Changes in welfare state principles, neoliberal social policies, increasing economization and precarization, as well as shortages of skilled professionals are giving rise to tendencies of deprofessionalization in social work. These manifest themselves in the weakening of structures, competencies, or the autonomy of the profession. In addition, the Europe-wide and global rise of right-wing authoritarian and anti-democratic thinking and practices is increasingly destabilizing the professionalism of social work—despite internationally coordinated theoretical and ethical professional standards that oppose anti-human and inequality-reinforcing positions.

The mixed-methods study SoFRiED investigates and compares far-right influences on social work in the EU member states of Germany, Austria, and Hungary, taking into account the respective welfare state contexts. Building on two systematic, country-specific studies from Germany—North Rhine-Westphalia: Gille/Jagusch (2018); Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Gille/Krüger/Wéber (2022)—the study analyzes the effects of far-right actors, networks, discourses, and policies on social work. The project comprises three country-specific sub-studies, each consisting of three methodological components: a quantitative online survey, theme-centered individual interviews with social work professionals, and an analysis of parliamentary documents. The text-based data generated through these three components are supplemented and contextualized by a media analysis and are evaluated through an explicative and structuring qualitative content analysis.

The study is guided by the following research questions:

• In what forms do far-right influences manifest in social work in the EU member states of Germany, Austria, and Hungary?
• How do these influences affect welfare state architectures and social policy measures that constitute the framework for social work at the national level?
• To what extent do processes of deprofessionalization driven by the far right and restrictions on democratic participation opportunities for professional practitioners become evident in organizational contexts?
• To what extent do professional practitioners recognize and identify far-right influences as such in their everyday professional practice?
• Which professional approaches, counter-strategies, and institutionalized responses are articulated within the profession (professional associations, interest groups, civil society), as well as in social work education and practice, in dealing with far-right influences?

Project duration: 02/2025 – 01/2027
Funded by: Hans Böckler Foundation