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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to engage with the debate on social exclusion in the e‐society from the human development perspective, which goes beyond inequality in distribution of technological goods and services to emphasise the options, choice and opportunities related to accessing and using information.Design/methodology/approachThis is an interpretivist study. It draws on Sen's capability approach (CA) to conceptualise social exclusion in the e‐society as capability deprivation, both in well‐being and agency freedom. A framework of the core aspects of the CA is used to analyse two empirical studies in South Africa and China which serve to illustrate social exclusion manifested as capability deprivation in different "spaces".FindingsThe paper demonstrates the relational features of social exclusion and different types of capability deprivation in e‐society; highlights "unfavourable inclusion" which can be masked by technological diffusion.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is an early attempt to apply the capability approach to social studies of information communication technologies in developing countries.Practical implicationsThe paper provides implications for government policies to go beyond technological provision and pay attention to socio‐political, cultural and institutional aspects in ensuring effective utilisation of information and channels of communication, which should serve to enhance people's opportunity to better participate in economic, social and political activities.Originality/valueThe paper is a novel attempt to apply concepts of the CA in information systems, which provides a conceptual lens to address the complexity and multiplicity of social exclusion in the e‐society.

Friis Arne Petersen and Hans Binnendijk give a comprehensive description of how to best arrive at a Comprehensive Approach for NATO. There are two distinct but related asset pools for preparing NATO as an organization to work closely on a Comprehensive Approach -- military forces and critical civilian capabilities; and both are indispensable if NATO, internally and with partners, is to achieve optimum civil-military teamwork. Figures. Adapted from the source document.

The capability approach constitutes a significant contribution to social theory but its potential is diminished by its insufficient treatment of the social construction of meaning. Social meanings enable people to make value judgements about what they will do and be, and also to evaluate how satisfied they are about what they are able to achieve. From this viewpoint, a person's state of wellbeing must be understood as being socially and psychologically co-constituted in specific social and cultural contexts. In this light, the telos of 'living well' which is at the heart of Sen's version of the capability approach is inadequate and must be modified to a telos of 'living well together' which includes consideration of the social structures and institutions which enable people to pursue individual freedoms in relation to others. The policy significance of the capability approach can be further strengthened by paying greater consideration to the political economy of policy decision-making processes and the ways in which conflicts and distributions of power are institutionalized.