Building and sustaining solidarity is a compelling challenge, especially in ethnically and religiously diverse societies. Recent research has concentrated on forces that trigger backlash and exclusion. The Strains of Commitment examines the politics of diversity in the opposite direction, exploring the potential sources of support for an inclusive solidarity, in particular political sources of solidarity. The volume asks three questions: Is solidarity really necessary for successful modern societies? Is diversity really a threat to solidarity? And what types of political communities, political agents, and political institutions and policies help sustain solidarity in contexts of diversity? To answer these questions, the volume brings together leading scholars in both normative political theory and empirical social science. Drawing on in-depth case studies, historical and comparative research, and quantitative cross-national studies, the research suggests that solidarity does not emerge spontaneously or naturally from economic and social processes but is inherently built or eroded though political action. The politics that builds inclusive solidarity may be conflicting in the first instance, but the resulting solidarity is sustained over time when it becomes incorporated into collective (typically national) identities and narratives, when it is reinforced on a recurring basis by political agents, and - most importantly - when it becomes embedded in political institutions and policy regimes. While some of the traditional political sources of solidarity are being challenged or weakened in an era of increased globalization and mobility, the authors explore the potential for new political narratives, coalitions, and policy regimes to sustain inclusive solidarity.

The Global Promise of Federalism honours the life and work of Richard Simeon, one of Canada's foremost experts on federalism. It features a group of distinguished scholars of federalism from Canada and abroad who take up some of the fundamental questions at the heart of both Simeon's work and contemporary debates. Does federalism foster democracy? Can it help bring together divided societies? How do federations evolve and adapt to changing circumstances? In the course of answering these questions, the chapters in this collection offer a comparative perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing well-established federations such as Canada and Australia, as well as new federal and quasi-federal systems in Europe, Africa, and Asia. They examine the interplay between federal values, such as trust and mutual recognition, and institutional design; the challenges facing post-conflict federations; and the adaptability of federal systems in the face of changing social, economic, and cultural contexts.

In many Western democracies, ethnic and racial minorities have demanded, and sometimes achieved, greater recognition and accommodation of their identities. This is reflected in the adoption of multiculturalism policies for immigrant groups, the acceptance of territorial autonomy and language rights for national minorities, and the recognition of land claims and self-government rights for indigenous peoples. These claims for recognition have been controversial, in part because of fears that they make it more difficult to sustain a robust welfare state by eroding the interpersonal trust, social solidarity and political coalitions that sustain redistribution. Are these fears of a conflict between a "politics of recognition" and a "politics of redistribution" valid? This volume is the first systematic attempt to empirically test this question, using both cross-national statistical analyses of the relationships among diversity policies, public attitudes and the welfare state, and case studies of the recognition/ redistribution linkage in the political coalitions in particular countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, and in Latin America. These studies suggest that that there is no general or inherent tendency for recognition to undermine redistribution, and that the relationship between these two forms of politics can be supportive as well as competitive, depending on the context. These findings shed important light, not only on the nature and effects of multiculturalism, but also on wider debates about the social and political foundations of the welfare state, and indeed about our most basic concepts of citizenship and national identity. As a ground-breaking attempt to connect the literatures on multiculturalism and the welfare state, this volume will be of great interest to a wide range of scholars and practitioners who work on issues of ethnocultural diversity and social policy.

The redistributive state is fading in Canada. Government programs are no longer offsetting the growth in inequality generated by the market. In this book, leading political scientists, sociologists, and economists point to the failure of public policy to contain surging income inequality. A complex mix of forces has reshaped the politics of social policy, including global economic pressures, ideological change, shifts in the influence of business and labour, changes in the party system, and the decline of equality-seeking civil society organizations. This volume demonstrates that action and inaction - policy change and policy drift - are at the heart of growing inequality in Canada.

All advanced democracies have faced the pressures of globalization,
technological change, and new family forms, which have generated higher
levels of inequality in market incomes. But countries have responded
differently, reflecting differences in their domestic politics. The
politics of who gets what and why is at the core of this volume, the
first to examine this question in an explicitly Canadian context.

In "Inequality and the Fading of Redistributive Politics, "
leading political scientists, sociologists, and economists point to the
failure of public policy to contain surging income inequality.
Government programs are no longer offsetting the growth in inequality
generated by the market, and Canadian society has become more unequal.
The redistributive state is fading due to powerful forces that have
reshaped the politics of social policy, including global economic
pressures, ideological change, shifts in the influence of business and
labour, changes in the party system, and the decline of
equality-seeking civil society organizations.

On one side, the organizations that speak for the economic interests
of lower-income Canadians - mobilizing resources, expertise, and
attention on their behalf - have been weakened. On the other
side, changes in the distribution of power within our political
institutions have made concerted action to tackle inequality more
difficult.

This volume demonstrates conclusively that action and inaction --
policy change and policy drift -- are at the heart of growing
inequality in Canada. Governments have not responded energetically to
the evidence and their indifference calls into question Canada's
record as a kinder, gentler nation.

Keith Banting is a professor in the School of
Policy Studies and the Department of Political Studies at Queen's
University and holds the Queen's Research Chair in Public
Policy. John Myles is a professor emeritus of
sociology and currently senior fellow in the School of Public Policy
and Governance at the University of Toronto.

Contributors: Robert Andersen, Robin Boadway,
Gerard W. Boychuk, William D. Coleman, Katherine Cuff, Josh Curtis,
David A. Good, David A. Green, Rodney Haddow, Jane Jenson, Richard
Johnston, Edward Koning, Rianne Mahon, Alain Noel, Susan D. Phillips,
Stuart Soroka, James Townsend, Carolyn Hughes Tuohy"