scholarly journals Neoliberalism and trade unions in Britain

Tempo Social ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-28
Author(s):  
Steve Cushion
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Parliamentary Politics

For the past 30 years, Britain’s ruling class has been deeply split over membership of the European Union. This came to a head over the referendum on so-called “Brexit”. The Conservative Party (Tories) was split into “Remain” and “Leave” wings, both neoliberal, but with a different interpretation of the best way to make profits for the section of British capitalism each represents. Meanwhile the Labour Party is divided between the pro-business, neoliberal wing and the social democratic, reformist wing. The trade unions, with one or two notable exceptions, have conducted their activities within the parameters of parliamentary politics and desperately hoped for a Labour victory. The recent general election gave complete victory to the “Leave” Tories, which is potentially disastrous for the trade unions and their members.

Social Policy and European Union Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Daly
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
The Eu

Social policy has a particular character and set of associated politics in the European Union (EU) context. There is a double contestation involved: the extent of the EU’s agency in the field and the type of social policy model pursued. The former is contested because social policy is typically and traditionally a matter of national competence and the latter because the social policy model is crucial to economic and market development. Hence, social policy has both functional and political significance, and EU engagement risks member states’ capacity to control the social fate of their citizens and the associated resources, authority, and power that come with this capacity. The political contestations are at their core territorially and/or social class based; the former crystalizes how wide and extensive the EU authority should be in social policy and the latter a left/right continuum in regard to how redistributive and socially interventionist EU social policy should be. Both are the subject of a complicated politics at EU level. First, there is a diverse set of agents involved, not just member states and the “political” EU institutions (Parliament and Council) but the Commission is also an important “interested” actor. This renders institutional politics and jockeying for power typical features of social policymaking in the EU. Second, one has to break down the monolith of the EU institutions and recognize that within and among them are actors or units that favor a more left or right position on social policy. Third, actors’ positions do not necessarily align on the two types of contestation (apart perhaps from the social nongovernmental organizations and to a lesser extent employers and business interests). Some actors who favor an extensive role for social policy in general are skeptical about the role of the EU in this regard (e.g., trade unions, some social democratic parties) while others (some sectors of the Commission) wish for a more expansive EU remit in social policy but also support a version of social policy pinned tightly to market and economic functions. In this kind of context, the strongest and most consistent political thrust is toward a type of EU social policy that is most clearly oriented to enabling the Union’s economic and market-related objectives. Given this and the institutional set-up, the default position in EU social policy is for a market-making social policy orientation on the one hand and a circumscribed role for the EU in social policy on the other.

“Ein Staatsmann mit Geschichte”: Joschka Fischer's German Past

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 56-79
Author(s):  
M. Anne Sa'adah
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Nato Intervention

Joschka Fischer (b. 1948), Germany’s foreign minister and for severalyears one of the country’s most popular politicians, is a man ofthe moment, of consequence both domestically and beyond hiscountry’s borders. Nationally prominent as leader of the “realo” factionof the Greens, he was instrumental in turning a protest movementinto the partner in power of the Social Democratic Party(SPD). During the Kosovo crisis, he was a key figure in securingGerman participation in the NATO intervention. He has played aninfluential role in the unfolding debate about institutional reformwithin the European Union. During the latest round of Israeli-Palestinianviolence, he has actively tried to bring the parties to the table.

scholarly journals George Lansbury and the Middlesbrough Election of 1906

1973 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. W. Purdue
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
National Level ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Party Organisation ◽  
Political Machine ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fabian Society

The different elements which came together to form the Labour Representation Committee in February 1900 were, when it came to party organisation, at once its strength and its weakness. Labour was not in the position of a totally new political party having to build up a political machine from scratch, rather the LRC was able to utilise and build upon existing organisations: these were the Independent Labour Party, the Fabian Society, those trade unions which supported the LRC, and trades councils throughout the country (the Social Democratic Federation disaffiliated from the LRC after little more than a year's membership). At both a local and a national level, however, these organisations were often hostile to each other, jealous of their independence and suspicious of attempts by the LRC Executive to control them.

Framing to persuade. Sweden's decision to join the European Union

2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-141
Author(s):  
LEIF LEWIN
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member Country ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Rational Action ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Eu Project

In September 2003, in a referendum, Sweden said ‘no’ to the euro. This might have shocked the European political establishments, but for Swedish observers the result came as no surprise. Swedish ordinary citizens were already sceptical of the whole EU project when Sweden applied for membership in 1991; thereafter, Sweden was the only member country with a EU-negative majority in its delegation to the European Parliament. For once the dominant Social Democratic Party in Sweden, otherwise so superbly skilful in forming opinion, had not anchored its EU-policy among the voters. Instead, the politics leading to Swedish membership were a rather Machiavellian process that – in the light of the assumption of politics as rational action – reveals a fascinating internal political game between central figures in the Social Democratic Party.

scholarly journals Disability Roles: Challenges Concerning the Education of People Living with Disabilities in Hungary

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20
Author(s):  
Ildikó Laki
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
Learning Aids ◽  
The Social ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Education And Employment

AbstractOne of the paths toward the social integration of people living with disabilities is to guarantee their participation in education and employment in the long term. The European Union emphasises the concept of lifelong learning to achieve the goals of improved education levels and the concomitant employability for this group. Although in the past few years there have been positive developments in the conditions of people living with disabilities in Hungary. Therefore, it remains one of the challenges of the Hungarian adult education system to bring about equal opportunities in participation for people living with disabilities. The main dilemma refers primarily to the provisioning of the wide array of learning aids required due to the diverse nature of possible disabilities and the establishment of a supportive and conducive learning environment.

Les héritages chrétiens: quel avenir?

Moreana ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (Number 176) (1) ◽  
pp. 175-190
Author(s):  
Bernard Bourdin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
Religious Significance ◽  
Politics And Religion

The legacy from Christianity unquestionably lies at the root of Europe, even if not exclusively. It has taken many aspects from the Middle Ages to modern times. If the Christian heritage is diversely understood and accepted within the European Union, the reason is essentially due to its political and religious significance. However, its impact in politics and religion has often been far from negative, if we will consider what secular societies have derived from Christianity: human rights, for example, and a religious affiliation which has been part and parcel of national identity. The Christian legacy has to be acknowledged through a critical analysis which does not deny the truth of the past but should support a European project built around common values.

scholarly journals Social Aspects of Tourism Policy in the European Union. The Example of Poland and Slovakia

Economies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksander Panasiuk ◽  
Ewa Wszendybył-Skulska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Policy ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Low Incomes ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Tourism Policy ◽  
Tourism Economy ◽  
Sectoral Policy

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the European Union tourism policy has been increasingly focused on initiatives in the field of social tourism, which are one of the ways of achieving sustainable development in the European tourism economy. Most of the research projects that have so far been conducted in the field have focused on the benefits for its participants (subjective one: Children and youths, seniors, disabled people, people (families) with low incomes and/or unemployed, big families). However, there is a lack of research on the analysis of the place of social aspects of tourism in the general socio-economic policy of the state and, in a detailed aspect, in the sectoral policy represented by tourism policy, as well as its potential impact on the development of the national economy and meeting tourism needs of the society. The authors tried to fill this research gap in this study. The aim of the study is to differentiate the issues related to the social aspects of tourism policy from the entire socio-economic policy pursued in the European Union and selected member states (Poland and Slovakia). The article is of a theoretical–analytical–conceptual nature. Empirical research, due to the nature of its issues, was conducted with the use of qualitative research methods. The results of the conducted research showed that activities in the field of social tourism policy are conditioned by organizational solutions for the entities that undertake them, as well as economic ones, especially in the field of financing. Moreover, they made it possible to propose the concept of a model social tourism policy with an indication of its place in the European policy on the basis of the past and future EU financial perspectives.

Instituting Europe: Germany, the Union, and the Legacy of the Short Century

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Michael Werz
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Crucial Question ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Federal Structure

Recent debates about the future of the European Union have focusedin large part on institutional reforms, the deficit of democratic legitimacy,and the problem of economic and agrarian policies. As importantas these issues may be, the most crucial question at the momentis not whether Europe will prevail as a union of nations or as a thoroughlyintegrated federal structure. What is of much greater concernis the fact that political structures and their corresponding politicaldiscourses have lagged far behind the social changes occurring inEuropean societies. The pivotal transformation of 1989 has not beengrasped intellectually or politically, even though its results areincreasingly visible in both the east and west.

EU-China Student and Academic Staff Mobility: Present Situation and Future Developments

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Mathou ◽  
Jin Yan
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Present Situation ◽  
Research Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
The Past ◽  
Comprehensive Information

Abstract The objective of this study was to provide comprehensive information about student and academic staff mobility between the European Union (EU) and China as well as the main strategies and policies in place to promote mobility. Based on quantitative and qualitative data provided by national authorities and various stakeholders consulted throughout the research process, the study aimed at taking stock of the situation and identifying trends regarding EU-China learning mobility over the past ten years. It also aimed at drawing recommendations to improve current and future mobility actions between the two regions.

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