Synopses & Reviews
Social policy scholars and practitioners have long employed concepts such as “welfare state” and “social security”—but where do these concepts come from and how has their meaning changed over time? What characterizes social policy language in different places, and how do some social concepts travel between them? Addressing such questions in a systematic manner, the contributors to this collection analyze the concepts and language used to describe contemporary social policy. Combining detailed chapters on particular countries with broader comparative chapters, the book offers a variety of perspectives on just what we mean when we use these terms.
Review
“This collection provides a fine overview of a neglected area: the use of language in social policy, in which the authors ask what impact words and framing have on the substance of social policy.”
Review
“A must-read for all those interested in the political power of ideas. Both transnational and historical, these explorations of the languages of social policy and welfare reform are as innovative as [they are] compelling.”
Synopsis
Social policy scholars and practitioners work with concepts such as "welfare state" and "social security" but where do these concepts come from and how has their meaning changed over time? Which are the dominant social policy concepts and how are they contested? What characterises social policy language in specific countries and regions of the world and how do social concepts travel between countries? Addressing such questions in a systematic manner for the first time, this edited collection, written by a cross-disciplinary group of leading social policy researchers, analyses the concepts and language used to make sense of contemporary social policy. The volume focuses on OECD countries located on four different continents: Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North America. Combining detailed chapters on particular countries with broader comparative chapters, the book strikes a rare balance between case studies and transnational perspectives. It will be of interest to academics and students in social policy, social work, political science, sociology, history, and public administration, as well as practitioners and policy makers.
Synopsis
Where do concepts such as oewelfare state and oesocial security come from and how has their meaning changed over time?. This edited collection, written by a cross-disciplinary group of leading social policy researchers, analyses the concepts and language used to make sense of contemporary social policy.
About the Author
Daniel Béland is the Canada Research Chair in Public Policy at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan. He is coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of US Social Policy.Klaus Petersen is professor of welfare state history and director of the Centre for Welfare State Research at the University of Southern Denmark. He is coeditor of The Nordic Welfare State.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Social Policy Concepts and Language
~ Daniel Béland and Klaus Petersen
Social Policy Language in Denmark and Sweden
~ Nils Edling, Jørn Henrik Petersen &
Klaus Petersen
The Changing Language of Social Policy in Hungary and Poland
~ Zsófia Aczél, Dorota Szelewa & Dorottya Szikra
Languages of “Social Policy” at “the EU level”
~ Jean-Claude Barbier
The OECDs Search for a New Social Policy