Bibliographic Resources
Selected Literature and Annotated Bibliography
The following compilation represents a small selection of recommended materials, which are annotated and grouped thematically.
The European Union in General: Its History, Organization and Operation
- Almond, Gabriel, Russel Dalton, & Bingham Powell. European Politics Today. Longman New York City 1999 (539p).This is an excellent introductory (undergraduate-level) text book on European politics. It covers European political culture, history, systems of government and several country case studies. It includes an extensive but concise section on the European Union written by Alberta Sbragia one of the foremost experts on European Union politics.
- Collier, Ken After the Welfare State New Star Books Vancouver 1997. Collier argues the welfare state developed to serve the needs of capital and labor in the age of nation states. As the role of the state is changing so is the role of the nation state.
- Dinan, Desmond. Ever Closer Union. Lynne Rienner. Bolder 1999 (596p).There is simply no more comprehensive and yet accessible text on the European Union. It is a complete introduction to European Politics, suitable both for undergraduate and graduate students.
- Dinan, Desmond.. Encyclopedia of the European Union. Lynne Rienner. Bolder 1998 (565p). A comprehensive reference book on the EU, organized by key words.
- Marshall, T.H. Social Policy. London Hutchinson 1975
- Sbragia, Alberta M. (ed.). Euro-Politics. Brookings Washington DC 1991 (302p). This classic on European Politics is somewhat dated concerning recent EU developments but provides detailed insights into the single market initiative and the Maastricht process. The book is intended for advanced readers.
- The State of the European Union - A series by Lynne Rienner. Bolder. See for example Volume 3, Building a European Polity (by Carolyn Rhodes and Sonia Mazy, 1995) and Volume 4, Deepening and Widening(by Pierre-Henri Laurent and Marc Maresceau, 1998). Provides a detailed analysis of the scholarship in the field, best suited for the advanced reader of political science. Reviewed favorably in the European Community Studies Association and the American Political Science Review.
- Redmond, John and Glenda G. Rosenthal (eds.). The Expanding European Union - Past, Present and Future. Lynne Rienner. Bolder 1999 (234p). A detailed discussion of the expansion of the European Union and its impact on the institutions, and policies of the EU.
- Wood, David M. & Birol A. Yesilanda. The Emerging European Union. Longman New York City 1996 (253p). This text is one of the most concise and yet comprehensive college text books on EU politics. Unfortunately it is getting dated and new editions have not come out (yet?). Its strength and significant difference to other college texts lies in its meticulous but accessible discussion of integration theory, EU decision making procedures, EMS and pre-Maastricht EC history. It still makes a great complement to other more recent texts.
- Zeff, Eleanor & Ellen Pirro. The European Member States: Cooperation, Coordination and Compromise Lynne Rienner. Bolder 2000. This comprehensive introduction to EU policy discusses the relationship and interaction between the EU and each member state. The series of case studies cover each member country with the EU as it applies to a specific policy area.
- Gompert, David & Stephen Larrabee. America and Europe. Cambridge University Press 1997. A convincing and eminently readable account of transatlantic relations, suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.
- Peterson, John. Europe and America - The Prospects of Partnership. Routledge London 1996. This text is easily accessible and yet compelling for readers at any level. It includes a concise overview of the operations of the EU and provides key insights into both the American and the EU decision making process. It is rich in its historical detail.
- Barr, Nicholas and David Whynes. Current Issues in the Economics of Welfare 1993. This is mainly an economist's approach to welfare reform (in the UK). Especially the introductory parts are provide a good understanding to some of the economic issues and fallacies surrounding what is otherwise a public policy debate.
- Blanpain, R. Institutional Changes after Amsterdam Kluwer Law; Boston 1998.
- Falkner, Falkner. EU Social Policy in the 1990s - Toward a Corporatist Policy Community. Routlegde: London 1998. A comprehensive and up-today analysis of the development of European social policy and the European social dimension (including the European social partnership). Falkner also discusses in detail theories of integration and evaluates them in relationship to EU Social policy. The reading is dense and intended mainly for a scholarly audience.
- Esping-Andrsen, Gosta . The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism Princeton University Press 1990. Esping-Andersen's work has become a classic and should be read (at least in excepts) also by undergraduates. It is one of the most important contributions to comparing and conceptualizing welfare policies across nations. Esping-Andersen provides an analysis of the character and role of welfare states in the functioning of contemporary advanced Western societies. He distinguishes several major types of welfare state, connecting these with variations in the historical development of different Western countries. Esping-Andersen makes a compelling case that current economic processes are not shaped by autonomous market forces but by the nature of states and state differences.
- George, Vic and Peter Taylor-Gooby. European Welfare Policy; Squaring the Welfare Circle St.Martin's New York 1996.
- Hervey, Tamara. European Social Law and Policy. Longman: New York 1998.
- Hine, David and Hussein Kassim Beyond the Market: The EU and National Social Policy. London: Routledge 1998.
- Kluth, Michael. The Political Economy of a Social Europe - Understanding Labor Market Integration in the EU. Longman: London 1998.
- Leibfried, Stephan & Paul Pierson (ed.). European Social Policy - Between Fragmentation and Integration. Brookings Washington DC 1995.This is one of the best works to date on the development of social policy in the New Europe. It discusses in detail the players and variables shaping European social policy. Intended for the advanced reader of politics, this work seeks to make a major theoretical contribution to understanding social policy formation in a multi-tier system of governance.
- Leisering, Lutz & Stephan Leibfried. Time and Poverty in Western Welfare States. United Germany in Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1999, 395 pp. (9 tables, 18 figures) ---- Reviews: Robert Pinker, Professor Emeritus of Social Administration, LSE: "'Time and Poverty in Western Welfare States' will become a classic text in the literature of social policy research. It is backed with original theoretical insights and innovative proposals for policy reform. The authors open up a new era of scholarly enquiry into the complex relationships between poverty, social exclusion and class structures as they change over time." * Ralf Dahrendorf, Foreword: "The findings are striking. They suggest rethinking conventional views of poverty as well as methods to remedya condition which is the original target of the welfare state. Readers of this splendid volume will find that it takes them a long way not just to better understanding but to better prospects for the future." * Rebecca M. Blank, now Dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan: "'Time and Poverty in Western States' presents a multitude of interesting facts about poverty and social assistance in Germany, interpreting them within a larger theoretical framework that uses economic as well as sociological/psychological theories on the life course. By and large this integrated analysis is not done by US economists, and the book provides a good example of its value. The authors' distinctions between different subgroups among the poor should be useful to those thinking about US welfare reform, as states attempt to distinguish between social assistance recipients."
- Matti, Kari Meeting with EU Social Policy. Maklu: Antwerpen 1998.
- Rao, Niramala. Toward Welfare Pluralism -- Public Services in a Time of Change Ashgate 1996. This text shows how the pressures of internationalization has resulted in a rethinking and reconceptualization of social policies in the West (especially in Europe).
- Teague, Paul Economic Citizenship in the New Europe: Employment Relations in the New Europe. Longman: London 1999.
- Wadden, Alex. The Politics of Social Welfare. Cheltham UH. Edward Elgar 1997. Provides an interesting and comprehensive analysis of the ideological attack on the liberal welfare state - particularly in the US and the UK. It also illuminates the failures of the defenders of the welfare state.
See also the following publications:
- European Commission (1998) Economic and Social Cohesion of Member States.
- European Commission (1998) Employment and Social Affairs.
- European Commission (1996) Community and Social Policy.
- EIRR (1996) "Social Policy State of Play" No.270 (July) pp12-17.
- Sven Bislev: "European Welfare States: Mechanism of Convergence and Divergence." In EUI Working Paper 97/24 European University Institute, Florence 1997.
RECOMMENDED READINGS ON THE EUROPEAN LABOR MARKET AND ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION
- Crouch, Collin and Franz Traxler eds., 1995. Organized Industrial Relations in Europe; What Future? Aldershot Hants, UK: Avebury Ashgate Publishing. Provides an overview of how various European labor market regimes have reacted to the pressures generated by globalization (economic internationalization, deregulation and modernization).
- Gummett, Philip (ed.) Globalization and Public Policy. Cheltham UK, Edward Elgar 1996. This important consortium project provides a thorough analysis of how pubic policies are affected by globalization pressures. The text provides a lengthy theoretical introduction and proceeds by examining the various sectors of public policy. Its numerous case studies on different European bureaucracies provide rich illustrations and complement the theoretical part.
- Lash, Scott and John Urry The End of Organized Capitalism Oxford: Polity Press 1987. This is considered on of the earlier key texts on how capitalist organization in Europe will be reshaped by an increasingly globalized economy.
- Scharpf, Fritz W. Crisis and Choice in European Social Democracy. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press 1991. Provides a comparative analysis of different government strategies (specifically social democratic policy responses) to internationalization since the 1970s.