Be ready for the clash of powers: theorising power for teaching policy practice in social work

Figures & data

Table 1. The empirical illustration of power relation.

A good example is the interaction between a social worker in the position of an administrator (head of a service operated by a State organisational unit under the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic) and the commander of a Local Unit of the Foreigners Police Department in a small city. They had a conversation about the nature of cooperation in working with migrants. The local police unit took a strict approach to migrants in the context of residency issues and was unwilling to include the broader circumstances of migrants’ lives in its decision-making. Police officers were more concerned with migrants’ compliance with legal deadlines and conditions than with the informal and illegal practices of hosts, employers, and intermediaries of various services. At that time, a change in the law was planned – the Foreigners Police Department had already been removed from the permanent residence agenda, and serious consideration was being given to taking the long-term residence agenda away as well. Police officers were experiencing considerable uncertainty about their future and were becoming more open to discussion and cooperation (it was unprecedented!). The social worker took advantage of this uncertainty and initiated discussions with the unit commander. During the contact hours, he found the commander in his office not properly clothed, without shoes, and very surprised by the undignified situation he was in. During the follow-up interaction, the social worker was allowed to demonstrate his knowledge of the problem and suggest solutions, including dividing tasks between the State organisation (social work) and the Foreigner police (law enforcement). It was possible to negotiate cooperation that significantly changed the local practices of the police department concerning migrants. Police officers then began to work closely with social workers and understood the situation of migrants more comprehensively.While the configuration of the social worker’s power differentials matched favourably with the intention to negotiate, the commander’s power differentials were not adapted to this task. It was evident that negotiation was not part of his knowledge, training, or personality. The speaking power symbols on the part of the social worker were knowledge of the issues, appropriate language, a secure position in the formal structure of state administration, a solid appearance, and the resources available to secure the planned changes. The power symbols on the part of the commander were limited core language, uncertain status, the hole in his sock, knowledge focused on migrants’ shortcomings, and uncertain resources. In addition, the circumstances of the interaction were highly conducive to the social worker. The insecurity of the police officers caused by the planned change in the law and the insecurity of the commander when he was caught wearing a uniform inappropriately emerged as significant conversion factors.

Table 2. The empirical illustration of the bureaucratic clash.

A classic negotiation in redistributing subsidies for social services can demonstrate the bureaucratic clash. When a ministry or regional authority awards subsidies at a level where the provision of local social services is at risk, the affected organisation often responds by describing how many social workers it has and how many people they provide services to. At the same time, the affected organisation presents its willingness to close its services if the subsidy is not increased. The affected organisation takes advantage of its position in the local distribution of services and its perceived contribution to solving local problems. The organisational aspect of top-down and bottom-up competitions can be illustrated by a social worker who can offer management a solution to a problem with running a social service. The annual shortage of money and the emphasis on the quality of services provided are among the colours of social services in the Czech Republic. A social worker-administrator (who can secure co-financing in various projects and continuously develops the social service entrusted to him or her qualitatively) symbolically takes the burden of running a social service off the organisation’s management. Such a social worker can significantly influence the organisation’s environment and participate in management decision-making. Knowledge and the ability to deal with the economic pressures of running a service enables the social worker to resist management pressures and may even participate in management, either directly or indirectly.

Table 3. The empirical illustration of the institutional clash.

An example is the absence of a representative of the municipality’s social workers during a crisis management situation in a small town in the Czech Republic. Although the law imposes many essential duties on municipal social workers during emergencies, such as natural disasters or unexpected crises, crisis management involves politicians, police officers, firefighters, medical doctors, and psychologists – and not social workers. Social workers and their representatives do not participate in setting the crisis management agenda and are not part of multidisciplinary management teams. The absence of such a resource was immediately evident during the management and consequences resulting from the Covid-19 epidemic, the tornado in the South Moravia Region, or the migration crisis from Ukraine, where social work was not anchored in the rapid crisis response system. More specifically, local policy actors did not have accurate information about the potential contribution of social work professionals. In establishing the crisis management agenda, the other actors did not recognise the specific contribution of social work. Other professionals, who have more prestige in the Czech society and more professional power, did not allow social workers to participate in policymaking on local crisis response.

Table 4. The empirical illustration of the ideational clash.

The competition of ideas in implementing innovations in social services in the Czech Republic is a good example of the ideational clash. Innovators from diverse institutional fields and traditional social services providers compete at the national, regional, and local levels. The first ones promote innovative ideas of deinstitutionalisation, or housing first or wet centres (centres that allow clients to imbibe alcohol or use drugs), while the latter reject these innovations and highlight already proven solutions within the existing system. Innovators often use new ways of communication and participatory democracy tools. Besides, traditional providers use already well-trodden paths to decision makers. Around each idea, specific coalitions of actors have been formed using the available means to mobilise the ideational components of reality that will allow them to breakthrough.

Figure 1. The dynamics of power relation Source: Author.

Figure 2. Three types of power clashes Source: Author.