Personal Social Services in the Context of External Threats: Analytical Framework for Social System Resilience

Abstract

Existential threats, such as pandemics, wars and illegal migration, are classified as high-impact threats because they destabilise welfare systems, endanger national security and threaten societal cohesion. The effects of these threats are first felt by socially vulnerable individuals, necessitating the transformation of social support systems to meet the needs of these groups. This article delves into the concept of system resilience by focusing on the characteristics of personal social services systems, based on a literature review. Using J. S. Coleman’s insights on social systems, the general concept of resilience derived from ecological systems, and the interaction between the micro, meso and macro levels of social systems, the article constructs an evaluation concept for the resilience of personal social services systems in the face of threats. The developed analytical framework for assessing the resilience of personal social services to threats enables the identification of different configurations of the system’s ability to adapt and the factors that determine these configurations.