The Paradoxes of Recovery Policy: Exploring the Impact of Austerity and Responsibilisation for the Citizenship Claims of People with Drug Problems

Abstract

This article critically examines the implications accompanying the introduction and implementation of recovery-based policy. The article draws upon research conducted in Lancashire, England, where commissioners have been at the forefront of recent developments in ‘whole system’ models of commissioning. Empirical data are drawn on to make a series of new arguments about the tensions and practice implications of the new recovery agenda. The article has three main objectives. First, it explores current shifts in England, in which drug service commissioning has moved from being centrally funded and directed, to locally determined. Second, it references the rise of the well-informed user in the reconfigured landscape of recovery and the ways in which commissioning models may enhance or negate the contribution of user activists to local cultures of recovery. Third, it references the changing political context, in which austerity is being used to increase the pressure on provider services to demonstrate social value, utility and effectiveness. The article argues that there is a palpable need to re-politicize drug debates and recognize the structural and demographic factors which frame problem drug use, as well as the social and cultural factors which support or negate their opportunities for recovery.