This instructive study examines how a transnational discourse on 'modern' social policy - based the guiding principles of 'activation' and an 'activating welfare state' - intervenes in the concepts and practices of citizenship. What are the consequences of this reorientation for citizenship? How does it relate to patterns of exclusion and inequality inherent in each historical citizenship formation? What exactly is the EU's role in this context? The detailed qualitative study focuses on the European Employment Strategy - and in particular its gender equality dimension - as a central...

Sustainability as a reference frame for dealing with the interconnection of environmental, economic and social issues on a global scale is not only characterized by complex problems and long-term strategies but also by differences and disagreements with regard to its meanings and how they should be realised. Therefore, Rather than seeking a single most appropriate definition of Sustainability, the main focus of this book is on how specific Sustainability problems are defined by whom and in which contexts, what solutions are pursued to tackle them, and which effects they have in practice....