Policy concertation – the determination of public policy by means of agreements struck between governments, employers and trade unions – continues to thrive in Western Europe despite the impact of liberalizing trends that were expected to lead to its demise.
This volume brings together a team of 23 experts with the aim to undertake paired historical and political studies of policy concertation in ten West European countries, which were then subjected to systematic comparative analysis. It shows that overall the incidence of broad policy concertation in Western Europe can be explained by the changing configurations of just three variables.
Table of Content
Introduction: The Strange Persistence of Policy Concertation
Hugh Compston
PART I: COUNTRY STUDIES
Chapter 1. Austria in Historical Perspective: From Civil War to Social Partnership
Jill Lewis
Chapter 2. Austria in the 1990s: The Routine of Social Partnership in Question?
Emmerich Tálos and Bernhard Kittel
Chapter 3. Britain in Historical Perspective: From War Concertation to the Destruction of the Social Contract
Chris Williams
Chapter 4. Britain in the 1990s: The Absence of Policy Concertation
Peter Dorey
Chapter 5. Denmark in Historical Perspective: Towards Conflict-Based Consensus
Carsten Strøby Jensen
Chapter 6. Denmark in the 1990s: Status Quo or a More Self-Confident State?
Mikkel Mailand
Chapter 7. France in Historical Perspective: The Impossibility of Partnership
Susan Milner
Chapter 8. France in the 1990s: Struggling with the Weight of History
Nick Parsons
Chapter 9. Germany in Historical Perspective: The Gap Between Theory and Practice
Stefan Berger
Chapter 10. Germany in the 1990s: The Impact of Reunification
Jeremy Leaman
Chapter 11. Ireland in Historical Perspective: The Legacies of Colonialism – Edging Towards Policy Concertation
Emmet O’Connor
Chapter 12. Ireland in the 1990s: Policy Concertation Triumphant
Rory O’Donnell and Damian Thomas
Chapter 13. Italy in Historical Perspective: The Legacies of Fascism and Anti-Fascism
Gino Bedani
Chapter 14. Italy in the 1990s: Policy Concertation Resurgent
Bruce Haddock
Chapter 15. The Netherlands in Historical Perspective: The Rise and Fall of Dutch Policy Concertation
Anton Hemerijck
Chapter 16. The Netherlands in the 1990s: Towards ‘Flexible Corporatism’ in the Polder Model
Hans Slomp
Chapter 17. Spain in Historical Perspective: Fascist Corporatism and Social Pacts
Robert A. Robinson
Chapter 18. Spain in the 1990s: Strategic Concertation
Miguel Martínez Lucio
Chapter 19. Sweden in Historical Perspective: The Rise and Fall of the Swedish Model
James Fulcher
Chapter 20. Sweden in the 1990s: The Demise of Policy Concertation and Social Partnership and Its Sudden Reappearance in 1998
Victor A. Pestoff
PART II: COMPARISONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Chapter 21. The Politics of Policy Concertation in the 1990s: The Role of Ideas
Hugh Compston
Chapter 22. Social Partnership 1880–1989: The Deep Historical Roots of Diverse Strategies
Stefan Berger
Chapter 23. Policy Concertation in Western Europe: A Configurational Approach
Hugh Compston
Notes on Contributors
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Hugh Compston is Lecturer in European Politics in the School of European Studies, Cardiff University.
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