Factors and directions of revision of the French social paradigm

Historically, France is home to a number of concepts and practices for the creation of the welfare state (État providence). The state social policy is organically woven into the economic mechanism of this country and, it seemed, is its integral part. The purpose of the article is to identify the main directions of the revision of the social French paradigm. The generalization of the bibliography, historical and statistical analysis made it possible to identify a number of factors of such a revision, including the processes of transnationalization of French business, the scaling of trade, and the crisis of the post-industrial phase of global capitalism. The conclusion is substantiated that the shocks of the 2019 pandemic at the beginning of 2021 accelerated the evolution of French social policy in favor of the communitarian level due to the limited opportunities for social reforms at the country level. The antithesis of the initiatives of Emmanuel Macron is the growth of nationalist sentiments and ideas of Charles de Gaulle against the background of the crisis of convergence of the economies of the member countries.

Perspectives and Reality of Young People in Slovakia in the Dimensions of Selected Subsystems of Social Policy

Young people are often exposed to various life situations that gradually come during their lives. The quality of life of young people in Slovakia is conditioned by several areas of social policy therefore, these issues are very important for research. The aim of the paper is to point out the analysis of selected factors (areas) that affect the life situations of young people in Slovakia. We pay attention to the areas of support and protection of the establishment of young families and preparation for parenthood, support of employment of young people and support of housing policy of young people. In this paper we work with the analysis of secondary data, which relate to selected monitored areas focused on young people in Slovakia. The data we use in the article are of a quantitative character. We will use the method of analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction to achieve the set goals. Another key method that we use in the paper is descriptive statistics (Rimarčík, 2007; Chajdiak, 2010; Marek, 2015). In Slovakia, the issue of young people often appears only as a political issue. In scientific discourses, the issue of young people is addressed in isolation, as evidenced by several contributions from the authors. The authors of this paper present the problems of selected factors (areas) influencing the perspectives and reality of young people in Slovakia in an integrated manner.

Social Alarms to Telecare

Social policy agendas have generally failed to take account of the actual or potential role played by social alarms and telecare. This book draws on research and practice throughout the developed world. It documents the emergence of these important technologies and considers their potential in healthcare, social welfare and housing.

Public Security Management in the Social Policy Domain

<span>Celem opracowania jest wskazanie na zakres podmiotowy oraz przedmiotowy zarządzania bezpieczeństwem publicznym, wskazanie na jego cele oraz mechanizmy służące jego zapewnianiu w obszarze polityki społecznej, określeniu i ocenie roli państwa w podjętym temacie, a także próba stworzenia prognozy odnoszącej się w zakresie podjętej analizy. Jest to istotne z punktu widzenia pozycji państwa na arenie międzynarodowej, a przede wszystkim zachowanie stabilności społecznej wewnątrz państwa. Realizowanie celów polityki społecznej w sposób zaplanowany i skuteczny przekłada się na stabilność państwa, dobrobyt społecznych oraz stwarza możliwości rozwoju gospodarczego. </span>

Social Movements and Social Policy: New Research Horizons

Across the globe, movements are confronting states and elites, challenging inequalities and mobilising for greater justice, a stronger voice, and progressive policy changes. In this article, I bridge the divide between Social Policy and the interdisciplinary field of Social Movement Studies. I examine how and why social movements, as actors in policy fields and social movement theories, matter for social policy. I argue that research on social movements as actors and engagement with social movement theories can open new horizons in Social Policy research by advancing our understanding of the politics of policy from a global perspective and strengthening our analytical and explanatory frameworks of agency, ideas, and power in the study of continuity and change of policy.

What Curbs Social Investment? The Effect of Foreign Electoral Outcomes on Childcare Expenditure Levels

This study aims to deepen our understanding of social investment expansion proposing a political learning mechanism to link existing institutional and political explanations. When resources are limited, increased spending in social investment often comes at the expense of politically costly retrenchment of established social insurance policies. Previous studies suggest that this trade-off results in existing entitlements crowding out new policies, and that party ideology plays less of a role in determining social policy expansion. I argue that this is because parties face an electoral dilemma, as individual preferences for social investment and social insurance have been shown to differ between groups that partly overlap in their voting behaviour. Applying a policy diffusion framework to the analysis of childcare expenditure, this study proposes that policymakers learn from the political consequences of past decisions made by their foreign counterparts and update their policy choice accordingly. The econometric analysis of OECD data on childcare expenditure shows that governments tend to make spending decisions that follow those of ideologically similar cabinets abroad and that left-wing governments with a divided electorate tend to reduce childcare expenditure if a previous expansionary decision of a foreign incumbent is followed by an electoral defeat. The findings have implications for the study of the politics of social policy development.

The Potential of Friendship: A Case for Social Resilience and New Care Optics

In this article, we call for greater recognition of friendship as a basic social relation that should play a pivotal role in re-imagining social resilience if it is to be future-proof in the face of social upheaval, such as the current pandemic. Drawing on existing research and early scoping of emergent information about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we suggest that friendship is an important component of heterogenic social realities. The specific focus of our discussion is twofold. Firstly, attention is paid to the narrow lens of social policy that privileges particular familial set-ups and living arrangements, and in doing so marginalises groups which are already disenfranchised; secondly, we consider the dangers of nationalism and Eurocentrism as they relate to these issues. We suggest that thinking in terms of friendship can open up new avenues of academic and political imagination, offering strategies with greater potential for building socially resilient communities.