Understanding and investigating relationality in the capability approach

Abstract

he capability approach (CA) is a framework for un-derstanding, assessing, and promoting the quality ofhuman lives and social justice. It focuses on capabil-ities – people's freedoms and opportunities to live invaluable ways. Although its proponents readilyacknowledge that capabilities can depend on personal,social and environmental factors, little attention hasbeen paid to the ontology of capabilities (what they areand how they are caused and constituted) and theinherent relationality of the approach is often not wellfollowed through in research and practice. This, wesuggest, leaves the CA vulnerable to misinterpretationand misappropriation.