Overview

The success of the Nordic welfare state is well known, but the key drivers of its remarkable expansion are not. This book explores the relationships between citizens that constitute the normative groundwork of Nordic societies, arguing that the quality of relations steers welfare development. Chapters explore relations of reciprocity, trust and equality that characterize the relational Nordic welfare state. Through an interdisciplinary approach, expert contributors consider the establishment and growth of welfare institutions in Nordic countries and evaluate the neoliberal challenge that these institutions have faced since the 1980s. This book reveals how and why Nordic societies may find a path of balanced and sustainable development. Timely and insightful, this book will be indispensable for scholars and students of social and political sciences, as well as jurisprudence, especially those interested in welfare states. Contributors include: M. Berg, S. Blomgren, P. Borioni, S. Hänninen, M. Jokela, P. Kettunen, M. Kivipelto, T. Kotkas, P.H. Kristensen, K.-M. Lehtelä, K. Lilja, E. Moen, M. Perlinski, P. Saikkonen, S.F. Schram, K. Tuori, N. Witoszek

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9781788974646

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Reviews

'Excellent and novel, the essays in this volume offer an incisive analysis of the historical paths and contemporary challenges for Nordic welfare states. The relational perspective gives a theoretically fresh and insightful understanding of these states as states of civilization. A must-read for anyone interested in the past, present and future of the welfare state.' -- Asa Lundqvist, Lund University, Sweden

`Most studies of the Nordic welfare states concentrate on specific policies. The contributors to this book probe far deeper than this, examining the deeper cultural and social roots of these distinctive systems, as well as of the changes now taking place in them.' -- Colin Crouch, University of Warwick, UK and Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Germany `Excellent and novel, the chapters in this book offer an incisive analysis of the historical paths and contemporary challenges for Nordic welfare states. The relational perspective gives a theoretically fresh and insightful understanding of these states as states of civilization. A must-read for anyone interested in the past, present and future of the welfare state.' -- Asa Lundqvist, Lund University, Sweden

‘The volume is a timely contribution, and through concrete examples also very helpful to understand how forty years of reform have fared in this corner of the world. Through their choice of perspectives, the authors demonstrate that there is still a particularly Nordic outlook whose arrangements are the result of concrete, interest-based struggles and thus not as continuous or robust as some might like to believe – along with the dawning realisation that not only our states, but also the ecological systems are not necessarily sustainable.’ -- Ingerid Straume, Nordicum-Mediterraneum 'Theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, this is an excellent - diverse yet coherent - collection on the changing Nordic welfare state, which I highly recommend.' --Ray Kiely, Queen Mary University of London, UK 'Most studies of the Nordic welfare states concentrate on specific policies. The contributors to this book probe far deeper than this, examining the deeper cultural and social roots of these distinctive systems, as well as of the changes now taking place in them.' --Colin Crouch, University of Warwick, UK and Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Germany 'Excellent and novel, the chapters in this book offer an incisive analysis of the historical paths and contemporary challenges for Nordic welfare states. The relational perspective gives a theoretically fresh and insightful understanding of these states as states of civilization. A must-read for anyone interested in the past, present and future of the welfare state.' --Åsa Lundqvist, Lund University, Sweden

Author Information

Edited by Sakari Hänninen, Emeritus Professor, University of Jyväskylä and Emeritus Research Professor, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Finland, Kirsi-Marja Lehtelä and Paula Saikkonen, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland

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