Discretion and Empowerment

Abstract

This chapter explores different meanings of empowerment by drawing on findings from an empirical case study. The study involved organizational observations and interviews with case managers and clients. In discussing these findings we go beyond technical evaluation questions of whether the case study was achieving its stated aims, to explore how the case was working sociologically and politically towards the creation of self-governing citizens in the name of empowerment. What the study shows is that the empowerment project is not something that can be centrally commanded. It is a concept that gathers meaning in the space of professional/client interactions that involve a mix of therapeutic discourses, ‘gentle coercion’ and social identity work. Discretion plays an important part in these everyday interactions, as it can facilitate trust and legitimacy. At the same time a more collective-based form of empowerment as a means of challenging injustice and inequity at the societal level will require different institutional settings.