Routledge New Contractualism in European Welfare State Policies - Routledge

Explore the transformation of European welfare systems through this comprehensive Routledge analysis of contractualism in social policy. The book traces the shift from the post-war Golden Age of welfare expansion, when social rights dominated policy frameworks, to the contractual thinking that emerged during the 1980s across Western nations. Examine how the oil crisis, inflation, and unemployment of the 1970s challenged the welfare state model and prompted a fundamental rethinking of the balance between individual social rights and citizen responsibilities. This scholarly work provides essential insight into how contractual modes of regulation reshaped welfare policy, offering valuable perspective on the ideological and practical changes that defined modern European social systems and continue to influence contemporary policy debates.