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Paper short abstract:

Contemporary austerity politics has rendered disabled people in Sweden in a perpetual state of fear of a cut or complete withdrawal of support crucial for everyday life. This paper examines how the fear of losing support impacts the possibility of being visible in close relationships.

Paper long abstract:

The Swedish welfare state is often considered a well-functioning system of stratification granting safety and predictability to its citizens. However, since 2009 a decrease in welfare state support for people with disabilities has taken place. (Bylund, 2022; Norberg, 2019). Austerity measures significantly impact everyday life, often resulting in dependency on partners, parents or children or re-institutionalisation (Bylund, 2022). Hence, disabled people in Sweden can be said to live in a perpetual state of insecurity, fearing a cut or complete withdrawal of support.

Furthermore, the existence of a romantic partner often renders a reevaluation of support as social services and governmental agencies claim that the partner should take on some of the support needs. As a result of this, the notion of visibility in close relationships is constructed as a potential danger for those in need of support. (Bylund, 2022).

The paper examines the impact of austerity measures on practical living conditions, close relations and the existential experiences of the self and others. It does so from an understanding of ableism as a hegemonic discourse that centres the lives and desires of those understood as abled-bodied (Campbell, 2009; McRuer, 2018) and a phenomenological understanding of the welfare state as a means of orientation (Ahmed, 2005; Bylund, 2022).

The paper shows that there is an uneven distribution of safety and visibility through the welfare state dependent on dis/ability. Due to austerity politics, disabled people alter their desires, dreams and everyday actions in relation to fluctuating access to livability and safety.