This replacement volume of Developments in West European Politics adopts a reconceived framework focusing centrally on the capacity, legitimacy, effectiveness and resilience of the states of Western Europe and the challenges they face at the start of the 21st century. Bringing together specially commissioned chapters by leading authorities it should be useful reading for students and specialists alike.
The book explores the mounting pressures on European welfare states, highlighting how welfare spending has reached its limits amid rising unemployment and demographic shifts. It examines the evolving nature of societal needs due to new family and work patterns, alongside the impact of globalization on national policy autonomy. Through interdisciplinary insights from leading political scientists, economists, and sociologists, including Paul Ormerod, it analyzes the implications of these challenges for the future of welfare systems at the century's close.
Western Europe is changing fast and dramatically. The traditional models of nation-state politics have been challenged by increasing political and economic integration in the European Union, the end of the Cold War division of the continent, the emergence of a global political economy and of new forms of ethnic and cultural identity. All aspects of political life have been affected, from institutions and policies, to party systems, values and beliefs. Developments in West European Politics brings together specially commissioned chapters by leading authorities to provide a tightly integrated analysis of politics, government and public policy set in a broad economic and social context. Its core focus is on the extent to which a new multilevel system of governance is emerging, its character and its implications.