127 SEVEN German Angst in a liberalised world of welfare capitalism: the hidden problem with post-conservative welfare policies Sigrid Betzelt and Ingo Bode Introduction According to a widespread reading, Germany, subsequent to the financial crisis of the late 2000s, has seen a stunning comeback as a social model allowing for both a booming economy and generous welfare provision. Compared to other Western European countries, economic growth appears robust, job prospects seem to be good especially for the young, and major public institutions continue to
Liberalising trends in welfare reform: inside the Dutch miracle Robert Henry Cox English One of the most dramatic changes in the character of welfare states is the shift from public programmes that provide benefits for specific categories of need or entitlement, to programmes that encourage individuals to place part of their income in special savings accounts. This article argues that in countries where the welfare state has historically been defined in collectivist terms, the impact of the new savings schemes creates the potential for moral hazard. Focusing on
119 8 Liberalising Health Services and Functions Introduction While there is an underlying view that the state has provided health services since the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, the NHS Act 1946 placed an overlay on existing arrangements rather than creating new structures and institutions (Baldwin, 1999). In the UK, health services have always been provided through a mixed market model. Before 1948, general practitioners (GPs) and dentists were paid by fees sometimes covered by personal insurance schemes or charities. After 1948
Social welfare reforms and the social imaginary of responses to the poor effectively came full circle during the 20th century. Calvinist-informed classical liberalism gave way to the welfare state in the UK and an increased role for government assistance in the US. During the reconstruction of the UK following the Second World War, the welfare state took over the functions of social assistance in much the same way as it had throughout Europe after the Great Plague of 1347–50; the Established (Anglican) Church formally acknowledged that reality in 1948 and ended the Constantinian contract. In the US, psychiatric social work came to dominate. The New Deal increased the role of the state in caring for the aged, the infirm, and employed the unemployed. Neoliberalism resulted in a civic retheologising of social assistance throughout most Western liberal economies, including Latin American nations. Order was maintained by enforcing conformity to dominant social values up to and including incarceration. As poor relief was taken up by secular authorities after the Great Plague of the mid-14th century, so the responsibility for establishing and maintaining social control was taken up by states who used the power of poor relief to enforce approved morals and behaviour.
From the local to the global, the governance of illegal drug use is becoming increasingly fragmented. In some contexts, prohibitive regimes are being transformed or replaced, whilst in others there are renewed commitments to criminalised control. But what gives rise to convergence and divergence in processes of policy making, both across different countries as well as within them?
Based upon empirical qualitative research with ‘elite’ insiders, David Brewster explores a diverse range of cannabis policy approaches across the globe. His original analysis reveals the factors which facilitate or hinder punitive or liberalising tendencies in cannabis policy processes, concluding with future directions for policy making and comparative criminology.
Available Open Access under CC-BY licence.
Irish law currently permits abortion only where the life of the pregnant woman is at risk. Since 1983, the 8th Amendment to the Constitution has recognised the “unborn” as having a right to life equal to that of the “mother”. Consequently, most people in Ireland who wish to bring their pregnancies to an end either import the abortion pill illegally, travel abroad to access abortion, or continue with the pregnancy against their will.
Now, however, there are signs of change. A constitutional referendum will be held in 2018, after which it will be possible to reimagine, redesign, and reform the law on abortion. Written by experts in the field, this book draws on experience from other countries, as well as experiences of maternal medical care in Ireland, to call for a feminist, woman-centered, and rights-based radical new approach to abortion law in Ireland.
Directly challenging grounds-based abortion law, this accessible guide brings together feminist analysis, comparative research, human rights law, and political awareness to propose a new constitutional and legislative settlement on reproductive autonomy in Ireland. It offers practical proposals for policymakers and advocates, including model legislation, making it an essential campaigning tool leading up to the referendum.
In this comprehensive account, Janice Morphet analyses the role and use of outsourcing within the UK public sector since the mid-1970s.
Morphet examines the many drivers for the use of outsourcing in the public sector, including international agreements, new public management, performativity and austerity. She also takes in to account the role and failures of the private sector and its response to the opening up of public sector competition.
By investigating the way that outsourcing has been used in different service sectors and across scales, the book illustrates the impact it has had on ideology, policy narratives and public expectations in the present.
The re-emergence of China as an economic superpower during its systemic transition is an astonishing phenomenon. China and Post-Socialist Development is the first comprehensive attempt to frame China’s advancements within the context of the East Asian developmental miracle, against the background of post-socialist transformation, asking how has it happened and where does China go from here?
In this book the author argues that as China transits from central planning to market, it tries to imitate the institutions and policies of Japan and South Korea during their high growth periods of the second half of the twentieth century. China’s approach – broadly in opposition to the neo-liberal doctrine – has brought impressive results, leading the author to make important predictions about the future.
This book is for everybody who is interested in China, development and post-socialist transformation.
Examining the changing pluralities of contemporary abortion debate in Britain, this innovative and important book shows why it is necessary to move beyond an understanding of abortion politics as characterised in binary terms by ‘pro-choice’ versus ‘pro-life’.
Amery traces the evolution of political and parliamentary discourses from the passage of the Abortion Act in the 1960s to the present day, and argues that the current provision of abortion in Britain rests on assumptions about medical authority over women’s reproductive decision-making which are unsustainable.
She explores new arguments around sex-selective abortion, disability rights, pre-abortion counselling and the push for decriminalization, and radically reconceptualizes the debate to account for these new battlegrounds in abortion politics.
This edition presents an up-to-date and diverse review of the best in social policy scholarship over the past 12 months, from a group of internationally renowned authors.
This collection offers a comprehensive discussion of some of the most challenging issues facing social policy today, including an examination of Brexit, the Trump presidency, ‘post-truth’, migration, the lived experiences of food bank users, and the future of welfare benefits.
Published in association with the SPA, the volume will be valuable to academics and students within social policy, social welfare and related disciplines.
