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A response to Mona Siddiqui's articles "Islam: Issues of Political Authority and Pluralism". References. Adapted from the source document.

" The ""capability approach"" of development economist Amartya Sen, who received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998, poses a major challenge to the dominant paradigm of neo-classical economics. According to Sen, human well-being does not depend on the consumption of commodities but on the freedoms human beings have reason to choose and value. The capability approach has frequently been criticised for a lack of attention to the ways in which unjust social, political and economic structures restrict human capabilities. The contributors to this volume take up this criticism in a number of ways, both theoretical and practical. The theoretical discussion engages with the thought of Sen himself and with the hermeneutical tradition represented by Paul Ricoeur. The practical discussion consists of five case studies examining the effectiveness of the capability approach in dealing with cases of structural injustice. These cover: racism in South Africa, access to labour markets in Europe, participation in higher education in the UK, poverty and welfare reforms in the US, and biotechnology patents. How effectively, ask all the contributors, can Sen's capability approach be deployed in the transformation of unjust structures? "

This book is the first specifically to explore methodological issues relating to the involvement of refugees in both service evaluation and development and research more generally. It builds on a two-year seminar series funded by the ESRC and attended by members of a range of statutory and voluntary organisations, as well as academics and refugees themselves. The participants jointly drew up a set of good practice guidelines that are re-produced in the book for the first time. Key features include a focus on the methodology for active involvement of refugees; a discussion of barriers to involvement; suggestions for overcoming barriers; analysis of existing practices and ideas for change and a discussion of the implications for policy, research and practice. Doing research with refugees is essential reading for anyone working with in the field. This includes academics, researchers, health and social care providers and voluntary organisations. Refugees themselves who are interested in their role in service evaluation, development and research will also find the book of interest