A.13. Which (Democratic) Professionalism in Neoliberal Times?

This panel explores the role of professionalism within contemporary public services (including education) and public governance, interrogating whether it may operate as a protective factor for equity, justice, and democracy, or instead as a vehicle of dominance and institutional violence. The reflection is situated within neoliberal times, marked by inequalities, individualization, and de-politicization.

Professionalism remains key as a form of social organization and a mode of regulating work and society. Public governance relies on professional bureaucracies and on various professionals working across public, third-sector, and for-profit networks. Both governance and professionalism have undergone significant transformations: Hybrid governance arrangements, where managerialist logics are dominant, coexist with a professionalism that has shifted from traditional or occupational models to organizational and hybrid ones.

Recent debates on democratic professionalism (Dzur 2008, 2021; Lethbridge 2019) highlight its aspirational capacity to build bridges with citizens and foster more responsive services. Thus, under which conditions can professionalism be a way of “doing democracy,” by countering the multiple forms of counterintuitive and discriminatory welfare?

An element worth considering is the educational dimension inherent in all professions. Professional practice entails the transmission of knowledge from “expert” to “lay” individuals. Frequently legitimized in the name of the public interest or improved outcomes, this role often exceeds specific literacies and extends to broader orientations and conduct, reinforcing asymmetries, paternalism, and forms of institutional domination.

The panel welcomes theoretical and/or empirical contributions addressing different sectors, from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and methodological approaches, focusing on the Italian case or other national contexts.