The Politics of Social Cohesion in Germany, France and the United Kingdom

by Dobbernack, Jan

• ISBN13: 9781137338839
• ISBN10: 1137338830
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-10-14
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Across Western Europe, 'social cohesion' is seen to be at risk, and its protection has become an important objective for social governance. Exploring the emergence of a politics of cohesion in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, this book draws attention to an unexplored connection: the coincidence between the cohesive society and the active society. It examines political agendas of cohésion sociale, Bürgergesellschaft and community cohesion and argues that, despite country-specific differences, the politics of cohesion yields similar political effects. Individuals and groups, no matter what their respective capacities, are asked to comply with expectations of behavioural flexibility and active conduct. Jan Dobbernack traces these effects to the 'social imaginaries' that underpin agendas of cohesion. This book offers a new interpretation of an important phenomenon in European social policy.

Author Biography

Jan Dobbernack is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Lincoln, UK and has previously held fellowships at the European University Institute, Italy and the University of Bristol, UK. His research interests are in critical social theory and in the politics of cultural diversity in Europe.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Turn to Cohesion in European Politics
1. Social Imaginaries in Agendas of Cohesion
2. The Active Society as a Paradigm of Social Governance
3. Cohésion Sociale and Ambiguities of Republican Solidarity
4. Bürgergesellschaft and the Crisis of the German Social Model
5. Community Cohesion Against Ethnic Segregation
6. The Imaginary Potential of Social Cohesion
Conclusion: Beyond Cohesion?