Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2015


Book Description

The sixteenth edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play has a triple ambition. First, it provides easily accessible information to a wide audience about recent developments in both EU and domestic social policymaking. Second, the volume provides a more analytical reading, embedding the key developments of the year 2014 in the most recent academic discourses. Third, the forward-looking perspective of the book aims to provide stakeholders and policymakers with specific tools that allow them to discern new opportunities to influence policymaking. In this 2015 edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play, the authors tackle the topics of the state of EU politics after the parliamentary elections, the socialisation of the European Semester, methods of political protest, the Juncker investment plan, the EU’s contradictory education investment, the EU’s contested influence on national healthcare reforms, and the neoliberal Trojan Horse of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).




The Palgrave Handbook of Indicators in Global Governance


Book Description

This volume brings together both academic and institutional perspectives to examine the production, use and contestation of indicators in global governance. It provides a unique and comprehensive guide to the latest research in the study of indicators and their use in global governance and policy making. The editors provide a guide to the recent vast body of literature and practice on measuring governance and measurement as governance at the global level, and present a state-of-the-art analysis of social science research on indicators at both the transnational and the global level. The Handbook brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, as well as policy-makers from international organisations and non-government organisations working in the field. This volume will be a valuable resource for students and academics in the fields of public policy, administration and management, international relations, political science, law, and globalisation, as well as policy makers and practitioners.




Global Governance from Regional Perspectives


Book Description

Global Governance from Regional Perspectives argues that the academic debate on global governance has neglected the combination of power with value constellations/culture. Both input and output legitimacy, for instance, or the exercise of control and influence are inextricably related to culture, worldviews, and values. The book questions theoretically the Western hegemonic and hence 'invisible' definition of governance and related concepts, as well as the Western hegemony over global governance institutions. It looks from the ground up whether, and how, alternative practices, institutions/networks, and concepts/norms of global governance are emerging in relation to emerging powers and regional integration systems. Global Governance from Regional Perspectives starts with a critical reading of global governance from multi-disciplinary views and engages with two important and under-studied aspects, notably how global governance can be measured and what lies behind such measurements, and questions the democratic deficit of global governance. The book provides a series of regional and country perspectives on global governance which engage with a specific example of an institution, process, or issue that is used to highlight why and how the western hegemonic views and practices of global governance are (or not) contested. The book offers a mapping of global governance phenomena in different regions of the world and a critical readings of those. As such this volume is different from all international relations or political science collections on global governance and also opens up a new field of study that has been hitherto neglected in sociological or cultural studies.




The European Council


Book Description

This systematic assessment of the -often opaque- European Council looks at its characteristics, leaders and output as well as its impact on EU supranational and intergovernmental dynamics. Taking account of historical and contemporary developments up to and beyond the Lisbon Treaty, it encourages in-depth understanding of this key institution.




Interest Representation and Europeanization of Trade Unions from EU Member States of the Eastern Enlargement


Book Description

This book examines the integration of major trade unions from the six biggest countries of EU's Eastern enlargement into EU governance structures. Based on extensive empirical research, including more than 150 in-depth interviews, comprehensive data, document research, and eight detailed case studies, the contributions describe the activities and perceptions of the trade unions under investigation and the different levels of engagement, including European umbrella organizations, interregional cooperation, and European Works Councils. The book thus contributes to political science research on interest representation and Europeanization as well as sociological research on labor relations.




Intent and Reality of the European Employment Strategy


Book Description

With new governance characteristics - such as mutual policy learning, exchange of best practices, or peer review - the European Employment Strategy (EES) and the Open Method of Coordination confront political actors within the EU with the new rules of policy coordination that also affect on governance structures within the European Multilevel System. This dissertation intensively deals with the different facets of the EES, analyzing its original intent and its political reality. It looks at the genesis, development, and characteristics of the EES, and in a highly elaborated and profound theory-based analysis, it examines the impact of the EES on political structures, employment policies, and underlying ideas, as well as the interplay of the EES with other supranational economic policies. In addition to the EU level analysis, the United Kingdom and Germany serve as case studies for the examination of adaptation at Member State level. In order to critically assess their applicability and validity in the given case, the book embeds this impact analysis into the academic debate on Europeanization and policy convergence. By doing so, it complements Europeanization studies on regulatory policies by analyzing the Europeanization potential and the impact of soft policy coordination within the European Multilevel Governance System. Dissertation.




A European Strategy for Jobs and Growth


Book Description

This report by the European Union Committee examines the progress of the European Union in initiating a strategy for jobs and growth across the Community as a whole. The background to this report stems from the Spring European Council meeting in 2000, in Lisbon, and the launch of an economic reform agenda. The Committee observes that since the "Lisbon Agenda", little progress has been made and the performance of many of the larger European economies has been poor. The Committee has noted that certain worrying signs of protectionist behaviour have developed, especially regarding barriers of cross border mergers. The EU has recognized this weak performance and the Agenda was relaunched in 2005, with a greater focus on the key economic priorities of more growth and jobs. Also, all Member States are now required to produce an annual National Action Plan highlighting the policies being pursued to improve economic growth and increase employment. The Committee sets out a number of recommendations to further push forward the priorities of growth and jobs, including: that the Commission should seek to complete the progress towards an internal market; that Member States should influence one another in the development of good practice through statistical comparison of their economic progress, and agree on quantifiable targets; that the format of the National Action Plans should include not only the successes, but where countries are underperforming; that the Agenda be given a higher public profile.




The Euro at Ten


Book Description

The Euro Area is ten years old. This major new reappraisal by some of the world's leading scholars examines the effects of the new European single currency on the member states of the European Union in its first decade.




Designing Prostitution Policy


Book Description

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. While the debate on regulating prostitution usually focuses on national policy, it is local policy measures that have the most impact on the ground. This book is the first to offer a detailed analysis of the design and implementation of prostitution policy at the local level and carefully situates local policy practices in national policy making and transnational trends in labour migration and exploitation. Based on detailed comparative research in Austria and the Netherlands, and bringing in experiences in countries such as New Zealand and Sweden, it analyses the policy instruments employed by local administrators to control prostitution and sex workers. Bridging the gap between theory and policy, emphasizing the multilevel nature of prostitution policy, while also highlighting more effective policies on prostitution, migration and labour exploitation, this unique book fills a gap in the literature on this contentious and important social issue.