Socio-political Perspectives on Action Research. Traditions in Western Europe – Especially in Germany and Scandinavia

Drawing upon experiences from Scandinavia and Germany this paper argues, that any action research project should be aware of the socio-political context, in which it is taking place and which it is a part of. As a consequence I concentrate on a socio-political perspective on action research rather than on the often used and in European AR discussion prevailing micro perspective on the single action research case. Experiences from Germany and Scandinavia demonstrate that programmes for work life reform as a framework for participative action research do not have any chance without being able to create support from broad socio-political coalitions. The question therefore is: Which is the socio-political context enabling action research as part of action and research programmes in the field of work life reform?