Problematizing unemployment : the competing representations of unemployment and the implications thereof

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Unemployment has been recognized as one of the most important social problemsworldwide as most countries suffer from some unemployment. South Africa's highunemployment rate has led to an abundance of research on the topic. A vast majority ofthe research available on unemployment in South Africa is positivist in nature. This studyinstead uses an interpretivist approach to analyse the problem of unemployment in SouthAfrica. The study uses Carol Bacchi's approach to provide a different way of analysingthe problem of unemployment in South Africa.Bacchi's approach allows the analyst to focus on problem representations and how theserepresentations shape what is discussed and what is not discussed about the topic. Thisstudy demonstrates the application of Bacchi's approach and focuses on the problemrepresentations of the significant actors involved with unemployment, namely the SouthAfrican government, business, COSATU and the SACP. The study focuses on the effectsof the problem representations of unemployment, in particular the discursive and politicaleffects. This study argues that Bacchi's approach is a useful tool for the analysis ofunemployment. It is also argued in this study that the approach provides insights into theproblem of unemployment by highlighting what is not discussed in the problemrepresentations of the significant actors. By sensitizing individuals to what is excluded inthe problem representations, it is argued that solutions which negate the negative effectsof such representations can be found.Bacchi's approach highlighted a number of problem representations of unemployment.The study found that some problem representations were shared by one or more actorsand that divergence exist between the representations of other actors. The shared anddivergent representations focused on the tripartite alliance due to the significance of thealliance in South African politics. The shared and divergence representations weredemonstrated to either help to towards improving the relationships between actors or, inthe case of divergence, increase the tensions in the actor's relationship with one another.The study also found that the non-government actors' problem representations of unemployment direct attention to government's responsibility for dealing withunemployment while minimising their role and contribution to unemployment. The studyalso demonstrated that the interests of different actors can be identified in the dominantproblem representations.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University