Nika Šušterič

Social exclusion and inclusion are notions that have become an often unquestioned part of our contemporary vocabulary with regard to issues of justice, equality, and prosperity. Nations thus strive to create inclusive markets, workplaces, communities, healthcare and education systems, and even societies, to name just some goals related to social exclusion and inclusion.The following chapter aims at unpacking the various meanings of social exclusion and inclusion, outlining the contemporary issues related to these ideas. The chapter is divided into two main parts. In the first, the chapter presents an overview of the most prevalent and dominant understandings of social exclusion as an iteration of the social question. The second part presents a brief outline of current debates on social inclusion as the solution to exclusion. The chapter concludes with some issues related to the concepts of social exclusion and inclusion, and some possible directions in which to take up their study in the future, while also drawing attention to other meanings given to social exclusion and inclusion outside the sphere of policymaking.