Life after debt : The governmentalities of debt relief

Roche, Zach (2021) Life after debt : The governmentalities of debt relief. Irish Journal of Sociology. ISSN 0791-6035 (In Press)

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Abstract

To avoid a ‘tsunami’ of repossessions in the years following the global financial crisis, Ireland reformed its system of debt relief in 2013. For the first time Ireland was to have a state-of-the-art system to help debtors discharge their unpayable liabilities, at odds with the punitive Victorian system of bankruptcy which preceded it. While these changes were touted as ground-breaking and innovative, I demonstrate through original qualitative research with debtors, and the Insolvency Service of Ireland's (ISI's) operators that little has changed. When disaster strikes and debtors fall behind on payments, they are encouraged to undergo a process of soul searching and self-criticism involving reflection on their behaviour and finances. This article explores how this governmentalisation of debt and its relief creates responsible financial subjects fit for the market, simultaneously ensuring the stability of the fragile Irish credit system. The insolvency practitioners who run the service advise that only by confessing their wrongdoing (i.e. irresponsible spending), and making lasting change can they become worthy of debt relief.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Irish Research Council (grant number GOIPG/2016/175). Funding Information: I would like to thank the reviewers for their thoughtful and detailed comments, which made the paper much stronger and I accept full responsibility for any remaining errors. I am grateful to my supervisors Carmen Kuhling and Martin Power for their help and advice. Various versions of this paper were presented at the Sociological Association of Ireland (SAI) and the European Sociological Association (ESA) conferences. The comments and feedback I received were instrumental in improving the paper. This research was funded through the Irish Research Council's Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Irish Research Council (grant number GOIPG/2016/175). Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300
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Depositing User:	Admin SSL
Date Deposited:	19 Oct 2022 23:06
Last Modified:	07 Jun 2023 18:44
URI:	http://repository-testing.wit.ie/id/eprint/4122

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