For outsiders, the popularity and social sustainability of the extensive scope of Nordic welfare states, such as the strong role of the state and high levels of taxation, remains something of a mystery. Making use of recent international survey data, this important book goes some way towards solving this mystery. It underlines the remarkable success of Nordic welfare institutions which help to maintain not only low rates of poverty and inequality, but high levels of well-being, trust, social capital and political participation. Jochen Clasen, University of Edinburgh, UK Nordic welfare states have long enjoyed a leadership position in the provision of social welfare. They are now caught up in the current of thorough-going reform that is sweeping across Europe. This book uses data from the European Social Survey in fresh and innovative ways to demonstrate the resilience of Nordic models and to show how political discourses are changing across a whole range of policy areas. Peter Taylor-Gooby, University of Kent, UK This book addresses the effect that institutional settings typical to the Nordic countries have upon people s attitudes and behaviour. Placed within a European comparative perspective, the analyses presented by the contributing authors centre around issues relating to the welfare state, politics, family and work, as well as cultural concerns including economic morality and religiosity. Despite differences between the Nordic countries, the overall impression given is of a shared outlook and way of life. In the European context, the Nordic countries particularly stand out as a distinct group therefore demonstrating their institutional similarities. Providing highly rigorous and up-to-date data, with a wide coverage of topics, this book will be of great interest to academics and students in sociology, social policy and political science. It will also appeal to anyone interested in the Nordic countries in general.

This book explores the ways in which representative democracy works in two neighbouring collections of European states: the Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) and the Baltic (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). Starting from a Nordic vantage point, contributors explore the extent to which aspects of politics function similarly or dissimilarly across the two groups of democratic states, acknowledging the differences in models of democracy that occur within each group. Authors explore the possibility that some of the apparently successful institutional features of Nordic politics have somehow influenced politics in the Baltic states, despite the considerable contextual differences between the two groups. The Nordic-Baltic comparison is particularly worthy of study, given the comparative stability of the Nordic democracies and the half century of occupation by a totalitarian dictatorship that the Baltic states endured. The central, guiding questions are: how does political representation work in countries that have a lot in common, but also a few significant contextual dissimilarities; and what, if any, relationships between the respective styles of democracy can be identified? Using a variety of theories, perspectives and methods, the empirical studies that populate the book seek to offer reflections on these questions.

Taking a comparative perspective, this book casts new light on the changing inequalities in Europe.

Recently the topic of civil society has generated a wave of interest, and a wealth of new information. Until now no publication has attempted to organize and consolidate this knowledge. The International Encyclopedia of Civil Society fills this gap, establishing a common set of understandings and terminology, and an analytical starting point for future research. Global in scope and authoritative in content, the Encyclopedia offers succinct summaries of core concepts and theories; definitions of terms; biographical entries on important figures and organizational profiles. In addition, it serves as a reliable and up-to-date guide to additional sources of information. In sum, the Encyclopedia provides an overview of the contours of civil society, social capital, philanthropy and nonprofits across cultures and historical periods. For researchers in nonprofit and civil society studies, political science, economics, management and social enterprise, this is the most systematic appraisal of a rapidly growing field.

This book conveys analyses, perspectives and interpretations of the normative foundation of the unique 'Nordic welfare state model' which are relevant across the globe.

The European Social Survey (the ESS) is an academically-driven social survey designed to chart and explain the interaction between Europe’s changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations. Established in 2001, and currently preparing for its seventh round, this biennial cross-sectional survey covers more than thirty nations and employs the most rigorous methodologies. This volume provides an analysis of the Irish data over six rounds of the European Social Survey, focusing on the internal changes over time in Ireland and situating these changes in a broader European context. The book’s core chapter deal with the primary themes of the European Social Survey: Institutional Trust, Democracy and Legitimacy; Political Engagement and Socio-Political Values; Moral and Social Values; Social Capital and Social Exclusion; and National, Ethnic, and Religious Identity. A separate chapter focuses on the survey’s rotating modules, which change from survey to survey. These topics include Citizenship, Involvement and Democracy; Immigration; Well-Being; Health; Economic Morality in Europe and Welfare Attitudes; and Trust in Criminal Justice. Each chapter provides a list of background literature to the topic in Ireland, an analysis of the data that will be both accessible for the general reader, but offering something deeper to the expert, and a clear comparison of how the Irish data fit in with the rest of Europe. This book charts a changing Ireland over a highly significant period of its history. Given the significance of the ESS as the most rigorous social science survey in Europe and the scope of its questionnaires, this volume is highly pertinent both in terms of how it maps political, social, demographic and attitudinal changes in Ireland, and in the way it places those changes within a European context.

This book addresses the sustainability of happiness and well-being in Chinese societies. It starts by introducing the various conceptions of well-being, particularly in the Chinese sociocultural context. The book then proceeds with the examination of the sustainability of well-being by scrutinizing the effects of sociocultural, contextual, and personal factors on well-being. The contextual factors are the aggregates or averages of personal factors at the contextual levels of the regions and colleges in Mainland China, its special administrative region, and Taiwan. These factors cover personality traits, strengths, orientations, beliefs, values, and idolizing. By bringing together empirical studies and theoretical perspectives applied to Chinese societies, this book offers researchers in social science and humanities a valuable reference work on happiness and well-being in Chinese societies.