Successful Societies

Summary

This project builds on the earlier successes of CIFAR’s Successful Societies program. Earlier research examines the social roots of health inequalities and argues that they are based not only on economic circumstances, but also on the structure of social relations. This program will build on earlier research to assess social resilience and the ways communities have faced social problems over the past thirty years. Areas of inquiry may include response to the AIDS crisis, and democratic decision making. The project will result in a book that will look at the phenomenon of social resilience, understood broadly as the factors that condition how well societies, communities, and individuals respond to a range of social, economic, and political challenges to improve well-being over time.

Grant Outputs

Social Resilience in the Neoliberal Era – http://www.cifar.ca/socialresilience

The “Successful Societies” program at CIFAR focused on the impact of neoliberalism on social resilience. The book Social Resilience in the Neoliberal Era considers the impact of neoliberal politics over the past thirty years and attempts to answer questions like what cultural resources or collective imaginaries contribute to resilience? How has neoliberalism affected multicultural ideals in Canada? How well can communities foster healthy lives at the local level?