This timely book updates, and takes stock of, Lipset and Rokkan''s classic work Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives, an influential work since its publication in 1967. It examines the significance of the original volume for the history of political sociology, and assesses its theoretical and empirical relevance for the study of contemporary elections, voters and parties. Most importantly this volume gives scope to new areas such as consociational democracies, small island states, and newly democratising Eastern and Central European and Third World countries.

This timely book updates, and takes stock of, Lipset and Rokkan''s classic work Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives, an influential work since its publication in 1967. It examines the significance of the original volume for the history of political sociology, and assesses its theoretical and empirical relevance for the study of contemporary elections, voters and parties. Most importantly this volume gives scope to new areas such as consociational democracies, small island states, and newly democratising Eastern and Central European and Third World countries.

Providing historical and future-oriented perspectives on welfare issues and policies, Globalizing Welfare assesses the relevance of the Northern European welfare experience for East Asia, and addresses the differing ways that countries in the two regions are responding to similar challenges of increasing inequality, demographic change, and shifting relations between the state, market and non-profit organizations. With topical analysis of policy responses to these shared issues across contexts, the book assesses how these globalized, cross-cutting issues will impact future developments in welfare states.

This book is a valuable resource for scholars and students alike of sociology, political science, economics, social policy and public administration, providing up-to-date knowledge of welfare state developments. It will also be of interest to policy-makers concerned with social welfare globally.

Challenging conventional welfare state research, the authors compare the Nordic countries with the welfare states of the market-oriented democracies of the Baltic area, discussing welfare state theories, family policy regimes and welfare state models. Top international contributors provide a better understanding of the complex inequalities that families and individuals are facing in the 21st century, and cover important topics such as poverty, social insurance and family policy in the Nordic and Baltic areas.

Challenges to the Welfare State will be of great interest to social policy scholars and policy makers, particularly those with an interest in the Baltic and Nordic countries. It will also be a welcome addition to the literature for students interested in family policy and pension protection reforms, and those with a general interest in the contemporary welfare state studies in Europe.

This timely book updates, and takes stock of, Lipset and Rokkan''s classic work Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives, an influential work since its publication in 1967. It examines the significance of the original volume for the history of political sociology, and assesses its theoretical and empirical relevance for the study of contemporary elections, voters and parties. Most importantly this volume gives scope to new areas such as consociational democracies, small island states, and newly democratising Eastern and Central European and Third World countries.

This timely book updates, and takes stock of, Lipset and Rokkan''s classic work Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives, an influential work since its publication in 1967. It examines the significance of the original volume for the history of political sociology, and assesses its theoretical and empirical relevance for the study of contemporary elections, voters and parties. Most importantly this volume gives scope to new areas such as consociational democracies, small island states, and newly democratising Eastern and Central European and Third World countries.

Providing historical and future-oriented perspectives on welfare issues and policies, Globalizing Welfare assesses the relevance of the Northern European welfare experience for East Asia, and addresses the differing ways that countries in the two regions are responding to similar challenges of increasing inequality, demographic change, and shifting relations between the state, market and non-profit organizations. With topical analysis of policy responses to these shared issues across contexts, the book assesses how these globalized, cross-cutting issues will impact future developments in welfare states.

This book is a valuable resource for scholars and students alike of sociology, political science, economics, social policy and public administration, providing up-to-date knowledge of welfare state developments. It will also be of interest to policy-makers concerned with social welfare globally.

Challenging conventional welfare state research, the authors compare the Nordic countries with the welfare states of the market-oriented democracies of the Baltic area, discussing welfare state theories, family policy regimes and welfare state models. Top international contributors provide a better understanding of the complex inequalities that families and individuals are facing in the 21st century, and cover important topics such as poverty, social insurance and family policy in the Nordic and Baltic areas.

Challenges to the Welfare State will be of great interest to social policy scholars and policy makers, particularly those with an interest in the Baltic and Nordic countries. It will also be a welcome addition to the literature for students interested in family policy and pension protection reforms, and those with a general interest in the contemporary welfare state studies in Europe.