

Example: Public Transport

“Model Bad Aussee”: level train access from platform (?!)

Source: Private

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

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

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)

Example: The current “Pflegenotstand”-debate (2)

Since August 2006:

An expert group meets (initiated and run by the Austrian People‘s 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

Example: The current “Pflegenotstand”-debate (3)

But:

At the beginning of September 2006, Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel (Austrian People‘s 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)

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

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)

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: a) Actual changes in policymaking b) Changes in analyzing the relevant field

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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)?

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 fora) analysis b) policymaking itself

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

***