Citizenship in Nordic Welfare States: Dynamics of Choice, Duties and Participation in a Changing Europe

by Bjørn Hvinden, Håkan Johansson (Editor)

This book offers an innovative analysis of the ways in which the relationship between citizens and welfare states - social citizenship - becomes more dynamic and multifaceted as a result of Europeanization and individualization.

Written by interdisciplinary contributors from politics, sociology, law and philosophy, it examines the transformation of social citizenship through a series of illuminating case studies, comparing Nordic countries and other European nations.

Dealing with the following areas of national and European welfare policy, legislation and practice:


activation reforms linking income maintenance and employment promotion scope for participation of marginal groups in deliberation and decision-making impact of human rights legislation for welfare and legal protection against discrimination and social barriers to equal market participation coordination of social security systems to facilitate cross-border mobility in Europe pension reform efforts to make pension systems sustainable.
Citizenship in Nordic Welfare States will be of interest to students and researchers of social policy, comparative welfare, social law, political science, sociology and European studies."

262 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Bjørn Hvinden is Professor in Sociology and Head of Research at Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), an institution at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway. His main research interests are comparative and European social policies, social citizenship, climate change and welfare, disability, poverty and youth job insecurity.