EDDA – Center of Excellence has, in cooperation with the Nordic Centers of Excellence NordWel and REASSESS, published the book Retrenchment or renewal? Welfare states in times of economic crisis.  The work is part of a book series initiated by NORDWEL (The Nordic Welfare State – Historical Foundations and Future Challenges). The editors are Prof. Guðmundur Jónsson and Dr. Kolbeinn Stefánsson.

The global economic crisis, which began in 2008, has posed serious challenges to welfare states and shaken their financial, social and political foundations. This book analyzes the impact of what has become the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression on social policy and welfare state developments in Europe and North America.  The varied national experiences are examined and put into a wider intellectual and historical context. The book poses such questions as the following: What has been the impact of the current crisis on social policy? Has the crisis heralded a new phase of entrenchment and austerity or are there signs of opportunities opening up for progressive social reform?

The volume – a collection of 16 chapters by authors from different disciplines within the humanities and the social sciences – provides a broad overview of the present crisis and its implications for the future development of the welfare state.  It contains both general surveys and country-specific studies, dealing with a range of issues.

Contributors: Michael Freeden, Christopher Lloyd, Diane Perrons, Daniel Béland, Alex Waddan, Stefán Ólafsson,  Mairéad Considine, Fiona Dukelow, Guðmundur Jónsson, Magnús Sveinn Helgason, Matti Hannikainen, Jyl Josephson, Ivett Szalma, Judit Takács, Ingólfur V. Gíslason, Hanna-Kaisa Hoppania, Jane Kelsey, Michael Kuur Sørensen, and Vilhjálmur Árnason.

To order the book visit: http://blogs.helsinki.fi/nord-wel/publications/bookstore/

Retrenchment or renewal flyer.