Villain Without a Cause: The Construction of an Administrative Service as the Absolute Evil

Recent contributions to social science have shown the relevance of narratives for public policy-making. Researchers working on the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) are refining the theory of narratives and translating it into empirical applications. Yet, the isolated effect of narratives on the dynamics of public debates remains obscure. We bring light into the darkness by investigating a case that by its nature cannot be explained through other factors than narratives. In Switzerland, the child and adult protection services were subject to a reform in 2013. Until then, local lay politicians used to decide on existential family matters such as whether a child should be taken away from its parents. This arrangement resulted in many tragic fates, the systematic historical analysis of which has only begun recently. The reform was of a purely organisational nature, installing professional commitees of lawyers, social workers and child psychologists for the implementation of the already existing child and adult protection law. Various experts have attested to the functionality of the new child and adult protection services since they took up their work. Despite that, the public debate has reached enormous dimensions and is led in a very emotional way. After a tragic case of child murder in 2015, right-wing parties and newly formed groups of civil society denounce the services as incapable and despotic, tearing families apart on a whim. The services have become a symbol of evilness, with tabloid newspapers readily fuelling this image. Opponents have even launched a popular initiative to return to the old system. Speaking in NPF terminology, the scene is populated with a multitude of potential villains: parents maltreating their children, the formerly responsible politicians passing uninformed judgments, the new services that might be unable to cope with their task. However, only the latter are assigned this role in public discourse. Such a position is especially unfortunate for the services as they are often bound by confidentiality obligations and cannot defend themselves. By conducting a quantitative media analysis, we want to trace the emergence of the child and adult protection services‘ negative image. Which actors are responsible for the dominant narrative? How did they establish it? Were there attempts to introduce counter-narratives? If so, why did they fail? We consider the debate about the services an extreme case for the NPF. By investigating it, we want to garner additional knowledge for the thriving research area of narratives.