By explaining the path of extrication from state socialism, this book clarifies the patterns of the welfare state's transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. It identifies the emergence of a peculiar Eastern European welfare regime through the fusionof pre-communist, communist and post-communist features.

This book provides a picture of recent developments in social policy and social work in Central and Southeast Europe, especially trends after the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated significant welfare modifications. Through a comparative method, the book draws analytical conclusions about the interdependence between welfare state reforms and social work practices in Central and Southeast Europe and provides an overview of future perspectives regarding social policy and social service provision in this region. The book covers four EU member states (Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Croatia) and three EU candidate countries (North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina). By critically contextualising existing welfare state categorisations, the book aims to examine the link between the welfare state reforms and implications for social work in Central and Southeast Europe. The country-based chapters of this contributed volume: outline the context in which social policy and social work have developed and map the main changes in the welfare state since the transition from socialism; elaborate the country-specific welfare state discourse and discussions, which through literature review depict the conceptual debates about the welfare state, social justice, equality, poverty, entitlements for cash transfer and services, privatization, and accessibility; indicate the key challenges in social policy and social work; and provide indications about the future perspectives of social policy and social service provision. Social Work and Social Policy Transformations in Central and Southeast Europe addresses the scarcity of literature on social policy and social work in this region. The book is primarily intended for social policy researchers and scholars, and students in social work, social policy, political science, and sociology. It is an invaluable resource for researchers from all fields of social sciences and should provoke wider academic and professional interest.

This dissertation is a contribution to comparative welfare state research. It offers an account of labor market and long-term care policies in Serbia and Croatia, and it illuminates issues that have, thus far, not been at the center of international research interest, despite the pressing need. The book provides a comprehensive picture of the structures, processes, and key challenges, as well as respective links, to recommended reforms. Dissertation. (Series: Human and Social Affairs in the EU / Mensch und Sozialordnung in der EU - Vol. 3) [Subject: Sociology, European Studies, Labor Studies]

The importance of subnational welfare measures, and their complex embeddedness in wider multilevel governance systems, has often been underplayed in both urban studies and social policy analysis. This Handbook gives readers the analytical tools to understand urban social policies in context, and bridges the gap in research.

Welfare reforms in post-communist countries are determined by economic and social hardship, democratization of the political systems and rapid structural change. This groundbreaking book provides a comprehensive and systematic empirical assessment of the Central and Eastern European post-communist welfare states in the context of their Western European counterparts. Basing the study on new data on welfare entitlements and cluster analysis, Kati Kuitto systematically compares 26 European welfare states across three empirical dimensions. The author employs a multidimensional framework to analyze patterns of welfare policies and highlight spending priorities, financing and the generosity of welfare entitlements. Kati Kuitto thus sheds light on the hybrid patterns of welfare policies in post-communist countries as they have emerged after the period of transformation and discusses their future challenges. Unique and comprehensive, this is essential reading for researchers in the fields of comparative welfare state research and Central and Eastern European studies, as well as students and practitioners of social policy, social security and political economy.

The sixteenth edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play has a triple ambition. First, it provides easily accessible information to a wide audience about recent developments in both EU and domestic social policymaking. Second, the volume provides a more analytical reading, embedding the key developments of the year 2014 in the most recent academic discourses. Third, the forward-looking perspective of the book aims to provide stakeholders and policymakers with specific tools that allow them to discern new opportunities to influence policymaking. In this 2015 edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play, the authors tackle the topics of the state of EU politics after the parliamentary elections, the socialisation of the European Semester, methods of political protest, the Juncker investment plan, the EU’s contradictory education investment, the EU’s contested influence on national healthcare reforms, and the neoliberal Trojan Horse of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

With contributions from distinguished authors in 14 countries across 5 continents, this book provides a unique transnational perspective on intellectual disability in the twentieth century. Each chapter outlines different policies and practices, and details real-life accounts from those living with intellectual disabilities to illustrate their impact of policies and practices on these people and their families. Bringing together accounts of how intellectual disability was viewed, managed and experienced in countries across the globe, the book examines the origins and nature of contemporary attitudes, policy and practice and sheds light on the challenges of implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD).

This book adopts novel theoretical approaches to study the diverse welfare pathways that have evolved across Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism. It highlights the role of explanatory factors such as micro-causal mechanisms, power politics, path departure, and elite strategies.

The book provides multiple perspectives and insights on the area of Inclusion, Equity and Access for people with disabilities and brings together various inclusive effective practices from 21 countries across the world most comprehensively in one book. The book documents perspectives from educational researchers and teacher educators through first-hand experience using cutting-edge research and conceptual understandings, thought processes, and reflections. The book brings together various methodologies to expose scientific truths in the area of disability and inclusion. Chapter authors utilize a self-reflective stance, representing state of the art theory and practice for exploring notions of disability. Authors examine cultural relational practices, common values and beliefs, and shared experiences for the purpose of helping cultural members and cultural strangers better understand interdependent factors. Each chapter is an attempt to unravel a thought provoking, comprehensive, and thorough understanding of the challenges and abilities of individuals with disabilities shaped by their own culture, society and country, re-engaging the promise of scientific research as a generative form of inquiry. The book is designed to be of use to a wide range of professionals; researchers, practitioners, advocates, special educators and parents providing information and or discussions on educational needs, health care provisions, and social services irrespective of country and culture.