The different faces of inclusion and exclusion

The notions of inclusion and exclusion have a long tradition in sociology, but have gained significant currency more recently in public policy analysis. However, a certain conceptual inflexibility arises when the distinction is applied to complex social situations. This article examines the main approaches to inclusion/exclusion in the sociological tradition, systems theory and the theory of new inequalities. On this basis, five interrelated situations of inclusion and exclusion are constructed: self-inclusion/self-exclusion, inclusion by risk/exclusion by danger, compensatory inclusion, inclusion in exclusion and sub-inclusion. They are illustrated with specific examples to refine an analytical approach to problems of inclusion and exclusion, with a view to contributing to sociological analysis and to assessing the consequences of public and private decisions.

Social cohesion: inclusion and a sense of belonging in Latin America and the Caribbean. Summary

Includes bibliography

European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean: investments for growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability

Incluye Bibliografía

Equity and exclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean: the case of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples

Includes bibliography

A system of indicators for monitoring social cohesion in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Defeating poverty through social inclusion

Includes bibliography

Structural change and productivity growth, 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities

Includes bibliography

Social cohesion in Latin America: concepts, frames of reference and Indicators

Includes bibliography

The new information technologies and women: essential reflections

Includes bibliography

Structural change and productivity growth 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities. Summary

Includes bibliography

Conditional cash transfer programmes: the recent experience in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes Bibliography

Information and communication technologies for agricultural development in Latin America: trends, barriers and policies

Includes bibliography

The digital economy for structural change and equality

Includes bibliography.

The Rights of Indigenous Children

While children in general are overrepresented among those living in poverty, a long history of discrimination and exclusion has ensured that indigenous children in Latin America and the Caribbean are in an even worse position. In the general population 63% of children aged under 18 years live in poverty, as measured by privation of the basic rights to well-being; however, that figure is as high as 88% among indigenous children in the same age group. This is a violation of these children's rights —including their rights to survival and development— and entails high costs for society in terms of productive capacity and social inclusion. That is the thrust of the argument in the central article of this issue of Challenges, which focuses on poverty among indigenous children. The data show a pattern of inequality that is highly detrimental to indigenous children: they make up a disproportionate number of those living in extreme poverty and are three times more likely to lack access to education, safe drinking water and housing than other children. It is a matter of particular concern that in the countries of the Andean Community 5 of every 10 indigenous children under the age of 5 years suffer from chronic malnutrition.This edition includes brief testimonies by indigenous children as to what their life is like; an interview with Marta Maurás, Vice-Chairperson of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, on the international mechanisms in place to safeguard the rights of indigenous children; and, lastly, an article on the Uantakua programme in Mexico, which uses information and communication technologies in bilingual schools with large indigenous populations.