New Contractualism in European Welfare State Policies

Rune Ervik is senior researcher at Uni Research Rokkan Centre, Bergen, Norway. His research interests include comparative perspectives on pension policies and reform, politics of ageing, international social policy and the impact of discourse and policy ideas on institutional and normative changes of social policy. Nanna Kildal is senior researcher at Uni Research Rokkan Centre, Bergen, Norway. Her main research interests relate to comparative welfare state research, international social policy discourses and reforms, and normative dimensions of welfare policies. Even Nilssen is professor at Bergen University College and senior researcher at Uni Research Rokkan Centre, Bergen, Norway. His research interests covers comparative studies in the field of welfare and work, the role of international organizations in social policy and the impact of juridification processes on the construction of social citizenship.

• Chapter 1 Introduction, RuneErvik, NannaKildal, EvenNilssen; Chapter 2 Welfare Contractualism, Social Justice and Republican Citizenship, SimonBirnbaum; Chapter 3 Contractualising Social Policies, Jean-MichelBonvin, EmilieRosenstein; Chapter 4 Contractualism and Street-Level Discretion in Norwegian Activation Policy, EvenNilssen; Chapter 5 From Collective to Individual Responsibility? Changing Problem Definitions of the Welfare State, RuneErvik, NannaKildal; Chapter 6 New Obligation Regimes in Welfare Policies – Comparing Germany and the Scandinavian Countries, NannaKildal, EvenNilssen; Chapter 7 From Unilateral Towards Reciprocal Social Policies, Jørn HenrikPetersen; Chapter 8 The Pension Contract – A Matter Of Obligations, Patrick JohnRing; Chapter 9 Contractualism and the Emergence of a New Welfare Regime, RuneErvik, NannaKildal, EvenNilssen;

’This excellent book increases our understanding of why people in vulnerable positions face ever more obligations when applying for social benefits. The book represents a major advancement in the study of the most ambivalent transformation in recent welfare state history.’ Johannes Kananen, University of Helsinki, Finland ’An impressive collection, ranging from political philosophy to social policy, from theories of rights and justice to European case studies on workfare and pensions. This book will surely serve as an important addition to the scholarship on the most crucial trend that is redefining welfare state institutions.’ Amir Paz-Fuchs, University of Sussex, UK and author of Welfare to Work: Conditional Rights in Social Policy