‘Enabling Social Europe’ examines how the paradigm of the ‘enabling welfare state’ might offer a new perspective for European social policy in the decades to come. The ‘enabling’ concept is perceived as going beyond that of mere ‘activation’, thus also embracing policies aimed at increasing personal autonomy, individual responsibility and social inclusion by endowing individuals with the resources and capabilities needed to manage and balance their life courses in a better way. The study is distinguished by a unique collaboration of social and economic policy experts coming from a wide range of disciplines: economics, law, sociology, political science, and philosophy. The authors seek to shed new light on whether European social policy ought to play a role in the future and, if so, what sort of role that could be. They convincingly argue that despite an implicit normative consensus on the ‘European social model’, there is still room for a multifaceted world in which welfare regimes can maintain their own path-dependent ways of achieving a fair and just society with a high level of welfare for all. The empirical part of the book contains an appraisal of policies and reforms with a view to the ‘enabling welfare state’ approach in four important policy areas: health care, old-age security, family policy, and poverty prevention. Within each sector, the authors compare the policies and practices of two countries attributable to different regime types: Germany and the United Kingdom, Poland and Germany, Finland and Estonia, and Belgium and Denmark. This book is highly recommendable not only for scholars and policymakers active in this field, but also for students of welfare and labour economics, sociology, social policy, political science and law.

While for some scholars the Euro crisis dashed the dream of Social Europe, this thought-provoking book proposes a more nuanced assessment, challenging the notion of austerity as the only way forward. Tracing the evolution of the political debate on European social integration and its interplay with the European economic governance after the Euro crisis, it sheds light on the conflict dynamics and political conditions that enabled the progressive shift away from the initial post-crisis EU ‘conservative reflex’, towards a new European holding environment for flourishing welfare states.

The European Union is excellently equipped to pursue the most urgent issues facing the advanced world: combating environmental damage and climate change, coping with the massive aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, reforming globalisation, regulating financialised capitalism, reducing material inequalities and reconciling the future of work in a rapidly changing economy with workers' needs for secure lives. The EU's leading role as global standard-setter, and the potential of the social-investment welfare state, are among the instruments at its disposal. But, argues Colin Crouch in this manifesto for a return to the 'social Europe' agenda, to achieve these goals the EU needs to face the two menaces stalking today's politics: neoliberalism and xenophobic nationalism. To do so it must confront the weakness of social democracy, historically the main political protagonist of the causes of co-operation and inclusion on which the strategy depends.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND. Drawing on Roma community voices and expert research, this book provides a powerful tool to challenge conventional discourses and analyses on Romani identity, poverty and exclusion. Through the transformative vehicle of a ‘Social Europe’, this edited collection presents new concepts and strategies for framing social justice for Romani communities across Europe. The vast majority of Roma experience high levels of exclusion from the labour market and from social networks in society. This book maps out how the implementation of a new ‘Social Europe’ can offer innovative solutions to these intransigent dilemmas. This insightful and accessible text is vital reading for the policymaker, practitioner, academic and activist.

Social Europe is a key topic in the construction of the EU and its institutions. This volume examines the current state of, and perspectives for, Social Europe, as well as key issues in European social policy, including the posting of workers, the impact of the free market and regulations on social convergence, work automation, digitalisation, taxation and democracy in the workplace. The aim of this volume is to identify a course to be followed in integrating the EU’s social policies and point to areas in which co-operation between member states is likely to produce best results. While a Social Europe was previously seen to be a natural consequence of political and economic integration, it is now viewed as a separate area that requires active policies to preserve the European project. The EU’s big question today concerns the level at which this policy should be pursued: the volume’s contributors outline difficulties with harmonising social policies across the Union, but they nevertheless argue that, owing to the common challenges faced by Europe, the idea of a Social Europe must not be abandoned and requires specific action. The volume consists of 11 chapters written by a variety of expert authors, analysing the idea of a Social Europe and proposing ways in which it could be put into practice. Social policy can no longer be seen as derived from economic policy but rather as a separate driver of development that could be of interest to the northern, southern and eastern states of the EU. Jacek Kubera, PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Tomasz Morozowski, PhD candidate, Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, and analyst at the Poznań Institute for Western Affairs.

This book provides comprehensive and advanced analysis of the characteristics of social entrepreneurship in Europe. It offers innovative, up-todate research on the ecosystems of social entrepreneurship, the behavior of social entrepreneurs, their ability to produce social innovation, social capital and social inclusion, and the role of stakeholders in fostering socially oriented businesses. Moreover, it addresses the diversity of the European social enterprise sector from an evolutionary perspective, with particular reference to the rise of social entrepreneurship and the role of new-generation social entrepreneurs throughout Europe. Multidisciplinary contributions authored by experts from business and accounting, economics, and sociology serve the purpose of delivering a holistic study of social entrepreneurship, also providing the necessary data for delivering policy implications on the features of the most effective enabling social and institutional ecosystems. The broad approach, based on different theoretical frameworks and methodologies across numerous disciplines, enables the authors to tackle all of the complex research issues connected to social entrepreneurship in the region. The book builds on the results of the European Union 7FP (European Union’s Research and Innovation funding program for 2007–013)-funded “EFESEIIS – Enabling the flourishing and evolution of social entrepreneurship for innovative and inclusive societies” research project. The central theme of the book is an evolutionary perspective on the dynamics and the rise of the social enterprise in Europe. This evolutionary perspective can be used in an economic as well as a social longitudinal analysis of changing contexts and entrepreneurial practices. The evolutionary perspective will be used as a tool to account for the specificity of developmental pathways in different contexts and countries.