This new volume, of the Social Policy in a Development Context series, examines the complex relations between democracy and social policy.
In advanced industrial democracies, variations in welfare provision are explained by differences: reach and organization of unions, presence of Left parties in government, and social pacts that reconcile the conflicting interests of unions, employers, and the state. Social security provision is limited in democracies with low levels of industrialization, despite the fact that some countries with a social democratic orientation seem to have done well. In such low-income democracies, traditions of political rights, improvements in electoral competitiveness, and a pro-active judiciary may empower social movements to pressure governments to introduce progressive social reforms.
Democracy and Social Policy illustrates how social policies can aid democratic transitions that are highly polarized, those that involve both political and market liberalization, and those that occur in deeply divided multiethnic societies. They improve the security of citizens, contribute to social solidarity, encourage disadvantaged groups to have faith in the democratic regime, and delegitimize violent alternatives.
Contents
Foreword by Thandika Mkandawire
1 Democracy and Social Policy Development: Introduction and Overview
Yusuf Bangura & Carl-Johan Hedberg
2 Democratization and Social Policy Development in Advanced Capitalist Societies
John D. Stephens
3 Democratization and Social Policy Development in Japan
Toshimitsu Shinkawa
4 Democratization and Social Policy in Southern Europe: From Expansion to 'Recalibration'
Maurizio Ferrera
5 Democratization and Social Policy in East Central Europe
Terry Cox
6 The Latin American Social States: Critical Junctures and Critical Choices
Fernando Filgueira
7 Democracy and Well-Being in India
Neera Chandhoke
8 Democracy and Social Policy in Botswana
Keitseope Nthomang
9 The Ballot Box and Social Policy in Mauritius
Sheila Bunwaree
10 Democracy and Social Policy in Jamaica
Jennifer Jones
Yusuf Bangura is a Research Co-ordinator at UNRISD for the programme on Democracy, Governance and Well-being.
Democracy and Social Policy is published by Palgrave Macmillan; ISBN 978 0 23054 695 0. To order this book, please
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