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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Central government > Central government policies
The free movement of labour will be one of the key elements of the Single Market soon to be implemented, One would therefore expect that efforts would have been made to harmonize social policies, especially on the legal status of workers. But the existing EC Treaty contains no provision and the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers of 1989 fails to fill the gap. The Charter delegates the socio-political responsibility in almost all points to the member states. Yet the constitutions of most refer to general human rights only. The author here stresses the importance of economic and social human rights which, like human rights in general, have their roots in the Enlightenment, especially in the works of Montesquieu, Adam Smith and Kant.
"By focusing squarely on the cultural dimensions of social welfare
policy, Sanford Schram brilliantly illuminates recent turns in
policy and politics. Nor does he slight the material for the
symbolic. Ratherhe shows the close connections between the cultural
and material aspects of policy. Most welcome of all, Schram's work
is imbued with a rare empathetic concern for the people who are
both the beneficiaries and victims of social welfare." "If you want a flesh-and-blood story of the real agendas that
lie behind policy-making in the age of tough love, After Welfare is
the best book on the topic. Schram's incisive expose makes for
spectacular common sense." "This engagingly written book lays bare the 'dirty little
secrets' of a new order of social policy, one that shores up
inequality by tapping into cultural reserves of race and gender
prejudice while publicly presenting a neutral face. Its power
derives from Schram's eloquence, his sharp wit, and his talent for
persuading the reader to scrutinize social policy through the lens
of social theory." "Sanford Schram's After Welfare is an exemplary combination of
political theory, cultural critique, applied policy analysis and
astute and comprehensive mapping of the contemporary politics of
welfare. It should engage a wide readership in both academia and
the policy community." Do contemporary welfare policies reflect the realities of the economy and the needs of those in need of public assistance, or are they based on outdatedand idealized notions of work and family life? Are we are moving from a "war on poverty" to a "war against the poor?" In this critique of American social welfare policy, Sanford F. Schram explores the cultural anxieties over the putatively deteriorating "American work ethic," and the class, race, sexual and gender biases at the root of current policy and debates. Schram goes beyond analyzing the current state of affairs to offer a progressive alternative he calls "radical incrementalism," whereby activists would recreate a social safety net tailored to the specific life circumstances of those in need. His provocative recommendations include a series of programs aimed at transcending the prevailing pernicious distinction between "social insurance" and "public assistance" so as to better address the needs of single mothers with children. Such programs could include "divorce insurance" or even some form of "pregnancy insurance" for women with no means of economic support. By pushing for such programs, Schram argues, activists could make great strides towards achieving social justice, even in today's reactionary climate.
This book systematically explores how different theoretical concepts of myth can be utilised to interpretively explore contemporary international politics. From the international community to warlords, from participation to effectiveness - international politics is replete with powerful narratives and commonly held beliefs that qualify as myths. Rebutting the understanding of myth-as-lie, this collection of essays unearths the ideological, naturalising, and depoliticising effect of myths. Myth and Narrative in International Politics: Interpretive Approaches to the Study of IR offers conceptual and methodological guidance on how to make sense of different myth theories and how to employ them in order to explore the powerful collective imaginations and ambiguities that underpin international politics today. Further, it assembles case studies of specific myths in different fields of International Relations, including warfare, global governance, interventionism, development aid, and statebuilding. The findings challenge conventional assumptions in International Relations, encouraging academics in IR and across a range of different fields and disciplines, including development studies, global governance studies, strategic and military studies, intervention and statebuilding studies, and peace and conflict studies, to rethink ideas that are widely unquestioned by policy and academic communities.
"Europe's Greece" evaluates Greece's European membership and finds that it has been largely successful. Despite its reputation of a southern laggard with very little improvement, Greece has behaved much like any other members of the EU, pushing its interests and stumbling upon the large issues that are associated with membership. Societal development has improved Greek society but has drawn out the same resistance that is evident in the larger more powerful members. Economic development has greatly improved incomes but now attracts waves of economic immigrants from the Balkans and beyond. The most successful area of improvement for Greece is foreign policy, considering the avalanche of problem Greece faced after the collapse of Yugoslavia. Finally, the book suggests some strategies of overcoming the problem associated with this successful EU membership.
Faced with falling social cohesion governments have sought to revitalise society by trying to reconstruct local communities, civil society and citizenship. As a result, civil society is increasingly brought within the realm of public management, subject to accountability and embedded in hierarchies the impact and origins of which this book explores
This volume discusses the determinants of happiness and presents case studies of how public policy can help promote happiness. Happiness is a private matter and individual pursuit, however public policy does have an important role and can contribute much through various enabling means. Possible examples of such influence include establishing a set of institutions that allow private enterprises to flourish, investing in infrastructure and in education, protecting people from harm and reducing risks and alleviating pain when harm is unavoidable. This book takes a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science and an international perspective.
"Deniers of climate change have benefited from political strategies developed by conservative think tanks and public relations experts paid handsomely by the energy industry. With this book, environmental activists can benefit from some scholarly attention turned to their efforts. This book exhibits the best that public scholarship has to offer. Its authors utilize sophisticated rhetorical theory and criticism to uncover the inventional constraints and possibilities for participants at various sites of the Step-It-Up day of climate activism. What makes this book especially valuable is that it is not only directed to fellow communication scholars, but is written in a clear and accessible style to bring the insights of an academic field to a broader public of activists committed to building an environmental social movement." - Prof. Leah Ceccarelli, University of Washington "This is an unusually interesting volume grounded in a sustained and coordinated analysis of the Step It Up campaign. Generating a multifaceted and shared archive for analyzing the SIU campaign on global warming, the volume's multiple authors critically examine intersecting dimensions of the SIU campaign-its persuasive strategies, organizational dynamics, and political practices for everyday citizens-with an eye on implications for enhancing the larger environmental movement. Readers with a practical and theoretical interest in social and political movements will find this book engaging and leavened with heuristic value." - Professor Robert L. Ivie, Indiana University, Bloomington
This unique collection of essays analyzes the impact of state policies on minority communities in the United States and the perpetuation of an underclass in American society. The editors and contributors begin with the premise that there was a resurgence of racism and disadvantage during the Reagan years, not only in the United States, but also in the world. They contend that a major revision of policy toward the American underclass is urgently needed because of a failure to understand underlying social and economic changes. Drawing heavily upon diverse sources for data and theoretical perspectives, the studies in this important volume attempt to integrate underclass analysis with policy formulation. The elaboration of the human rights of the underclass under both international and domestic law is presented by Peter Weiss. Gregory Kellam Scott argues forcefully for a shift in the basis of civil rights jurisprudence that would allow the state to assist the underclass by removing past remnants of discrimination. David Penna and Jose Blas Lorenzo discuss the legality and desirability of state attempts to restrict racist speech, given the exploitative nature of the underclass relationship. John Grove and Jiping Wu reassess the perception of Asian-Americans as a model minority and discuss uncertain prospects for the future integration of new Asian immigrants into mainstream America. Debra Kreisberg Voss, Joy Sobrepena, and Peter W. Van Arsdale demonstrate how the immigration process can marginalize immigrants. George E. Tinker and Loring Bush discuss the difficulties in determining Native American unemployment rates and document the underestimation of the problem and its impact on policy toward Native Americans. The politics and hidden agenda of the English Only movement and the policy implications for linguistic minorities are revealed by Priscilla Falcon and Patricia J. Campbell. Finally, George W. Shepherd, Jr. and David Penna present a challenging agenda for state policy toward the underclass for the 1990s. This provocative volume should be read by everyone interested in ethnic and minority studies.
The tariff policies of the 1890-1922 led to the development of tariff rates that launched the United States on a path that led to later trade wars. The Republican Party and Porter McCumber took the lead in promoting these policies, claiming that the tariff would protect new and struggling industries. In many instances, items subjected to high tariffs were not in conflict with industries in the United States. In addition, although the tariff covered agricultural products, it was not sufficient to halt an agricultural decline. This work traces the course of U.S. policy through five tariffs which preceded the Fordney-McCumber tariff of 1922, when the tariff was used for both protection and revenue. McCumber's economic nationalism combined with his internationalism in other areas is detailed in the work.
This book brings together internationally prominent scholars renowned for their work on post-Soviet republics, as well as outstanding emerging scholars native of Central Asia in order to discuss the state of education in the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Drawing on their individual contexts and research, the authors offer analyses and critiques of some of the social, political, and economic issues in education in their respective countries, and some insights about how local actions engage with the challenges and problems, as well as with the possibilities and opportunities they face. Since gaining their independence in 1991, the five republics of Central Asia have been undergoing some enormous political, social, linguistic, cultural, and economic changes, even as we write. This collection shows that researchers are increasingly interested in exploring the development of education in this part of the world. In these countries, education plays a significant role in transitioning from centrally planned to market economies and is seen as the key resource to facilitate entry into the global competitiveness sphere. This book will be of particular interest to educators, researchers, and policy makers engaged in research or with a particular interest in curricula, and education systems and reforms, and to undergraduate and graduate students studying and researching education in Central Asia or in other post-Soviet contexts.
The hatred of drugs, according to the author, is the axis of politics that has fundamentally shifted the nation's policy format--from the progressive orientation that dominated from from the time of Roosevelt to the Sixties, to the punitive orientation that emerged during the Nixon presidency and continues to this day. This triumph of the political use of drug hate is simultaneously a disaster in policy consequences as it corrupts the criminal justice system, exacerbates class inequality, drains public resources, and denies the public their Constitutional heritage. Sadofsky Baggins shows that the political success of the domestic war has overwhelmed the policy failure in the nation's deliberations. The War on Drugs is politically successful because it serves traditional racial antagonisms, media need for theater, religious needs for piety and denunciation of sinful pleasures, and maintains conservative coalition politics by emphasizing punishment over progress toward social justice. This book recognizes the need to reassess the War on Drugs as a necessary step toward national healing and future policy development. Recent popular movements and initiatives, as well as the failure of some politicians to benefit from deploying drug hate rhetoric, are considered as the opening of such an awakening. Sadofsky Baggins treats the War on Drugs as the epic of politics and civilization in our time. This book continues his efforts to explain how well-meaning citizens and manipulative politicans and institutions construct laws that miserably fail in their intended purpose and harm the nation in significant unintended ways. This book is of interest to concerned citizens as well as scholars, researchers, and policy makers involved with legal, drug, and political issues.
The idea of public support for the arts is being challenged. Multiculturalism has been proposed as a worthy and necessary goal of public arts policy; whether or not it should be is explored for the first time in this book. Issues of cultural pluralism, the relations of art and culture, justice and affirmative action, and artistic value are presented as essential points of debate in making decisions concerning public support of the arts. This book will be of interest to professionals and teachers in the arts, public policy, arts management, and education. Its focus on multiculturalism and its analysis of basic concepts related to timely issues of public arts policy make it a unique contribution.
Explores Russia's re-emergence as a major actor in Central Asia and the Caucasus - a re-emergence which is limited by the involvement and influence of external state and non-state actors, including China, the USA and foreign energy companies.
This handbook explores the various ways in which disability sport is governed and organised across Europe, as well as examining the extent to which persons with a disability participate in sport at the grassroots level. Based upon a solid theoretical framework and up-to-date data, the 19 country-specific chapters in this handbook give a comparative overview of the structuring, steering and supporting elements of disability sport policy and sport participation levels amongst persons with a disability, as well as the extent to which countries adopt policies to promote inclusion in sport in this population. A multitude of authors also identify the various methods and challenges in collecting sport participation data with regard to persons with a disability. This handbook will be a valuable resource for academic study across a range of sport and disability related programs, as well as a point of reference for researchers and policymakers working in this area.
While the United States cherishes its identity as a nation of immigrants, the countryas immigration policies are historically characterized by cycles of openness and xenophobia. Outbursts of anti-immigrant sentiment among political leaders and in the broader public are fueled by a debate over who is worthy of being considered for full incorporation into the nation, and who is incapable of assimilating and taking on the characteristics and responsibilities associated with being an American. In Illegal, Alien, or Immigrant, Lina Newton carefully dissects the political debates over contemporary immigration reform. Beginning with a close look at the disputes of the 1980s and 1990s, she reveals how a shift in legislatorsa portrayals of illegal immigrants--from positive to overwhelmingly negative--facilitated the introduction and passing of controversial reforms. Newtonas analysis reveals how rival descriptions of immigrant groups and the flattering or disparaging myths that surround them define, shape, and can ultimately determine fights over immigration policy. Her path-breaking findings will shed new light on the current political battles, their likely outcomes, and where to go from here.
The book analyzes Brazil's Africa engagement as a rising power's strategy to gain global recognition, linking it to Brazil's broader foreign policy objectives and shedding light on the mechanisms of Brazilian status-seeking in Africa.
This book analyses the policies of recognition that were developed and implemented to improve the autonomy and socio-economic well-being of Maori in New Zealand and of indigenous and Afro-descendent people in Colombia. It offers a theoretically informed explanation of the reasons why these policies have not yielded the expected results, and offers solutions to mitigate the shortcomings of policies of recognition in both countries. This in-depth analysis enables readers to develop their understanding of the theory of recognition and how it can promote social justice.
This book honors the memory of Tony Atkinson, who made significant contributions to the rigorous study of income inequality, poverty, and redistribution. These essays presented, covering a span of over 30 years of research and scholarship, have been at the forefront of distributional analysis, and many of them are of prime importance for contemporary developments in the real-valued measurement of poverty and inequality, with particular reference to the concepts of fuzzy poverty assessment, vulnerability, heterogeneity/multidimensionality, unit consistency, sub-group decomposability, and dominance criteria. While all of these articles have been previously published-singly or with co-authorship-in a number of professional journals or distinguished edited volumes, this book is greatly enriched by a substantial introductions by the authors, which place the contributions in context, highlights their inter-connectedness, and relates them to the work of Tony Atkinson and other scholars. This book is of intrinsic value to welfare analysts, as well as being a tribute to a very great scholar by a fellow economist.
Zukunftsperspektiven der Bundesrepublik Deutschland werden in der Öffentlichkeit wie unter Wissenschaftlern gerade heute hoch kontrovers debattiert. Besonders deutlich wird dies z. B. an sehr unterschiedlichen Einschätzungen von Reaktionsnotwendigkeiten auf den demografischen Wandel, auf die ökonomische Entwicklung sowie auf Medienmacht und die Zukunft des Nationalstaates. Kaum weniger umstritten sind neue Befunde und Konzepte in den Natur- und Ingenieurwissenschaften, so z. B. in der Hirn- und Stammzellenforschung. Die im Buch publizierten Beiträge sind an der Technischen Universität Braunschweig im Rahmen öffentlicher Ringvorlesungen entstanden und bringen aktuelle und zukünftige Entwicklungsprobleme prononciert und provokativ auf den Punkt.
To mark ten years since Labour's election, the next generation of
British and US political thinkers, including MPs, Ministers and
policy specialists have come together to outline what the next
phase of the progressive agenda should be and how it can be
achieved.
Lotteries and state-sponsored gambling is big business. This is the first study that evaluates the business strategies of state lotteries on two fronts. First, it examines which of the lottery strategies produces the most consistent source of revenue for the state. Second, it analyzes possible overall gambling strategies that states will need to utilize as they seek to expand gambling revenue. This is must reading for those operating lotteries, state legislators, vendors to state lottery commissions, taxpayers, and scholars in public policy and government. The whole question of state-sponsored gambling is explored, integrating both the business and policy strategies of operating a state lottery. Initially, gambling and lotteries were introduced into the public policy process in times of social unrest, brought on by the outbreak of war. Since regular sources of governmental revenue were diverted to the war effort, proceeds from gambling activites were used to finance the building of roads, canals, and schools. An Ethics of Tolerance also had to evolve in order to engender the public's acceptance of lotteries and gambling. Today, states are using gambling revenues to support education, public transportation, and aid to local towns and cities. Hence, gambling revenues must be maintained or increased. States now must decide whether they should introduce other gambling initiatives, possibly cannibalizing their existing activities in the process. The basic question, of whether it is actually possible for a state to establish an overall gambling strategy, is explored by an analysis of the gambling policies of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The future of gambling in the United States, as states move beyond lotteries to sanctioning casino gambling by private entrepreneurs, concludes this most relevant and provocative book.
This book examines how relationships between guardians and companion animals were challenged during a large-scale disaster: the tsunami of March 2011 and the following nuclear disaster in Fukushima. The author interrogates: 1) How did guardians and their companion animals survive the large disaster?; 2) Why was the relationship between guardians and their companion animals ignored during and after a disaster?; and 3) What structures and/or mechanisms shaped the outcomes for animals and their guardians? Through a critical realist framework, combined with a theoretical perspective developed by Roy Bhaskar and his colleagues, the author argues that despite the trivialization of companion animals by government officials, relationships between animals and guardians were often able to be maintained, in some cases through great pains by the guardians. While the notion of human-animal relationships in Japan has thus far been dominated by economic logic, the author reveals dynamics between guardians and companion animal transcend such structures, forging the concept of "bonding rights."
Currently, families are being subjected to increasing public attention. Interest is focussing on their potential strengths and weaknesses in determining how well children do at school. Alongside such human-development oriented expectations, families are also becoming a focus of attention as a resource for human capital in times of economic crises and criticism of the welfare state. In many European countries, parents and children are at the forefront of the welfare state and socio-educational activities in current programs and policies. The current transformation processes in the welfare state are making the relationship between families and the state more dynamic in general, and they are structuring the discourses on the childrearing, education, and child care services in the fields of both public and private responsibility. The introduction of all-day schooling in Germany also has to be viewed in this context. This is gradually changing the traditional half-day structure of German schools and shifting the borders of public and private responsibility on the levels of education, child care, and childrearing institutions. The attention given to parental childrearing and educational responsibility within the context of current national and international debates clearly underlines the fact that issues in private life are increasingly entering the public discourse and becoming subject to attempts at socio-political control. This raises the assumption of an increasing politicization of parenthood in the (post) welfare state that is focusing more and more attention on the structural conditions of gainful employment and child care as well as on the current relations between the genders. This context particularly emphasizes the time and care regimes that decisively determine the practices in daily family life and the utilization of all-day education settings. |
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