The European Constitution, Welfare States and Democracy

The European Constitution, Welfare States and Democracy PDF

Author: Christoffer C. Eriksen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2011-10-06

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1136617590

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This book explores how the right to the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital in the European Union legal order affects welfare states. These "four freedoms", as they are known, are vital instruments for the protection of a European market unencumbered by internal frontiers. The European Constitution, Welfare States and Democracy explore the relationships and conflicts that have emerged between the European constitution and the legal regulation of mixed economies and markets within welfare-states. In particular, it examines the threat posed to the discretionary powers enjoyed by national governments and administrative authorities. Christoffer C. Eriksen has undertaken a comprehensive analysis of a series of judgments in which the European Court of Justice has clearly indicated the ways in which the four freedoms may be incompatible with the current practice of entrusting national administrative authorities with discretionary powers and thus highlights how the four freedoms are provoking democratic dilemmas, previously neglected in the academic literature. The book is written in a style which communicates beyond an audience of specialized legal scholars and although it includes analysis of black letter law, its methodology also draws from the disciplines of philosophy, political science, and sociology.

Welfare State and Democracy in Crisis

Welfare State and Democracy in Crisis PDF

Author: Theodore Pelagidis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-02-06

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1351788396

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This title was first published in 2001. Investigating the consequences of restrictive austerity policies and the downsizing of the welfare state this edited collection reflects on possible ways out by analyzing economic developments, social conflicts, legal forms and the prevailing directions of economic policy. According to official figures, around 9.5 per cent of the working population of the European Union is unemployed. Fifteen million European citizens are officially looking for work. In other countries such as the US, the increasing wage inequality has marginalized large parts of the population. The precipitous rise in unemployment (mainly in Europe) and income inequality (mainly in the USA) as well as the weakening of democratic and welfare institutions in almost every developed nation have caused huge social and political problems in recent years.

Equality, Welfare State & Democracy

Equality, Welfare State & Democracy PDF

Author: Guilherme Machado Dray

Publisher: Leya

Published: 2023-06-26

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 9724096343

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This book is about the way our societies are organized around the concepts of Equality, Welfare State and Democracy. The author presents the concept and evolution of the principle of equality and its importance within the Western countries. The book also explains the traditional struggle between the common good and the individual liberty. The author describes the concept of Welfare State and its different models ? the Scandinavian, the Conservative European Continental, the Anglo-Saxon, and the Mediterranean - and the public policies on pensions, employment, healthcare and education. The book also defines the European Social Model and presents the criticism and the problems of the Welfare State. At the end, the author defends the importance of the Welfare State for Freedom and Democracy. The book contains the fundamentals of the lessons lectured by the author at Georgetown University as FLAD Visiting Professor at the Government Department in the Spring Term of 2017.

The Changing Welfare State in Europe

The Changing Welfare State in Europe PDF

Author: David G. Mayes

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2013-12-27

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 178254657X

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As the standard of living has increased, aspirations and financial constraints have required major rethinking. There is considerable disparity between European countries in how they approach the welfare system, with differing concern over aspects such

The Waning of the Welfare State

The Waning of the Welfare State PDF

Author: Anton C. Zijderveld

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published:

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 9781412839600

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A great deal of effort has been expended by Anglo-American scholars in an attempt to isolate past and contemporary "fascisms", "neofascisms", "cryptofascisms" and "latent" fascisms in the modern world. A. James Gregor's "Phoenix: Fascism in Our Time" is an insightful history of the intellectual rationale for Benito Mussolini's fascism offered by major Italian intellectuals. The book provides a list of recurrent features that helps to identify the generic phenomenon. This lucid account reviews seriously neglected aspects of intellectual history, describing the socioeconomic and political conditions that precipitate and sustain fascism. Gregor shows that Italian fascism was supported by a responsible and credible rationale. His account of that rationale permits us to understand the appeal fascism as an ideal has exercised over elites and masses in the 20th century. Gregor offers a credible list of traits in showing how instances of fascism can be identified when they first appear. The last chapters of the work are devoted to a case study of the newly emergent post-Soviet Russian nationalism and its affinities with historic fascism. Gregor discusses the implications of the rise of generic fascism in the former Soviet Union and post-Maoist China. This timely volume offers an alternative to conventional interpretations of the major historical events of the 20th century. "Phoenix" is must reading for scholars and policymakers dealing with European history between the two world wars, and should will be instructive for anyone interested in the fascist ideology in a new millennium.

Law, Democracy and Solidarity in a Post-national Union

Law, Democracy and Solidarity in a Post-national Union PDF

Author: Erik Oddvar Eriksen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2008-07-04

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 1134042809

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To many, the rejections of the Constitutional Treaty by Dutch and French voters in 2005 came as a shock. However, given the many tensions and the many unresolved issues it was quite unsurprising. The challenges facing the Constitutional debate go to the core of the European integration process as they have to do with the terms on which to establish a post-national political order. This book deals with four themes which make up the main sources of the ‘constitutional crisis’: The problem of the rule of law in a context of governance beyond the nation state The problem of the social deficit of the Union The problem of identity and collective memories The problem of institutionalizing post-national democracy. These themes constitute the unfinished agenda of the European integration process. Law, Democracy and Solidarity in a Post-national Union is based on the efforts of a collection of top scholars in the fields of Law, Political Science, Sociology and Economics, and will appeal to students and scholars of political science, the European Union and European studies.

The Enduring Success of the US-American Constitution: Between the Suspicion of a Strong Government and a Strong Social Welfare State

The Enduring Success of the US-American Constitution: Between the Suspicion of a Strong Government and a Strong Social Welfare State PDF

Author: Sebastian Dregger

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2006-10-28

Total Pages: 15

ISBN-13: 3638562174

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Essay from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1 = A, University of Trier ( Department of English Studies), course: Culture Studies - North America, language: English, abstract: When the seventy-four delegates of the thirteen founding states of America came together at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia in 1787 to debate and draft a new constitution, they wanted to achieve two aims: On the one hand, they wanted to establish a successful and enduring federal government having the means to defend independence from European powers as well as to keep the states with their different interests together. On the other hand, knowing that authoritarian and corrupt monarchies oppressing their own people dominated the political world of the 18 th century, the constitution should be so carefully drafted that any government in future could be efficiently prevented from becoming too powerful and thus turning into a tyranny. 1 Many people in those days doubted if these two demanding aims could be equally achieved by the new constitution. They were of the opinion that tyrannical governments are the price to pay for a well-functioning and successful government. 2 However, the history of the American Constitution has proven these people wrong: even more than 200 years later the same constitution is still in power. And more than that: it has become the founding document of the first modern - functioning - democracy with the result that not only the American people - no matter to what political camp they belong as individuals - are proud of their constitution 3 ; many other states wanting to establish their own democracy have also tried and still try to imitate and adopt the features of the US- Constitution. 4 So, looking at the unique history of the American constitution, the question arises: What is it that has made this constitution so stable and successful? In my essay I want to argue that two aspects are responsible for this success: On the one hand, the US- Constitution is marked by its incorporation of mechanisms through which the idea of a suspicion of a strong government is expressed in order to protect individual freedom. On the other hand, it is the constitution’s flexibility to adapt its general principles to new social conditions that have contributed to its success. The most important adaptation which took place in this context was that of the development of a social welfare state during the New-Deal-time which helped to master the worst economic crisis in American history. [...]

Social Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany

Social Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany PDF

Author: Hans F. Zacher

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-11-15

Total Pages: 461

ISBN-13: 364222525X

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This book investigates the history of the post-war welfare state in Germany and its normative foundations, with special emphasis on constitutional issues. The author, formerly Director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Social Law, Munich, and President of the Max-Planck-Society, argues that social policy – not only in Germany – is about struggles over the “social”. The “social” is an open and changing concept that reflects the modern quest for equality, voiced in semantics like justice, participation, inclusion and security. The “social” and the “social state” (the German term for welfare state) are enshrined in the German Constitution of 1949, the Grundgesetz. The book sets out the phases of welfare state development in depth. Social policies are analyzed in view of wider contexts, especially the nation state, the rule of law (Rechtsstaat), federalism and democracy. The author emphasizes the dialectics between the national character of the welfare state and its manifold international references.

Weber, Habermas and Transformations of the European State

Weber, Habermas and Transformations of the European State PDF

Author: John P. McCormick

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13:

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This book draws on the writings of Max Weber and Jurgen Habermas to trace the relationship of law and democracy in three configurations of the European state: the liberal state (or Rechtsstaat), the welfare state (Sozialstaat), and the emerging supranational polity represented by the European Union. John P.

Democracy Beyond the State?

Democracy Beyond the State? PDF

Author: Michael Th Greven

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9780847699018

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This insightful book provides an original and thought-provoking analysis of the widening gap between democracy-in-principle and governance-in-practice as economic globalization transforms our world. Nowhere is the deepening dilemma more evident than in the European Union. This book examines the contemporary breakdown and transformation of the democratic welfare state in Europe and draws fascinating contrasts with North America. In a cohesive and insightful collection of essays, a group of distinguished political scientists debates the implications of these trends both for theory and for policy.