Radicalising ‘disability’ in conflict and post-conflict situations

Abstract

In this article, a radical social model of disability lens is taken to illustrate what counts as ‘disability’ within a neoliberal mindset. The South African and disabled activist Vic Finkelstein describes both an ‘outside-in approach’ that looks at the material conditions of how ‘disability’ is constructed and an ‘idealist’ ‘inside-out’ approach, or how people describe experiences of inequality and disablement. The ‘outside-in’ approach is where the focus of a social model of disability should be in terms of trying to understand how global capitalism or neoliberalism is (dis)ablest and creating impairment. The ‘inside-out’ approach is ‘idealist’ and where the other ‘components’ of the model such as ‘rights’ are located. This article begins with an overview of the relationship between disability and conflict. The article then moves to an inside-out framework to examine how disability is still viewed and created through a medical humanitarianism. Using an outside-in framework, I illustrate how states become disabled through neoliberalism. Lastly, I discuss how ensuring greater participation and rethinking neoliberalism in terms of sustainability may provide us with a way forward in a humanitarian setting and rethinking of disability.

Keywords:

• radical
• social model
• disability
• Vic Finkelstein
• conflict
• medical humanitarianism

Acknowledgements

These reflections were started during conversations and after some writing with Nawaf Kabbara, to whom the author owes a debt of the thanks. The author also gratefully acknowledges the detailed criticisms of the two reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. See Disability and the Global South 2 (1).