Martin Kohli - Böcker

In the post war years European integration was driven by nation states attempting to stimulate economic growth and social cohesion through European trade and cooperation. The results were prosperous, and unified Western European societies were based on full employment and redistributive welfare states. However, in today's Europe - a Europe subject to increasing international competition fuelled by both economic and cultural globalization - the European social model needs to be re-examined, yet its emphasis on cohesion remains crucial for the future of Europe as a unified polity. Investigating this issue in depth, this outstanding collection is divided into three key sections. These parts:* ask how recent developments have changed the old European model of employment and social protection, and outline a possible new European social model* focus on the questions of European identity and European borders, with special emphasis on cultural divisions such as ethnicity* concentrate on institutions such as citizenship and language, and reflect on sociology's ability to address European integration and the new European social order.Will Europe Work? brings together some of the leading names in European sociology to look at the construction of this new European social order through changing patterns of employment and Welfare and changing definitions of citizenship and identity.

European social development over the last century has been characterized by an increasing inclusiveness of people into the ever-larger collectives of the nation state, the European Union and categories of welfare entitlement. Yet recent empirical data suggests that income gaps are growing and that within the physical borders of Europe there is a greater cultural and ethnic heterogeneity than ever before. Effectively, many of the processes of inclusion are accompanied by exclusion and the creation of new borders, identities and rights.Inclusions and Exclusions in European Societies features eminent contributors from across Europe addressing the problems of inclusion and exclusion as they affect European societies today. Amongst the topics addressed are:to what extent classical theory provides useful ways of reframing European societieswhich inequalities in work and welfare persist today and in what ways they have been transformed in processes of European integrationhow considerations of new identities and the pressure of globalisation affect the forms of inclusion and exclusion in Europe.This book constitutes a unique stock-taking of many of the central issues in European social integration or disintegration today.

This new book provides a cross-country comparative analysis of the key issues shaping the latest pension reforms in Europe: political games, welfare models and pathways, population reactions, and observed and expected outcomes.Pension reform has been a top policy priority for European governments in the last decade. Ageing populations, changing labour market patterns and the process of European integration are the ‘irresistible forces’ pushing for reform throughout the region. The Political Economy of Pension Reform evaluates the political forces that make pension reform viable in different national and institutional contexts and the nature of political bargains, actors and cleavages surrounding policy change. The volume also examines the nature and outcomes of pension reform experiences in Europe, searching for a solution to the financial challenge posed by growing pension budgets. By addressing the nature of change, the pathways of reform, and the outcomes of the new pension mix in the region, the authors conclude with an analysis of people’s perceptions and attitudes towards pension policy and their acceptance or otherwise of different reform options. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international political economy, European politics, and social policy.

European social development over the last century has been characterized by an increasing inclusiveness of people into the ever-larger collectives of the nation state, the European Union and categories of welfare entitlement. Yet recent empirical data suggests that income gaps are growing and that within the physical borders of Europe there is a greater cultural and ethnic heterogeneity than ever before. Effectively, many of the processes of inclusion are accompanied by exclusion and the creation of new borders, identities and rights.Inclusions and Exclusions in European Societies features eminent contributors from across Europe addressing the problems of inclusion and exclusion as they affect European societies today. Amongst the topics addressed are:to what extent classical theory provides useful ways of reframing European societieswhich inequalities in work and welfare persist today and in what ways they have been transformed in processes of European integrationhow considerations of new identities and the pressure of globalisation affect the forms of inclusion and exclusion in Europe.This book constitutes a unique stock-taking of many of the central issues in European social integration or disintegration today.

This new book provides a cross-country comparative analysis of the key issues shaping the latest pension reforms in Europe: political games, welfare models and pathways, population reactions, and observed and expected outcomes.Pension reform has been a top policy priority for European governments in the last decade. Ageing populations, changing labour market patterns and the process of European integration are the ‘irresistible forces’ pushing for reform throughout the region. The Political Economy of Pension Reform evaluates the political forces that make pension reform viable in different national and institutional contexts and the nature of political bargains, actors and cleavages surrounding policy change. The volume also examines the nature and outcomes of pension reform experiences in Europe, searching for a solution to the financial challenge posed by growing pension budgets. By addressing the nature of change, the pathways of reform, and the outcomes of the new pension mix in the region, the authors conclude with an analysis of people’s perceptions and attitudes towards pension policy and their acceptance or otherwise of different reform options. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international political economy, European politics, and social policy.

In all Western countries, people are leaving work earlier than ever before - at a time when their life expectancy keeps increasing. How has this paradoxical process been brought about? What is the impact of labour markets and social policy? And what will be the effect of this massive lengthening of retirement? Time for Retirement addresses the 'aging of society' and the restructuring of the life course in terms of the changing relationship between work and reitrement. Detailed information based on the retirement policies of seven countries provides the basis for a comparative analysis aimed at assessing the range of possible political responses to these changes. The editors and contributors are among the leading social scientists in the field of life-course studies, aging, and social policy.

In all Western countries, people are leaving work earlier than ever before - at a time when their life expectancy keeps increasing. How has this paradoxical process been brought about? What is the impact of labour markets and social policy? And what will be the effect of this massive lengthening of retirement? Time for Retirement addresses the 'aging of society' and the restructuring of the life course in terms of the changing relationship between work and reitrement. Detailed information based on the retirement policies of seven countries provides the basis for a comparative analysis aimed at assessing the range of possible political responses to these changes. The editors and contributors are among the leading social scientists in the field of life-course studies, aging, and social policy.

Verlassliche Informationen uber die alternde Gesellschaft sind bisher dunn gesat. Der Alters-Survey - gefordert vom Bundesministerium fur Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend - schafft hier Abhilfe. Er basiert auf einer grossen, anspruchsvoll angelegten Reprasentativuntersuchung der deutschen Bevolkerung im Alter von 40 bis 85 Jahren. Diese kann sowohl im Sinne einer Sozialberichterstattung wie auch zur Klarung zentraler Theoretischer Fragen genutzt werden. Das Buch bietet eine umfassende Darstellung der soziologischen Befunde des Alters-Survey.

Over the past few years, a consensus has grown among European policy specialists that kinship should play a larger role in the welfare state. "Family, Kinship and State in Contemporary Europe" examines the fundamental questions about such kinship ties and seeks to understand how and why family members help each other and in what circumstances they might withhold their aid. The editors and their collaborators have gathered here three volumes of historical, sociological, and ethnographic studies that inform readers about the diversity of kin relationships in contemporary Europe, the strengths and weaknesses of the various systems, and the extent to which each can be influenced - for better or worse - by the state. Historical and comparative analyses track the impact of political and economic change and show how marriage, cohabitation, fertility rates, and population aging affects the performance and structure of these kinship networks.