This open access edited volume introduces the concept of causal mechanisms to explore new ways of explaining the global dynamics of social policy, and shows that a mechanism-based approach provides several advantages over established approaches for studying social policy. The introductory chapter outlines the mechanism-based approach, which stands out by modularisation and a clear focus on actors. The mechanism-based approach then guides the twelve chapters on social policy developments in different Asian, African, European and Latin American countries. Based on these findings, the concluding chapter provides a structured compilation of causal mechanisms and outlines how a mechanism-based approach can further strengthen research on the global development of social policies, especially in a comparative perspective. The edited volume is highly relevant for social policy scholars from a variety of disciplines, as well as for scholars interested in strengthening explanation in the social sciences.

Does the democratic nation state remain a legitimate regime form in the current age of globalization? This book uses a novel, analytical approach to probe this topical question, drawing on a comparative study of legitimation discourses in the media of four Western democracies (Switzerland, Germany, Britain, and the United States.)

This open access book consists of 39 short essays that exemplify how interactions between inter- and trans-national interdependencies and domestic factors have shaped the dynamics of social policy in various parts of the world at different points in time. Each chapter highlights a specific type of interdependence which has been identified to provide us with a nuanced understanding of specific social policy developments at discrete points in history. The volume is divided into four parts that are concerned with a particular type of cross-border interrelation. The four parts examine the impact on social policy of trade relations and economic crises, violence, international organisations and cross-border communication and migration. This book will be of interest to academics and postgraduate students in the field of social policy, global history and welfare state research from diverse disciplines: sociology, political science, history, law and economics.

This Handbook offers a comprehensive treatment of transformations of the state, from its origins in different parts of the world and different time periods to its transformations since World War II in the advanced industrial countries, the post-Communist world, and the Global South. Leading experts in their fields, from Europe and North America, discuss conceptualizations and theories of the state and the transformations of the state in its engagement with a changing international environment as well as with changing domestic economic, social, and political challenges. The Handbook covers different types of states in the Global South (from failed to predatory, rentier and developmental), in different kinds of advanced industrial political economies (corporatist, statist, liberal, import substitution industrialization), and in various post-Communist countries (Russia, China, successor states to the USSR, and Eastern Europe). It also addresses crucial challenges in different areas of state intervention, from security to financial regulation, migration, welfare states, democratization and quality of democracy, ethno-nationalism, and human development. The volume makes a compelling case that far from losing its relevance in the face of globalization, the state remains a key actor in all areas of social and economic life, changing its areas of intervention, its modes of operation, and its structures in adaption to new international and domestic challenges.

Does the democratic nation state remain a legitimate regime form in the current age of globalization? This book uses a novel, analytical approach to probe this topical question, drawing on a comparative study of legitimation discourses in the media of four Western democracies (Switzerland, Germany, Britain, and the United States.)

This open access edited volume introduces the concept of causal mechanisms to explore new ways of explaining the global dynamics of social policy, and shows that a mechanism-based approach provides several advantages over established approaches for studying social policy. The introductory chapter outlines the mechanism-based approach, which stands out by modularisation and a clear focus on actors. The mechanism-based approach then guides the twelve chapters on social policy developments in different Asian, African, European and Latin American countries. Based on these findings, the concluding chapter provides a structured compilation of causal mechanisms and outlines how a mechanism-based approach can further strengthen research on the global development of social policies, especially in a comparative perspective. The edited volume is highly relevant for social policy scholars from a variety of disciplines, as well as for scholars interested in strengthening explanation in the social sciences.

This open access book consists of 39 short essays that exemplify how interactions between inter- and trans-national interdependencies and domestic factors have shaped the dynamics of social policy in various parts of the world at different points in time. Each chapter highlights a specific type of interdependence which has been identified to provide us with a nuanced understanding of specific social policy developments at discrete points in history. The volume is divided into four parts that are concerned with a particular type of cross-border interrelation. The four parts examine the impact on social policy of trade relations and economic crises, violence, international organisations and cross-border communication and migration. This book will be of interest to academics and postgraduate students in the field of social policy, global history and welfare state research from diverse disciplines: sociology, political science, history, law and economics.

Das Thema Verwaltungsreform beschaftigt nach wie vor Bund, Lander und Gemeinden gleichermassen. Konzeptionell sind die diskutierten Ansatze und Instrumente einem standigen Wandel unterworfen und bei der Umsetzung von Massnahmen besteht in grossem Masse Unsicherheit und Orientierungsbedarf. Das Handbuch liefert einen Beitrag zur Einordnung unterschiedlicher Konzepte und Orientierung fur die Umsetzung der Verwaltungsreform. In 66 Beitragen werden vielfaltige Ansatze der Verwaltungsreform vorgestellt, ihr Entstehungszusammenhang erlautert, praktische Anwendungsfelder beschrieben und Entwicklungsperspektiven untersucht. Die Beitrage stammen von renommierten WissenschaftlerInnen und erfahrenen PraktikerInnen. Themenblocke: Staat und Verwaltung, Reform- und Managementkonzepte, Steuerung und Organisation, Personal, Finanzen, Ergebnisse und Wirkungen, Erfahrungen und Perspektiven. Die Halfte der Beitrage dieser Auflage wurde komplett neu geschrieben und die restlichen Beitrage wurden grundlich uberarbeitet.

This Handbook offers a comprehensive treatment of transformations of the state, from its origins in different parts of the world and different time periods to its transformations since World War II in the advanced industrial countries, the post-Communist world, and the Global South. Leading experts in their fields, from Europe and North America, discuss conceptualizations and theories of the state and the transformations of the state in its engagement with a changing international environment as well as with changing domestic economic, social, and political challenges. The Handbook covers different types of states in the Global South (from failed to predatory, rentier and developmental), in different kinds of advanced industrial political economies (corporatist, statist, liberal, import substitution industrialization), and in various post-Communist countries (Russia, China, successor states to the USSR, and Eastern Europe). It also addresses crucial challenges in different areas of state intervention, from security to financial regulation, migration, welfare states, democratization and quality of democracy, ethno-nationalism, and human development. The volume makes a compelling case that far from losing its relevance in the face of globalization, the state remains a key actor in all areas of social and economic life, changing its areas of intervention, its modes of operation, and its structures in adaption to new international and domestic challenges.

Emotionen sind in der Politik ein alltagliches Phanomen, dem sich die sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung bisher jedoch wenig gewidmet hat. In Massenpsychologie und Massensoziologie hat sich ein Bild emotionalisierter Politik verfestigt, das keinen Raum bietet fur die differenzierte Erforschung der emotionalen Dimension politischen Handelns. Vor allem unter einem Begriff hat sich die Furcht vor politisch wirkungsmachtigen Emotionen wahrend des 20. Jahrhunderts gebundelt: der Masse.
Diese uberkommenen Schemata und Gegenuberstellungen gilt es zu uberwinden, um den Weg frei zu machen fur eine politische Soziologie der Gefuhle. Analysen zu aktuellen Erscheinungsformen politischer Emotionen, zur theoriegeschichtlichen Entwicklung, zur Konzeption und Systematik einer Politologie der Emotionen stehen daher im Zentrum dieses Bandes, der auch einen Beitrag zu einer Demokratietheorie leistet, die die emotionale Dimension des Politischen reflektiert.
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