1st Edition

The Social Organization of Disease Emotions and Civic Action

By Jochen Kleres Copyright 2018
    236 Pages
    by Routledge

    234 Pages 18 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Empirically, this book is a case-study analysis of dissolution processes in German AIDS organizations. Indeed, why is it that civic organizers start out with a commitment to a cause but end up dissolving their organization? This question is exactly what Kleres seeks to tackle within The Social Organization of Disease.





    Focusing on the emotional bases of dissolved German AIDS organizations to develop a typology of civic action and organizing, Kleres presents a perspective on non-profit organizations that analyses organizational development through the emotional sense making of individual organizers, within the light of larger political processes and cultural contexts. To this end, this volume develops and applies a new methodology for researching emotions empirically, expanding the scope of narrative analysis. However, parallel to this, The Social Organization of Disease also explores how shifting discursive processes establish emotional climates and thus impact on state policies and the evolution of AIDS organizing.





    The book would appeal to sociologists and political scientists working in the field of social movements and non-profit organisations: but it would also appeal to those who are interested in the sociology of emotions. It would potentially be of interest to non-profit scholars who consider community-based organizations, volunteerism and advocacy, and secondarily, to medical sociologists interested in AIDS service organizations. Sociology, International relations, Social Work, Political Science. May be of interest for NGO-activists and/or employees and leadership.

    Introduction



    Conceptual Problems



    Theoretical Problems



    Theories of Volunteerism



    Advances: Theories of Social Movements



    Conceptual Problems Revisited: Empowering Distinctions



    A Framework



    Structure of the Book: On Studying Disbanded AIDS Organizations



    References





    Towards a Political Sociology of AIDS Service Organizations



    A First Premise: The Social Construction of AIDS



    The (Non-)Emergence of AIDS Organizations



    A Second Premise: The Evolution of Public Health



    Queer Corporatism



    Professionalization and its Discontents



    Power in the Field: The Field of AIDS Organizing



    AIDS Service Organizations as Political and Discursive Agents



    Conclusion: AIDS Service Organizations as a Form of Power



    References





    AIDS Organizations in Germany



    Parallels: A Brief Note on the AIDS Discourse in Germany



    The Role of Identity: The Emergence of AIDS Relief Organizations



    The Power of Discourse: The Evolution of AIDS Policies in Germany



    The Stakes of AIDS Organizing and of its Political Inclusion



    The Evolution and Transformation of AIDS Relief



    The Normalization of AIDS



    Differences – The German Case in Contrast



    Conclusion



    References





    Making Sense of Neo-Corporatism and Neo-Institutionalism



    Neo-Corporatism – Principle Considerations



    The Rationalist Premises of Neo-Corporatism



    Neo-Institutionalism



    Key Assumptions of Neo-Institutionalism



    Neo-Institutionalism and Social Change



    The Sensemaking Approach



    Sensemaking: The Process of Organizing



    Seven Characteristics and Some Sources of Sensemaking



    Conclusion



    References





    Sensemaking, Narrative Analysis, and Emotions



    Narrative Methodology and Analysis



    Convergences: Sen

    Biography

    Jochen Kleres is a postdoctoral researcher at the Gothenburg Centre of Globalization and Development, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

    By curiously focusing on disbanded organizations and the emotions of the actors involved, rather than their imputed reasons or interests, Kleres' research opens new vistas of analysis and theorizing. This is an important book, innovative and insightful.

    Jack Barbalet, Department of Sociology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

    Based on a rich empirical research, Jochen Kleres develops an action-based theory of non-profit. Building upon social movement studies as well as studies of volunteerism, he convincingly argue for going beyond a rational choice approach, considering instead the motivational role of emotions. A very original and tought-provoking contribution to reflections in both fields and beyond.

    Donatella della Porta, Professor of Political Science, Dean of the Institute for Humanities and the Social Sciences and Director of the PD program in Political Science and Sociology at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy