Governing through care: faith-based social service provision in rural Hungary
Abstract
This article explores how faith-based organisations have become key actors in delivering social services in rural Hungary. Drawing on qualitative research with social workers, community organisers and local development programme staff, it examines how care is used to govern marginalised communities through selective and spatially uneven interventions. The analysis focuses on three dimensions: the spatial logic of service provision, the political framing of Roma poverty, and the dilemmas faced by social work professionals navigating between institutional expectations, professional ethics and community needs. The study contributes to debates on social policy, care and professional agency in the context of welfare transformations.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Religion
Society
and Development
Religion and Society Interactions
Religious Tourism and Spaces
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Territory Politics Governance
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1301–1316
- Publication date
- 2 February 2026
- Language
- EN