Renato Miguel Carmo - Böcker

Across Western Europe, the rise of atypical employment has deepened insider–outsider divides. This book asks why two structurally similar countries – Portugal and Spain – pursued different routes to reduce labour market segmentation following the conclusion of the sovereign debt crisis. It argues that the composition of the governing social bloc drives the orientation of reform, while the choice of decision‑making arena (parliamentary law-making versus tripartite social concertation) and the EU’s evolving social governance shape the breadth and depth of reform.Building on the distinction between competitive and inclusive solidarity, the book compares four domains: employment protection and collective bargaining; statutory minimum wages; regulation of ride‑hailing platforms in passenger transport; and the regularisation of precarious public sector work. The analysis covers Portugal’s progressive cycle (2015–2021) and Spain’s coalition years (2019–2025), drawing on elite interviews, content analysis of parliamentary debates and media coverage, and official documents. The findings reveal a targeted, outsider‑focused strategy in Portugal and a more universal re‑regulation in Spain.Governing Solidarity offers a fresh framework and rich evidence for scholars of political economy and industrial relations, as well as advanced students and policymakers confronting labour market segmentation.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

The words ‘precarity’ and ‘precariousness’ are widely used when discussing work, social conditions and experiences. However, there is no consensus on their meaning or how best to use them to explore social changes.This book shows how scholars have mapped out these notions, offering substantive analyses of issues such as the relationships between precariousness, debt, migration, health and workers’ mobilizations, and how these relationships have changed in the context of COVID-19.Bringing together an international group of authors from diverse fields, this book offers a distinctive critical perspective on the processes of precarization, focusing in particular on the European context. The Introduction, Chapters 3 and 8, and the Afterword are available Open Access via OAPEN under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

After over a decade of the austerity measures that followed the 2008 financial crisis--entailing severe, unpopular policies that have galvanized opposition and frayed social ties--what lies next for European societies? Portugal offers an interesting case for exploring this question, as a nation that was among the hardest hit by austerity and is now seeking a fresh path forward. This collection brings together sociologists, social movement specialists, political scientists, and other scholars to look specifically at how Portuguese youth have navigated this politically and economically difficult period, negotiating uncertain social circumstances as they channel their discontent into protest and collective action.

This edited collection analyses social inequality in the European Union, within and between countries.