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This paper examines the evolution of social policy concerns, debates and reforms in the United States, especially starting with the Gilded Age and through the Progressive Era. It capitalizes on policy analysis literature in order to strengthen the argument of exploring context in order to understand social policy. It also delves into the social climate that gave birth to the Progressives and shaped their perceptions with regard to social change. Finally, it attempts to offer a new perspective on the distinctive social welfare track undertaken by the Americans, when compared to the European traditional model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of the historical evolution of the European welfare state, especially after the second half of the nineteenth century. Even if one considers that social protection systems have their origins in the period of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, various social problems have been treated in European countries before the Bismarck's social legislation, beginning with the sixteenth century. In this article we presented mainly (i) the origins of social policy systems in Europe, as shown in the literature covered, (ii) the conceptual evolution of the so-called "welfare state" and (iii) the development of social security schemes based on International Labour Organization typology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, in many of the European countries, welfare state has undergone a deep reform process. If during the modernity it was devoted to allocate monetary funds for passive protection (passive welfare state), now it promotes the development of both personalized services and individual resources to enable individual to face risks of exclusion, unemployment, poverty, illness, etc. by himself (active welfare state). The aim of this paper is to investigate the pillars of this new approach, starting from the analysis of activation policies and the consequences that these policies produce upon life chances of the subject in need. Particularly this paper tries to investigate the role that, among activation policies, education and training play in life-long learning perspective. Education, training and generally each form of learning are considered as grant for employability, empowerment and activation of subjects, and thus as a form of social protection. The aim of this paper is to point out both the ambivalence of this approach and the importance of consider as purpose to widen its aim from employability bat capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at a conference titled "The European Welfare State in a Global Context," which was held April 11-13, 2013 at the University of Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany, is presented. Topics included the expansion of welfare services in Europe after the end of World War II, the relationship between socialism and welfare in Germany, and how social policies impacted French decolonization.

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The article deals with issues of migration and migrant rights in Germany and Europe. Even if many scholars have elucidated with convincing clarity that Western nation states can improve migrant's rights due to the autonomy of the legal system, this paper's focus is to point out a cotemporary opposite process. Because of the transformation of the former welfare states to 'competition states' migration policies are now likely subsumed under the principle of competitive advantage. In this article I reaffirm that steering migration process has to be understood still in terms of the nation state and the economic conditions of these states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article challenges the widespread belief that Western countries have been antagonistic to economic and social human rights. Examining wartime planning, drafting the Universal Declaration and the Covenants, and the development of functional regimes for money, trade, and workers' rights as well as the European regional human rights regime, we show that Western advocacy of economic and social rights was strong, consistent, and essential to creating the post-war international order, which was intended to consolidate and strengthen Western welfare states. We conclude by considering the sources of the myth of Western opposition and its contemporary implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Politica y Sociedad is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Drawing on research analyzing similarities and differences among 19 rich democracies, this article compares the economic performance of big spenders and lean spenders at a similar economic level from 1950 to the late 1990s. Going beyond aggregate public spending, it shows the contrasting effects of particular types of spending and taxing and particular social policies. I highlight the extraordinary continuity of the contrasting institutions and policy directions of these countries. I find that there is not one road to good economic performance, but several. I specify five types of political economy, each with its own costs and gains in people's well-being, both economic and noneconomic. A final summary compares extremes: the confrontational "low road" pursued by the USA and the "high road" pursued by the strongest consensual democracies of Continental Europe, where social partners have negotiated real reforms in expensive social policies while preserving social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of reflexive modernization on social work in Ireland. It examines (i) the role and task of the Irish social worker in a society that has modernized more rapidly than any other in Europe; (ii) the meaning of pluralization, civil society and citizenship in an Irish context; (iii) the possibilities offered by a developmental strategy based upon empowerment, trust and user rights; (iv) the professional competence and training of social workers in an entirely university based system that has adapted itself to European training standards; and (v) the relationship between social work, humanism and citizenship in the Welfare State. While the article focuses on one society, it is intended to be a contribution towards the development of comparative perspectives in international social work discourse. As such it highlights commonalities as well as differences in a global age and therefore should be of interest to a broad readership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the potential role of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in preventing or promoting welfare state retrenchment in the European Union (EU). It explains how the OMC operates by reexamining the argument of OMC optimists and pessimists on whether OMC can influence on the national level and whether it can strengthen EU social policy. It examines the social expenditure and welfare state performance within the EU-15.

The article offers information on Open Minded Coordination (OMC) in Europe. It notes that OMC, a soft law introduced at the Lisbon Summit in Portugal in March 2000, aims at achieving greater convergence towards the European Union's (EU) goals. It investigates three issues constituting OMC's shortcomings including its state of being underconceptualized, overdetermined and depoliticized. It emphasizes OMC' contributions to different sectors.