„When there is no enabling environment...”

Space of possibilities for mothers with young children and the context of solidarity

Abstract

Our research “Solidarity in late modernity” (NKFI-129138, principial investigator: Domonkos Sik) aims to explore the conditions of solidarity in the Hungarian society. Main issue of the multi-layered research: what forms does the crisis of institutional solidarity take in everyday life and what kind of alternative solutions are available. One focus is on the possibilities of solidarity for mothers with young children. I investigated the problem of solidarity in the context of pregnancy, childbirth, newborn care, breast feeding, care and education of small children. In which situations and between what kind of social agents is solidarity appearing? Why can’t intentions and expectations exist side by side? How to see the unintended results of an unsure situation of solidarity? Are there any new regimes of solidarity within a new social context?