By analyzing the competing concerns of different social "actors" behind the evolution of social policy, this study explains why some nations had an easy time in developing a welfare state while others fought long entrenched battles.

This textbook includes all 13 chapters of Français interactif. It accompanies www.laits.utexas.edu/fi, the web-based French program developed and in use at the University of Texas since 2004, and its companion site, Tex's French Grammar (2000) www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/ Français interactif is an open acess site, a free and open multimedia resources, which requires neither password nor fees. Français interactif has been funded and created by Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services at the University of Texas, and is currently supported by COERLL, the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning UT-Austin, and the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE Grant P116B070251) as an example of the open access initiative.