Austerity, Community Action, and the Future of Citizenship in Europe

Shana Cohen is Deputy Director of the Woolf Institute in Cambridge, UK and Associate Researcher with the Sociology Department, University of Cambridge. She is leading on a comparative analysis of local responses to austerity in Europe.Christina Fuhr has a PhD in Sociology from Oxford University. She is currently a Junior Research Fellow at the Woolf Institute in Cambridge and has focused her research on food banks and homeless shelters in Berlin and London. Jan-Jonathan Bock holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge, and is currently a Junior Research Fellow at the Woolf Institute and a Research Associate at St Edmund's College, Cambridge. He is studying crisis experiences, changing practices of citizenship, and realities of pluralism in Berlin and Rome.

• Introduction: social activism, belonging and citizenship in a period of crisis ~ Shana Cohen and Jan-Jonathan BockPart I: The social consequences of welfare policyFulfilling basic human needs: the welfare state after Beveridge ~ Patrick DiamondSocial division and resentment in the aftermath of the economic slump ~ Gabriella Elgenius;Part II: The practice of social goodAusterity and social welfare in the UK: a perspective from the advice sector ~ Amardeep BansilBreaking the hold of debt: Cambridge Money Advice Centre ~ John MorrisCommunity finance: the emergence of credit unions in London ~ Paul A Jones and Michelle HowlinFinding employment and living a good life in London ~ Chris PriceThe Tafel and food poverty in Germany ~ Sabine WerthAddressing food poverty in the UK ~ Sarah GreenwoodHelping the homeless: a soup kitchen in London ~ Martin StonePart III: Social change and neoliberalismSocial initiatives and social solidarity under austerity ~ Christina FuhrThe new economy of poverty ~ Stefan SelkeChallenges for the struggle against austerity in Britain and Europe ~ Thomas Jeffrey MileyPart IV: Situating solidarity in perspectiveIndividualism and community in historical perspective ~ Jon LawrenceAiming for reconnection: responsible citizenship ~ Christopher BakerConclusion: citizenship, community and solidarity at the end of the welfare state ~ Jan-Jonathan Bock and Shana Cohen

"This timely volume engages scholars of citizenship, social activists and those concerned for the future of social democracy in Europe". Bob Deacon, Professor of International Social Policy, University of Sheffield