Presented here are the views of experts and intellectuals from South-East Europe regarding the need for regional reconstruction and development in order to foster regional stability. The cardinal issue addressed by each of the contributors is how the region can avoid political isolation and enhance its chances of attaining economic stability and social cohesion. If achieved, this could pave the way for gradual political and economic integration with the European Union in the future.

Presented here are the views of experts and intellectuals from South-East Europe regarding the need for regional reconstruction and development in order to foster regional stability. The cardinal issue addressed by each of the contributors is how the region can avoid political isolation and enhance its chances of attaining economic stability and social cohesion. If achieved, this could pave the way for gradual political and economic integration with the European Union in the future.

This volume uses new empirical evidence and analytical ideas to study phenomena of fragmentation and exclusion threatening stability and cohesion in Greek society in the aftermath of the crisis. The contributors argue that processes of fragmentation and exclusion provoked by the crisis can be observed on both a material and an ideational level. On a material level, rising levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality have produced new social security "outsiders", while on an ideational level, a discursive-cultural shift is documented, which has led to new understandings and categorizations of new (and old) insiders and outsiders. Moreover, the volume attests to the aspirations, but also the limitations, of spontaneous civil society mobilization to address the social crisis. Finally, the volume offers a discussion of the political management of social fragmentation and exclusion in Greece both before and after the onset of the crisis. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of social policy and phenomena of poverty, social exclusion and economic inequality, civil society studies, and comparative political economy and politics.

This book argues that the backsliding or stagnation of democracy should be interpreted in a wider perspective on irregular movements towards and away from contemporary liberal democracy. This a perspective couched by a metaphor, namely the 'pendulum of democracy', which the author has constructed to suggest that democratic regimes may swing between a democratic end (fully developed liberal democracy) and a semi-authoritarian end (competitive authoritarianism). The pendulum does not have a predictable frequency. Democratization may lead to irregular movements back and forth. It is easier to analyze such movements of the pendulum when democracy is not consolidated yet (for instance, in the three post-Yugoslav political regimes mentioned above), as democratic institutions and processes are not yet stable. For this reason, this book analyses the swing of unconsolidated democracy away from the democratic end in the cases of today’s Serbia and Montenegro and the swing back towards liberal democracy in the case of North Macedonia which - until 2017 - had been developing into a competitive authoritarian regime, but then embarked on the road to democratic recovery.

The book explores how the European Union and its members have been renegotiating Europeanisation and renationalisation in response to the multiple crises they faced in recent years. The authors highlight varying understandings of ´crises´ in different national and supranational policy and institutional contexts. They show how in some cases these have challenged the legitimacy of European Union norms and institutions and even triggered disintegration, while in other cases these crises have served as sources of inspiration for European social innovation and political development.

How can we understand social democracy today? This ambitious book offers a global perspective on the nature of capitalism; its past and future possibilities of survival; the differentiation between neoliberal, authoritarian and social democratic systems, exemplified by the United States, EU and China; and the conflict relationships between them. Reflecting on urgent global risks, such as climate change, pandemics and nuclear confrontation - Mouzelis & Sotiropoulos explore why these risks can only be dealt with by the cooperation of these three major players in the global arena. They explore how the model of social democracy, which in the previous century tamed unfettered capitalism in some national contexts, can help contain the excesses of global capitalism now. In clear, compelling and coherent terms, the authors demonstrate how unchecked antagonism among these three major players has the potential to spill-over into inertia or reluctance to manage the these urgent risks, to the detriment of humanity as a whole.

This volume analyzes the evolution of selected public policies and the changing roles and structure of the state in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain since the 1960s. It makes a major contribution to work on recent democratic regime transition in southern Europe, demonstrating how the state has responded and adapted to the challenges and pressures associated with the overarching processes of democratization, socio-economic development, and Europeanization.

This volume analyzes the evolution of selected public policies and the changing roles and structure of the state in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain since the 1960s. It makes a major contribution to work on recent democratic regime transition in southern Europe, demonstrating how the state has responded and adapted to the challenges and pressures associated with the overarching processes of democratization, socio-economic development, and Europeanization.